On 4 June there are elections in 33 local authorities across the country as well as European elections. Without doubt these will be very tough elections for Labour and tougher than most people realise. We need to fight them hard, for the sake of the health of our own party and to protect the excellent work of Labour councils in supporting their residents through the downturn.
The local elections are in Tory heartlands. With a couple of exceptions, all shire counties are up for election and we should expect a show of Tory strength. The Tories will be expecting an exceptionally high vote for a further reason: Labour typically does worse in local elections than national elections and where election turnout is lower. This is the first time since 1993 that these local elections will not fall on general election day. This means that turnout will be much lower and Labour’s strong national vote will not transfer to its council candidates.
These circumstances all point towards an uncommonly challenging set of elections in two months’ time. Yet we need to contest these seats as vigorously as ever. At Glenrothes we taught ourselves again how to fight from opposition. We must do the same, council by council, from now until 4 June and up to the general election.
We are a national party, so there must not be any no-go areas for Labour. Our 1997 platform was built on a political message we took to all parts of the country. I want active local parties everywhere, and Labour council candidates and councillors are central to that aim. The Conservatives ceased to be a party for the whole of Britain in the 1990s, controlling just 14 councils in 1996. Vast areas were without a Tory voice; in Scotland, Wales and in major cities across England. As a result, their local representation died and so did their local party. We cannot afford to see the same happen to us, and we’re still some way from a comparable state. There are still more than 5,000 Labour councillors across the country, with over 1,000 in the 130 or so most marginal parliamentary seats. So, for the sake of a credible national party – and for the European election where every vote counts in the regional total – we need a Labour candidate and campaign for every council seat.
There is a wider imperative to do our best to defend the council seats we have and the county councils we control. Labour in local government has opened up a second front in battling the recession. Labour councils are the ones acting now to help people through these difficult times.
Labour councils are keeping council tax down at the same time as improving and often investing in services. Many are pursuing policies to boost people’s income during the downturn. In Labour Lancashire, which is up for election on 4 June, extra effort from their welfare rights service has led to 564 residents getting the pension credit or income support they are due.
If anyone wants a glimpse of what the Tories would do in Whitehall, look at what they’re doing in county halls: Essex county council is advertising to contract out ‘any and all council services’, from care to education, leisure and roads. David Cameron and George Osborne’s failure to back government action in the face of the recession is not a lack of judgement but a lack of belief in government itself – an approach that would fail the country and fail the people who need support now and hope in the future.
The elections on 4 June will be very tough for Labour. And our fight is not just for the party but for the sake of the families and firms that rely on Labour’s values, action and help through hard economic times.