UK Local Elections, 4th May 2017

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Labour held up a lot better in South Wales than was being predicted or briefed; remain very much the dominant party of local government in the region. Which must be heartening news for their spiritual sister party the Walloon PS!

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The results in general are strikingly un-Brexity, at both ends.

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Labour holds onto Swansea in Wales, Plaid Cymru has now overtaken the Lib Dems for 4th place in total Councillors in Wales.

Labour managed to increase their majority in Swansea.

The present Labour administration in Swansea is - *touches wood* - the first local administration there not to be a total dumpster fire for ages.

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Correct me if I'm wrong but that means Mebyon Kernow has more elected representatives than Ukip...which is A/ hilarious B/ an indications that it is now truly over for the piss stain of a party

Alas no; UKIP still have councillors elected in other years. But MK won more seats than them yesterday!

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County Durham (LAB hold):

Labour 74 (-20)
Independent 28 (+9)
Liberal Democrat 14 (+5)
Conservative 10 (+6)

Kinda lame Tory performance here considering.

This result means there will be some kind of centenary celebration in two years, incidentally.

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but tees valley was a really shock, this is hard rock labour heartland since the 1930s but heavy leave area.

This isn't really accurate; it has a lot of sizeable towns of the sort that are normally Labour but not overwhelmingly (Darlington, Stockton, etc). It isn't all Middlesbrough.

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but tees valley was a really shock, this is hard rock labour heartland since the 1930s but heavy leave area.

This isn't really accurate; it has a lot of sizeable towns of the sort that are normally Labour but not overwhelmingly (Darlington, Stockton, etc). It isn't all Middlesbrough.

what about Hartlepool, Redcar and Sedgefield?
Tories been toxic in those areas and came third in some parts last election

The parts of the Sedgefield constituency in the area covered by this new absurdity are in Darlington borough (and are the most Tory parts of both the borough and the constituency; wealthy commuter towns) and while e.g. Hartlepool has usually been Labour since the War it isn't bedrock in the way that (say) the Durham pit villages are. Not that I'm saying this is anything other than a poor result, it's just that the reality of Teesside and how it is generally depicted don't really match.

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Steve Fisher, the Oxford academic who works with Prof John Curtice on election analysis, says Theresa May is going into the general election with a bigger lead in projected national share (PNS - see 2.53pm) than Margaret Thatcher had before the 1983 and 1987 elections.

Not comparable as those local elections were not held during the campaign. In fact there's nothing to compare these ones to; very unusual situation. And someone bandying themselves about as an Academic Expert should bloody well know that. Not impressed.

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Anyway, in 1919 the Labour group won a majority of seats on Durham County Council* and elected Peter Lee as its first Labour Chairman (the first of any County). Labour have retained control ever since (though without a majority for 1922-25; Lee was still Chairman during those years). So the return of a Labour administration this year means that 2019 will mark a century of continuous Labour power in Co. Durham. Not the most important news of the day, perhaps, but worth remarking properly on.

_{*Of course the old Durham County Council had better boundaries for Labour than the present one - it included the whole coalfield up to the Tyne (minus the County Boroughs), and did not include either the the City or the south bank of Teesdale - but whatever.}

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The pattern of Labour won wards is pretty striking isn't it lol.

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The pattern of Labour won wards is pretty striking isn't it lol.

Isn't it

Also need a picture of a pithead, but...