![]() ![]() The praise has been so loud that many are saying that she is likely to be the next leader of the Conservative Party if Rishi Sunak loses the next general election. She told Times Radio last week that she had been doing push ups to prepare for holding the 3.6kg sword upright for over an hour.Īdulation came from across the political spectrum, and she was hailed as an excellent representative of the British parliament in the ceremony broadcast around the world. She was the first woman in history to carry the sword - which symbolises royal power - at the coronation. She had the starring role because she is Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Privy Council - the King's advisory body. Penny Mordaunt - or "Penny Sword-daunt", as she has been dubbed - was widely praised for her ability to hold a notoriously heavy 17th century sword upright throughout the ceremony, as well as her fashion choice. The answer to that question, according to the betting odds, is quite possibly. So it was certainly Labour's most successful night in a long time, but is it enough to get them into government? That said, the Sky News projection by Professor Michael Thrasher shows that, based on these results, Labour would get 298 seats at a general election - its highest since the winning 2005 general election - but 28 short of a majority. There is no doubt that it was a very good night for Labour, particularly considering how their support had cratered at the last general election. Sir Keir Starmer and his shadow cabinet members have claimed that this shows that they are "on course" to form a majority government after the next general election (see 8.52 post). Labour gained 528 seats and are now the largest party in local government. Under 150 gains: A step backwards for Labour.250 gains: A disappointing result for Labour in the context of recent opinion polls. ![]() 450 gains: These results would be better than in 2022, when local elections took place in Greater London.Labour would look on its way to becoming the largest party in Westminster, even if short of a majority. 700 gains: The best local elections for at least a decade.So to spin these results as any other than catastrophic for the Conservatives would be a very difficult sell. The government is trying to sell it as mid-term blues, and culture secretary Lucy Frazer claimed that Tories are "gaining the trust" of the British people, and that Rishi Sunak is "getting the country back on track" (see 9.17 post).īut our political editor, Beth Rigby, discovered that 1,000 losses as worst case scenario was just their PR spin - 700 losses was internally viewed as the worst case. The Conservatives lost over a third of the seats they were defending. The Conservatives lost 1,064 seats - so it was worse than a "very bad night". 1,000 losses: A very bad night, with a third of all seats defended by the Conservatives lost.750 losses: This would indicate a clear swing to Labour, but still less than opinion polls imply.500 losses: The party could argue "mid-term blues" and will assume Labour could be caught before the general election.Fewer than 300 losses: This would see the party winning council seats back from Independents, with Labour and the Lib Dems not prospering.Here are the performance benchmarks - and how each party actually did: There were 8,000 seats up for grabs in the 2023 local elections that took place on Thursday.Īround 70% of the English electorate was eligible to cast a ballot, and it gave us a real indication of what we might see at the next general election.
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