Now that the mild interruptions of the Local Elections are out the way for the majority of the UK, it will be business as usual for all concerned. Manifestoes will be getting a final polish before being released into the wild, as will the candidates needed to spread the words of the gospel contained therein.
Local Elections-Results so far
At midday on Friday with a mere 1/3 of the votes counted, the clear winner is certainly the Conservative party, with the best local election showing in decades, gaining so far 150 seats; so no great surprises there then?
Labour have lost 130 seats and appear on very shaky ground with a whole group of others. One minor light for them in a dark tunnel is that they have managed to keep hold of their supremacy in Wales, retaining control of Cardiff, Newport, and Swansea councils.The Liberal Democrats are doing surprisingly well, which certainly in the early part of the main General Election campaign, it seems they have been gaining support mainly at the expense of UKIP. And UKIP, well, bookmakers have probably stopped taking bets on today's, or indeed any future performance. Having lost all of the 44 seats they were defending, and no new gains, it will be a very close run thing if they avoid a total wipe-out. The votes from Scotland are as yet an unknown factor, as results have yet to be declared!
Where is the opposition coming from?
No doubt the champagne corks must be popping at Conservative party HQ, in Mathew Parker St, SW1, at the very thought of what will be the outcome for the party proper in 5 weeks time. The Lib Dems must at least have a smile on their faces knowing that someone somewhere must be listening to the early messages they have been giving out.
Labour have fumbled and stumbled, but that has been the nature of their campaigning thus far. And as for UKIP, a lot of their candidates must be looking to clear their desks from rented constituency offices, even before any results are called on June 8th.
Even the most disinterested bystander is by now wondering, exactly where is the opposition going to come from to stop a Conservative wipe-out come June?
The election is flat, without the depth of passion it deserves and certainly, anyone racking up support for something, anything that they believe in, that will stop Mrs. May. People vote for those who have a vision, and who have the desire and the drive to win. Those who have fiery principles that they can enthuse others with and above all make them believe.
All parties, winners, losers or complete losers have to re-group, re-configure and decide on what tactics they will use in the weeks of campaigning left in order to turn local losses into national gains. And for goodness sake get a bit of passion chaps...
