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London mayor election: Labour high hopes for Sadiq Khan win UK 'Super Thursday' elections: Corbyn allies pin hope on Sadiq Khan win
(about 2 hours later)
Senior Labour figures began sparring about the meaning of Thursday’s elections from the moment the polls closed on Thursday, with Diane Abbott claiming that a victory for Sadiq Khan in the London mayoral race would be a vindication for Jeremy Corbyn. Jeremy Corbyn’s allies have seized on Labour’s likely victory in the London mayoral race as a vindication of his leadership, despite the prospect of a tough night for the party in elections across the rest of the UK.
With Labour facing its first nationwide electoral test since Corbyn won the leadership overwhelmingly last year, a win in London could be one of the few bright spots as the results are declared. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell, speaking after the polls closed at 10pm, said: “Labour has fought a strong campaign, working hard for every vote, standing up for working people who have been let down by the Tory party.”
Khan has sought to distance himself from Corbyn during the campaign – including criticising his failure to “get a grip” on antisemitism – and party insiders pointed out that the pair had made few joint appearances, and his leaflets made no mention of the Labour leader. But Abbott said that in the capital “more people have heard of Jeremy than have heard of Sadiq: in London, it’s all about Jeremy”. He stressed that Labour’s key target was to cut the Conservatives’ lead in the share of the vote nationally. “If we can narrow that gap, we will demonstrate steady progress,” he said. “What we are looking to do is build over the next four years so that we steadily, steadily build our support and then we are ready for 2020.”
Khan is widely expected to become the first Muslim mayor of London, after a bitter campaign in which his Conservative rival, Zac Goldsmith, was accused of trying to smear him as a “radical”. But oppositions historically tend to pick up seats in mid-term local elections, and despite McDonnell’s bid to play down expectations, Corbyn’s critics have repeatedly said he should be aiming to gain several hundred local council seats.
Khan told the Guardian: “Today was a chance for Londoners to vote for hope and unity, not fear and division. Tomorrow I hope our city has a mayor for all Londoners, not a mayor for some.” Dudley MP Ian Austin, a former minister, said: “We should be making real progress across the country – including winning back disaffected Labour voters who chose the Tories or Ukip in 2015. We’ve been working really hard here in Dudley and we need to win hundreds of seats elsewhere.”
Labour trails in Scotland Alison McGovern, chair of the Progress group of MPs, said: “We shouldn’t be losing any councils. Labour is providing real leadership in the face of grim Tory incompetence and austerity. We can’t afford to start losing that.”
Elsewhere in the country, Labour faces a testing day as the results are declared. Labour could fall into third place in Scotland behind the Conservatives and faces a battle to retain control of Wales. In England, the party is on course to lose scores of council seats, according to the latest opinion polls. Sadiq Khan was widely expected to win the London mayoral race, after a bitter campaign in which the Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith suggested he was a “radical”.
Speaking as the polls closed, shadow chancellor John McDonnell said: “Labour has fought a strong campaign, working hard for every vote, standing up for working people who have been let down by a Tory party which has shown that they can’t be trusted to stand up for working people.” Khan had sought to distance himself from Corbyn during the campaign – including criticising his failure to “get a grip” on antisemitism.
Oppositions historically tend to make significant gains in local elections as voters use them to attack the government; and Corbyn’s critics inside the party have insisted that it should be chalking up hundreds of gains in local elections at this stage in the parliament. But shadow international development secretary and key Corbyn ally Diane Abbott told the Guardian that in the capital, “more people have heard of Jeremy than have heard of Sadiq. In London, it’s all about Jeremy”.
Former minister and Dudley MP Ian Austin said: “We should be making real progress across the country – including winning back disaffected Labour voters who chose the Tories or Ukip in 2015. We’ve been working really hard here in Dudley and we need to win hundreds of seats elsewhere.” Andrew Boff, the Conservative leader on the Greater London Assembly, criticised Goldsmith’s campaign. He told the BBC’s Newsnight it had “done real damage” and had “blown up” bridges the Conservative party had built with London’s Muslim communities.
Voting around the UK By midnight, it was hard to tell how Labour was faring across the rest of the UK, with very few seats declared. The party cheered news that it had held the safe councils of Newcastle and Sunderland.
Voters up and down the UK went to the polls, with Scotland electing a new government at Holyrood, where Nicola Sturgeon hopes to consolidate the Scottish National party’s grip on power; Wales electing a new assembly, and 2,743 local council seats in England up for grabs. Nick Forbes, the leader of Newcastle council, said: “the feeling here is that people are remaining loyal to Labour, and clearly the talked up Liberal Democrat revival hasn’t happened here”.
There were also two byelections in safe Labour seats: Ogmore in Wales, where Huw Irranca-Davies stepped down to contest a Welsh assembly seat; and Sheffield Brightside, where the sitting MP, Harry Harpham, died earlier this year. Several other cities, including Salford, will elect mayors, and 41 police and crime commissioners will be selected. In Scotland, Alex Salmond, the former SNP leader, suggested Labour could be driven into third place, and the SNP could even win a clean sweep in Glasgow, driving Corbyn’s party out of what was once a traditional stronghold.
