It’s still early days and the bulk of the results are yet to be declared (notably those from Scotland and Wales), but a couple of things are already abundantly clear from the English local elections that took place yesterday. It has been a disastrous night for Labour – much worse than their worst fears according to some insiders – and Reform have done very well, winning seats (but not many councils,yet) across the country from both Labour and the Tories.
The first past the post electoral system has, so far, not helped the Greens win the numbers of seats they were hoping for, though the party has been winning support from Labour, as voters sickened and dismayed by the party’s rightward drift have deserted Keir Starmer’s failing enterprise in their droves. This is a significant development as it shows that people want an alternative and to see real change. Given that to be the case, this ought to provide an opportunity for the organised left. However, the well-documented chaos that is Your Party – a chaos which has also included its leaders backing non-socialists and fakers (eg in Newham, Tower Hamlets and elsewhere) – has seen the party fail badly to mobilise all those desperate for change.
The election results should also be seen as a total rejection of neo-liberal Labour. The party’s leaders have expunged the left from its ranks – aided and abetted by the mainstream media who have enthusiastically taken part in a traducing of radical politics – and embraced the status quo. There is unlikely to be any real revival for the left in Labour and although the siren calls will now go out from many sources for Starmer to go (and go he most certainly should), simply replacing Starmer with Andy Burnham, Angela Rayner or any of the other wannabe leaders in waiting is no serious solution, no matter how much what’s left of the left in the party try to pickle up such developments as a revival in its fortunes.
Even at this early stage, what’s looking to be the key takeaway from these election results is the success of Reform which many commentators are calling unprecedented. They are right to use that description. Not only is the success of a party on this scale that openly espouses racist policies unprecedented, it is also a deeply worrying development and a very dangerous moment for anyone on the left. The likely relatively low turnout in these elections highlights once again the alienation that many people feel with established politics. The left needs to find a way to tap into that. And quickly. We’ll be writing about that and analysing what needs to be done elsewhere in The Left Lane over the days and weeks to come.
For now, as the results continue to flow in, it’s important to reflect that there is serious work to be done to push back the tide of reaction that could be ushered in as a result of these elections. In addition, the left also has to contend with and counter the ongoing global right wing narrative by Trump that has been exported to the UK and enabled by the most right wing reactionary Labour prime minister and party in history – and one that is totally in hock to the interests of big business and the establishment.
We are not just living in interesting times, these are dangerous times too. They are times that call for an organised response. That means more community organising with politics at its centre and a much-needed revival of the left and trade union activism. With the establishment media giving a disproportionate platform to reactionary voices like never before, this also means that independent media like The Left Lane is even more important in documenting, explaining and highlighting solutions to address the situation that we’re in.
Do support us financially if you can and keep reading our analysis of the election results and other key political and social developments over the days ahead.
