UK: local elections, Tories lost, but Labour did not win. Successes for Lib Dems and Greens. Johnson on the edge

(London) “Tories have suffered heavy losses. The party lost Westminster to Labour, the London Council that is at the heart of British power and has always been conservative, as well as Margaret Thatcher’s favourite London Borough Council, that of Wandsworth”. In an interview with SIR news agency, John Curtice, one of the most renowned British political scientists, analysed the outcome of the local elections held yesterday in major cities like London and Birmingham as well as in all local councils in Wales and Scotland and in Northern Ireland to elect the Assembly. “Outside of London and in the poor north, Labour is struggling to make gains and is losing seats in the constituencies that voted to leave the EU. Brexit still plays an important role, including in local politics”, the expert remarked. Tories lost 124 council seats throughout the UK, but only 38 were won by Labour. The winners in these elections seem to be the Lib Dems, with 57 new councillors, and the Greens, with 23, as well as the independence party. “Tories suffer heavy losses in London but Labour stalls across UK”, headlined the conservative daily Telegraph. “Boris Johnson is blamed by local Tories for losses” who call for him to resign, the progressive newspaper The Guardian reads. But while the prime minister is in trouble, there is no clear victory for his opponent, Keir Starmer, either.
Valentina Bombelli