Boris Johnson ‘should beware the curse of Wandsworth’ after election defeats
Wandsworth #Wandsworth
Boris Johnson has received a ‘shot across the bows’ but his bruised premiership will survive the local election aftermath, a political commentator has said.
The prime minister is weathering the loss of former Tory strongholds, including totemic Wandsworth, after voters went to the polls yesterday.
The London borough, said to be Margaret Thatcher’s favourite council, turned red for the first time in 44 years. Barnet and Westminster, which have mainly been true blue since the mid-1960s, also changed hands in symbolic victories for the Labour party.
Voters went to the polls as the prime minister continued to rebuff partygate and sleaze allegations and with many Tory councillors trying to distance themselves from the national apparatus.
However Labour’s gains fall amid a mixed picture as votes continue to be counted in the poll for the whole of Scotland, Wales, the Northern Ireland Assembly, London and other major English councils.
Political commentator Darren Lilleker said: ‘The results in Wandsworth and Westminster will definitely be a shot across the bows for Johnson.
‘But looking at the national picture it might not matter too much. Labour has not cut through in the way it should have given the challenges people face, or even their consistent 10 point lead in the polls.
‘In fact it seems a new north-south divide is emerging, Conservatives seem to be retaining council seats in the north but losing them in the south with the Lib Dems serious challengers.’
As the fate of more than 5,000 council seats is decided, the results show Labour securing wins in the south but losing ground in the north and Midlands. The Conservatives lost support in the south but there was a more mixed picture elsewhere. The Lib Dems and Greens have also made gains.
A landmark moment came when Wandsworth in south-west London was taken by Labour after being a Tory heartland since 1978.
However it was far from clear whether the kind of gains made by Labour would translate into a win if a general election were to be held.
Mr Lilleker, professor of political communications at Bournemouth University, said: ‘While not necessarily predictive of a general election, if a similar pattern occurred it would be likely the Conservatives would stay the biggest party but with a reduced or perhaps no majority.
‘I am honestly unsure what is driving voters. Perhaps the partygate issue only has resonance in certain areas. Perhaps many do believe in levelling up and see the Conservatives as the better option. Perhaps they remain allied to the Conservatives due to Brexit, which is a problem for Starmer.
‘The expectation was of a Tory rout which does not seem to be as bad as might be expected – at least not yet.
‘Their representation on councils has been pared down but without them losing control in that many places as yet.
‘The big winners seem to be the Lib Dems and Greens not Labour.
‘The curse of Wandsworth might be if it makes Conservatives divide over Johnson remaining as leader, or if Labour take it as a positive and start to feel confident. Both major parties seem to have real problems in winning over voters but it seems to depend on the geography and possibly the demographics of areas.’
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer made a triumphant appearance among supporters in Barnet this morning.
Sir Keir said: ‘This is a massive turning point for the Labour Party.
‘From the depths in 2019 we are back on track now for the general election, showing that the change we’ve done, the hard change that we’ve done in the last two years, what a difference it has made.’
However Tory chairman Oliver Dowden poured cold water on any suggestion that Labour was building towards a national election win.
He told Sky News: ‘Labour are certainly not on the path to power and I believe that Boris Johnson does have the leadership skills, in particular the energy and the dynamism, that we need during this difficult period of time.
‘So no, I don’t think we should remove Boris Johnson as our prime minister, I think we should stick with him.’
Votes continue to be counted this morning, with Bury expected to be the last council to declare at 8.30pm.
For all the latest on the unfolding election results follow our Live Blog.
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