"For two decades, Labour won Hackney's mayoralty by at least a 25-percentage-point margin: the Greens took it by 12 percentage points. They're now bullish about other inner London communities, such as Lewisham and Haringey. In Manchester, they hoped to take six council seats instead they won 17. They made sweeping gains in Sheffield, ousting the Labour leader, and in Newcastle."
"Labour's high command gambled that a vicious smear campaign against the Greens would lower their vote. Yet Zack Polanski's insurgents look well positioned to replace Labour in large swathes of its urban heartland. Keir Starmer believed that if he could crush the left within Labour, he would be able to expel it from politics for ever. The Greens have proved him wrong."
"So far, on the right, the results seem clear enough: an excellent night for Reform UK, and a potentially dangerous, not-quite-disastrous one for the Conservatives. In 1990, victory in Westminster and Wandsworth allowed Margaret Thatcher to put a brave face on a terrible set of local election results. Kemi Badenoch fell two seats short in Wandsworth this time, but retaking Westminster may do her a similar service."
"But despite picking up seats in a few places, the overall results as they stand are dire for the party. Unlike last year's rout, which the Conservatives could at least comfort themselves was fought in places last contested during Boris Johnson's 2021 pomp, this week's elections were last fought in 2022, at the height of Partygate, so they were already bad results by historic standards."
Greens made strong gains in urban communities, winning Hackney’s mayoralty by 12 percentage points after Labour had won by at least 25 points for two decades. They also performed well in Lewisham and Haringey, won 17 council seats in Manchester instead of expecting six, and made sweeping gains in Sheffield and Newcastle. They increased vote share in Stockport, Oxford, and Exeter. Labour’s leadership had gambled that a smear campaign against the Greens would reduce their support, but the Greens appear well positioned to replace Labour across much of its urban heartland. Meanwhile, Reform UK made gains in small-town England, and Conservatives faced dire overall results despite picking up some seats, with Westminster retaking seen as potentially helpful for party morale.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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