What would be a good night for Labour?
On eve of poll, I look at what Labour can reasonably expect to win at this round of local elections, and where our hopes should lie.
How is Labour’s local election campaign going?
A week before polling day, I took a look at Labour’s campaign – its strengths (a fantastically energetic campaigning culture continues to grow) and weaknesses (the lack of expectation management and the high watermark set in 2014).
Luke Akehurst: What would good local election results look like?
Luke Akehurst looks at four ways of measuring Labour’s national performance – vote share, raw number of councillors, number of gains or losses, and control of councils. His conclusion: good progress would be over 8,000 councillors, 200 seats gained, control of seven more councils, particularly in the areas we need to gain in a parliamentary election, and gains in rural councils.
Shelly Asquith: Meet Labour’s youngest council candidates
LabourList columnist Shelly Asquith, who is running for council in Westminster this year, interviews four young candidates: Aisha Malik-Smith, Hamza Taouzzale, Will Sheret and Annie Maloney.
A closer look at Labour’s targets…
5 key battlegrounds outside London to watch on Thursday night
Luke Akehurst analyses a handful of the most important marginal councils outside London. How will Labour fare in Calderdale, Dudley, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Plymouth and Swindon?
“Outsourcing and privatisation of services has been a key focus in our campaign,” writes local activist Connor Naismith. “The main battleground for Labour centres around three wards in the Urmston part of the borough – Davyhulme East, Davyhulme West and Flixton. All three have long been held on a knife-edge by three Conservative councillors in each ward.”
On the doorstep in… Kensington and Chelsea
Council candidate Luke Francis reports on how the campaign is going in RBKC, where Labour aims to gain council seats following Emma Dent Coad’s surprise victory in June last year.
“It should be a source of huge optimism that Labour is increasingly ambitious about mounting meaningful challenges in Conservative heartlands. If we are committed to winning power and affecting real change in people’s lives, that battle must be fought in boroughs like ours.”
On the doorstep in… Westminster
Cities of London and Wesminster parliamentary candidate Steven Saxby on campaigning in the Tory stronghold, where Labour hopes to make historic gains on the council.
On the doorstep in… Wandsworth
Local activist Sabrina Huck emphasises the rights of EU citizens on the doorstep in this key London target – and makes the case for its EU residents to vote Labour.
On the doorstep in… Hillingdon
Labour group leader Peter Curling says the party could take back control in Hillingdon, where on the doorstep activists are promoting their “vision of a co-operative council built on mutualism”.
Haringey candidate Lucia das Neves, also joint women’s officer in Hornsey and Wood Green CLP, on how the women in the borough who have experienced austerity shaped the local manifesto.
WATCH – Labour’s party political broadcasts:
2. You can’t have community safety on the cheap
3. The cost of living under the Tories
4. Tory voters explain why they’re choosing Labour
Local election campaign news:
Former Tory councillor tells Barnet to vote Labour
A former Conservative councillor in Barnet told residents to vote Labour for a “significant upgrade” in the quality of their local representatives. Sury Khatri used his valedictory speech to slam the local authority’s “right wing and hard Brexit based” Tory group, which until recently controlled the council.
Corbyn launches free bus travel for under 25s plan
Jeremy Corbyn visits a sixth form in Derby with shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald to launch a new policy: free bus travel for under 25s. “Young people deserve a break.”
Corbyn and Khan blast “reckless” Tory failure to tackle violent crime
The Labour leader and Mayor of London launch Labour’s London campaign with a focus on police cuts. They spoke against the “reckless failure” of the Conservative government’s record on policing and crime, which has seen the number of police officers cut by 21,000.
Corbyn’s full speech at the London campaign launch: “London’s values are Labour values”
“The warmth of London made this once young lad from Shropshire feel at home here. Diversity and respect for each other’s cultures and other religions runs through the capital’s DNA. Nothing and no one will ever be allowed to undermine our fundamental commitment to our city’s multicultural character and history.”
WATCH: Jeremy Corbyn and Sadiq Khan launch London campaign
Sadiq Khan: “The truth that Labour knows and the Tories don’t is that if you keep cutting, sooner or later the fabric that holds our communities together will tear.”
Campaign and comment:
10 top tips for a successful polling day
Wear comfortable shoes, probably don’t use a megaphone, visit elderly voters earlier in the day – and seven other top tips from Luke Akehurst for a victorious polling day.
It’s crunch time – let’s get young people and EU citizens to vote
Activist and new NEC member Eddie Izzard on getting young people and EU citizens to vote in this year’s local elections.
Outsourcing fails public services – Tory Barnet ‘easyCouncil’ chaos is proof
Mike Katz, Labour’s candidate in Hendon in 2017, on the failure of outsourcing in Barnet. “Whether the axe on Tory rule in Barnet comes now, or in seven weeks’ time after the local elections, it cannot come too soon.”
Affordable housing is at the core of Labour’s mission to protect diverse communities
The borough of Wandsworth might be one of the more affluent areas of London, but it suffers from a high level of income inequality that has only been exacerbated under 40 years of local Tory rule, writes candidate Mohammad Zaheer.
“Austerity is a political choice. Enough is enough” – Corbyn launches local election campaign
Jeremy Corbyn’s full speech: “On May 3rd people have the chance to send an unmistakable message to this government that enough is enough. Enough of cuts to vital services that hurt local communities; enough of cuts to schools, hospitals and local policing; enough of library and youth centres closures; enough of leaving elderly and disabled people without essential care; and enough of failed privatisations that suck funds out of public services so a few can make a profit.”
The key to breaking up the old boy network? Job-shares in the Labour Party
Cllr Fleur Anderson and Cllr Candida Jones, joint deputy leaders of Wandsworth Labour group, on the advantages of job-sharing.
Councils are Labour’s most powerful weapon to destroy austerity
Cllr Sharon Taylor, leader of Stevenage Council: “In many ways, it is deeply ironic that the first local authority to have collapsed under the weight of austerity should be Tory-run Northamptonshire County Council.”
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