Labour to launch local election campaign in key marginal council

Today is Labour’s local election launch. The launch is taking place in Swindon and will feature Angela Rayner and Keir Starmer, who will urge attending activists to “show people the difference Labour can make”. Swindon borough council is currently Conservative controlled (as are both of the town’s parliamentary seats) but with seats in all wards (Swindon operates a thirds system) up for grabs in May and a strong performance at the last set of elections, Labour fancies its chances to make a difference in Swindon and take control of the council.

A range of councils across England will be up for grabs on May 4th, from Liverpool city council – where, despite concerns about potentially losing ground, Labour is very unlikely to lose control – to marginals like Bolton, where the Conservatives hold the council with an advantage of just four seats, and Plymouth, where level pegging between the Conservatives and Labour was destroyed in December following a twin by-election defeat for the Tories. Labour will hope to build on the gains it made then and take control of the council – something even the city’s Tory MPs have called for amidst the chaos following the December results. A strong performance at last year’s locals – in London, Labour took Westminster, Wandsworth and Barnet councils – was a shot in the arm for Starmer’s leadership last May, and with Sunak proving a far steadier hand than his two predecessors Labour would no doubt be eager to put some gains on the board alongside its good polling. Starmer went big on local autonomy with his new year message to “take back control” and put power into the hands of local bodies and results showing that Labour is trusted around the country will provide useful evidence and animation for his pledge.

The Labour leader is set to announce today that Labour would, if in government, freeze council tax this year to tackle the cost of living crisis. Starmer is expected to say: “A Labour government would freeze your council tax this year – that’s our choice. A tax cut for the many, not just for the top 1%. So take this message to every doorstep in your community: Labour is the party of lower taxes for working people. That’s the difference we can make. That’s the choice in May. A better Britain.”