This broke a long downhill trend in the number of councils we control and the number of Labour councillors.
This is important not just because councils control the delivery of vital local public services but also because there is a relationship between the number of councillors a party has and the strength of the party’s local campaigning machine. Councillors have a vested interest in campaigning harder than ordinary members so more councillors creates a virtuous circle that wins more seats at other electoral levels, including parliament.
Nationally Labour gained control of a further 14 councils and gained 393 councillors.
The gains were most dramatic in London, reflecting the London Labour party’s success in holding parliamentary key seats and the fact that every seat was up for election rather than the one third in the metropolitan boroughs in the Midlands and the North. Labour gained control of the boroughs of Brent, Camden, Ealing, Enfield, Harrow, Hounslow, Islington, Southwark and Waltham Forest. This was the best result for Labour in London local government since the heyday of New Labour. Labour now has majority control of “London Councils” with control of 17 of 32 boroughs. Control of two more, Croydon and Merton, was only narrowly missed. Barking & Dagenham and Newham returned 100 per cent Labour councils with the BNP wiped out in Barking & Dagenham. Minor parties such as Respect and the Greens lost almost all their London seats and the Lib Dems lost most of their inner-London power base. The Tories were reduced to zero seats in five boroughs, and to groups of under ten in six more boroughs.
In the mets, despite the softening effect of electing only a third of councillors, Labour gained control of Coventry, Doncaster, Hartlepool, Liverpool and St Helens. The Tories lost control to NOC (No Overall Control) of Bury and Solihull. The Lib Dems lost Sheffield to NOC. Together with the loss of Liverpool this means that Nick Clegg’s boast about controlling a swathe of major northern cities now rings hollow. In Stoke Labour gained 13 seats and the BNP were beaten in all the wards they stood in.
In the south east Labour gained control of Hastings and Oxford, and held Slough and Stevenage, all areas where the local parties have a very strong campaigning tradition, proving that despite the loss of seats in the region in the general election, Labour remains a truly national party.
Which means we take back control of London Councils which means Merrick Cockell will have to concentrate on the RBKC in the future and that joke of a Mayor, BoJo, will, hopefully get a rougher ride. What is always of interest is the continuing rise in the fortunes of Slough Labour Party. The returned MP, Fiona Mactaggart, increased her vote and we took another two seats.