(Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Rishi Sunak looks safe for now, but after a local election drubbing the battle for the future of the world’s second oldest political party, writes Jessica Frank-Keyes
They say it’s the hope that kills you.
And throughout Friday afternoon and evening, as the Tories hung on in Tees Valley, and whispers emerged of a Conservative upset in London, if you squinted hard and really, really avoided looking at the mounting council losses, there did appear to be a faint glimmer of it.
But on Saturday, as the mirage shimmered and faded away, the dawning realisation, then, must have been all the more painful.
Sadiq Khan romped to victory in the capital, making history as he was elected for a record third term. A Labour loss would have been a virtually unprecedented polling error – even as higher turnout in leafy outer London sent hearts fluttering or prompted mass delusion depending on how you look at it.
While Labour secured a win in the West Midlands even Keir Starmer was taken aback by, calling Richard Parker’s election as mayor “phenomenal” and “beyond our expectations”.
It’s quite something in the wake of an election weekend when an (admittedly somewhat disgruntled) ex-minister feels the need to state on the BBC on Sunday morning that “there is going to be a Conservative party the day after the election”.
But whether or not Paul Scully could have beaten Khan to City Hall is one thing – and I imagine the race would have been much closer. The prospect of wipeout is quite another.
The state of play, then, of the world’s second oldest political party is looking increasingly dire.
Parliament? An 80-seat majority, secured in 2019 amid predictions of a decade in power, now dwindled to just 47, with Labour securing yet another mammoth by-election swing in Blackpool South on Thursday.
Councils? Let’s leave it to the expert. National treasure of pollsters and politicos everywhere, Professor Sir John Curtice
The fight is on for the soul of the Conservative Party
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06.05.2024
(Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images) Rishi Sunak looks safe for now, but after a local election drubbing the battle for the future of the world’s second oldest political party, writes Jessica Frank-Keyes
They say it’s the hope that kills you.
And throughout Friday afternoon and evening, as the Tories hung on in Tees Valley, and whispers emerged of a Conservative upset in London, if you squinted hard and really, really avoided looking at the mounting council losses, there did appear........
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