Labour loses London in local election rout

Labour loses London in local election rout

By George Parker and Bob Sherwood

Published: May 2 2008 23:56 | Last updated: May 3 2008 02:11

Boris Johnson swept to power for the Conservatives in the London mayoral race on Friday night, setting the seal on a disastrous round of local elections for Gordon Brown which saw Labour record its worst performance for a generation.

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Philip Stephens

Philip Stephens analyses Labour’s defeat in the local elections in England and Wales

Mr Johnson’s victory ended Ken Livingstone’s eight-year reign in City Hall, as the idiosyncratic Labour incumbent struggled to defy a nationwide voting trend which saw a huge Tory surge elsewhere in the country.

The former journalist was propelled to victory by a large turnout of Tory voters living in prosperous outer suburbs of London such as Bromley. He won 1,168,738 votes after second preference choices were allocated.

Mr Livingstone, whose support was based on inner boroughs, won 1,028,966 votes including second preferences. His voice cracking with emotion, Mr Livingstone said he took sole responsibility for failing to win a third term.

The comments damped Labour fears that Mr Livingstone, a long-time foe of the prime minister, might turn against Mr Brown in the coming days, blaming him for a defeat which also saw 331 Labour councillors lose their seats in local polls in England and Wales.

Mr Brown on Friday vowed to “learn the lessons” of Labour’s town hall meltdown, as muttering against his leadership intensified after

The prime minister was on Friday the target of much of the blame for the rout. This saw Labour’s share of the vote collapse to 24 per cent, with Conservative leader David Cameron claiming his party’s success in winning 44 per cent of the vote represented “a big moment”.

Cabinet ministers freely admitted that Mr Brown’s bungled scrapping of the 10p tax rate was a big factor in persuading Labour supporters to stay at home or switch their vote, but others were more critical.

Derek Wyatt, Labour MP for Sittingbourne and Sheppey, spoke for other colleagues representing marginal seats when he said: “Gordon has committed spectacular own goals and the public is punishing him for it.”

Mr Wyatt claimed the local results represented a “John Major moment”, a reference to town hall polls in 1995 which presaged the Conservative party’s general election collapse two years later.

One government minister not known for disloyalty to Mr Brown told the Financial Times : “There is a deeper malaise to do with the character of the government. What you can’t have is a government without charisma and without clear policies.”

In spite of the avalanche of criticism, Mr Brown is not expected to face a leadership challenge and on Friday prepared for a long haul to political recovery, aimed at an election in 2010. “My job is to listen and to lead and that’s what I will do,” he said.

Mr Brown’s camp hopes that one positive result of the sweeping Conservative gains across the country is that Mr Cameron’s programme for government will now be subject to greater scrutiny.

The Tory leader, visiting the scene of party triumphs in the midlands, north and Wales, hailed the advance but said the Conservatives needed to convince voters they were ready for power.

The prime minister is also pinning his hopes on an economic recovery, but other political challenges lie ahead, including this month’s by-election test in Crewe and Nantwich.

Mr Brown faces possible rebellions over his plan to hold terror suspects for 42 days and, if he fails to explain how he intends to compensate up to 5.3m losers, over the abolition of the 10p tax rate.

Meanwhile Labour MPs will be increasingly anxious, as they consider their fate at the next election. On the results of Thursday’s elections, the Tories claim they could win the parliamentary seats of cabinet ministers including Ed Balls, James Purnell, Ruth Kelly and John Hutton.