In Wales, a poll carried out for ITV suggested Ukip had performed well, with the EU referendum campaign forcing the issue of immigration up the agenda. The party, which has poured resources into the battle in Wales, was projected to take up to eight of the 60 seats in the Welsh assembly. Nigel Farage, the Ukip leader, described it as a “breakthrough night” for his party.
Elsewhere in the country, Labour faces a testing day on Friday as the results are declared, and there were signs even from among Corbyn’s core supporters on the Labour front bench last night that there is growing disquiet about his style of leadership, and whether his team have the right skills to manage the party.
Andy Burnham, the former Labour health secretary, confirmed during the evening that he was seriously considering standing as the mayor of greater Manchester, when elections are held next year as a battery of new powers are devolved to the city as part of George Osborne’s “Northern Powerhouse”.
Burnham’s allies insisted that he would remain in the shadow cabinet, and continue to serve Corbyn, for the time being; but the news will underline fears that Labour big beasts with governing experience could decide to leave Westminster rather than wait for the party to win back power.
There were also two byelections in safe Labour seats: Ogmore in Wales, where Huw Irranca-Davies stepped down to contest a Welsh assembly seat, and Sheffield Brightside, where the sitting MP, Harry Harpham, died earlier this year. Several other cities, including Salford, will elect mayors, and 41 police and crime commissioners will be selected.
Labour insiders will be picking over the results for evidence of whether Corbyn’s anti-austerity message is helping the party to make progress towards a general election victory in 2020.Labour insiders will be picking over the results for evidence of whether Corbyn’s anti-austerity message is helping the party to make progress towards a general election victory in 2020.
The Conservatives will also be watching the electoral map carefully, to gauge whether their own loyal voters have been turned off by David Cameron’s enthusiastic endorsement of the remain campaign for the forthcoming EU referendum, which will follow just weeks after Thursday’s polls. The Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson confidently predicted her party will come second, and Scottish Labour’s leader, Kezia Dugdale, is now facing the possible embarrassment of guiding her party to third place at a Holyrood election, putting Labour behind the Tories in Scotland for the first time in more than a century. That would immediately raise challenges to her continued leadership of the party, and fuel further attacks on Corbyn’s leadership at UK level.
Cameron’s party has faced a series of setbacks in recent months, including a budget that unravelled within days, as the chancellor withdrew plans for controversial cuts to disability benefits; and business secretary Sajid Javid’s fumbled response to the threatened closure of the Port Talbot steelworks.
‘We shouldn’t be losing any councils’
Corbyn’s team insist that the vote share in the 2015 general election is the right baseline from which to judge whether they are making progress, arguing that the last time these council seats were contested, under Ed Miliband’s leadership in 2012, was a “high water mark”. But the leader’s critics say he should be getting hundreds of gains.
Alison McGovern, chair of the Blairite Progress group of MPs, said: “We shouldn’t be losing any councils. Labour is providing real leadership in the face of grim Tory incompetence and austerity. We can’t afford to start losing that.”
Some shadow ministers warned on Thursday that the mood among council leaders, even in traditionally safe Labour areas, was bleak, but other MPs said they were upbeat about the possibility of making progress.
Abbott, who had been out door-knocking in Hackney, said: “It’s a lovely day, which is always good, polling is brisk, people are very positive, we’re getting the thumbs-up wherever we go.”
Ian Murray, the shadow Scottish secretary and Labour’s one remaining Scottish MP, sounded an optimistic note about Edinburgh South, the one Holyrood constituency seat Labour believes it can win.
“This seat is probably our best chance of winning one in Scotland,” he said. “The weather’s good, the turnout seems to be good in the places where we want it to be.”
The final poll of the Scottish election campaign, by YouGov for the Times, recorded a fall in support for the Scottish National party, though it still gave them a sizeable lead over Labour and the Tories, who remain neck and neck in the race for second place.
With Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson confidently predicting her party will come second, Scottish Labour’s leader, Kezia Dugdale, is now facing the possible embarrassment of guiding her party to third place at a Holyrood election, which would put Labour behind the Tories in Scotland for the first time in more than a century. That will immediately raise challenges to her continued leadership of the party, and fuel further attacks on Corbyn’s leadership at UK level.
Shadow ministerial sources said there was very little chance of a coup against Corbyn until after the EU referendum poll on 23 June, however. One said Dan Jarvis and Angela Eagle both appeared to be “organising hard” and people associated with them were having “hypothetical conversations” with MPs about support if they were to challenge Corbyn.Shadow ministerial sources said there was very little chance of a coup against Corbyn until after the EU referendum poll on 23 June, however. One said Dan Jarvis and Angela Eagle both appeared to be “organising hard” and people associated with them were having “hypothetical conversations” with MPs about support if they were to challenge Corbyn.
One Labour MP said the only exception to that would be if Sadiq Khan loses in London, the party loses control in Wales and comes third in Scotland in a toxic combination of bad results that could trigger shadow cabinet resignations.One Labour MP said the only exception to that would be if Sadiq Khan loses in London, the party loses control in Wales and comes third in Scotland in a toxic combination of bad results that could trigger shadow cabinet resignations.
The Conservatives will also be watching the electoral map carefully, to gauge whether their own loyal voters have been turned off by David Cameron’s enthusiastic endorsement of the remain campaign for the forthcoming EU referendum, which will follow just weeks after Thursday’s polls.