LOCAL ELECTIONS:
LABOUR'S MERE CLAWING BACK
Labour's spin doctors, the Front Bench team of the proletarian plebs, try to portray the gains of councillors as something of a triumph. They are profoundly wrong.
Mid-term elections are always marked by losses to the party in government. The three-time general election wins of Tony Blair were no exception. Despite landslide victories for parliamentary seats, Labo...ur has lost more than 2,300 councillors while in government. After these losses Labour's gain of 825 councillors this year adds up to a mere 36% clawback from their thrashings since 2005.
Given the severe nature of unpopular austerity measures taken by the government, necessitated in the wake of irresponsible mismanagement under 13 years of Labour, the loss of some 450 Conservative councillors is actually moderate. Even amongst conservatives there is unease over the current economic difficulties, forcing a large part of Conservative voters to abstain from polling. This explains the low voter turnout of 31%.
The 2012 local elections are more a partial technical correction and normal mid-term occurance, and as a result Labour's exhileration over the results is barely comprehensible, premature and reality denying. It's a huge source of amusement to see Miliband & Co patting themselves for nothing, and hop-scotching happily towards their next mauling in the general elections. Keeping Labour at bay is, after all, good for the country and the people.
No comments:
Post a Comment