Five Important and Outrageous Takeaways From England's 2018 Local Elections

Local council elections in England have dominated today’s headlines in the UK, with the results potentially offering an indication of how major parties may perform in the next general election, which is scheduled to run in 2022. Sputnik reviews the most remarkable events of the 2018 England Council Elections.

 

Anti-Semitism Scandal Limits Labour’s Gains

Pre-election polls forecasted a strong performance from the Labour Party, particularly in London, with the leftwing party even expected to challenge the Tories for the key London boroughs of Westminster and Wandsworth – two Tory strongholds.  

However, although Labour were able to win seats in a number of contested boroughs, it wasn’t enough for them to take control of them, with many, including party leader Jeremy Corbyn, attributing their lackluster performance to the ongoing Anti-Semitism scandal, which has plagued the party.

READ MORE: Key Corbyn Supporter Savages Critics Over Anti-Semitism 'Smear'

The party also lost its majorities in Derby, and Nuneaton and Bedworth, while also conceding seats, but not their overall majority, in Sheffield.

Black Death UKIP

The UK Independence Party (UKIP) suffered an abysmal performance throughout England, with the party winning just three seats and losing over 100.

Although the results are undoubtedly yet another blow to the Eurosceptic party, UKIP’s General Secretary Paul Oakley insisted that the party will make a return after a period of being “dormant,” likening them to the Black Death, which killed up to 30 million people according to estimates.

READ MORE: UKIP Tells Sputnik It Expects to Win Seats in 2022 Despite 'Unfair System'

"Think of the Black Death in the Middle Ages. It comes along and it causes disruption and then it goes dormant, and that's exactly what we are going to do,” the senior UKIP official said on Friday.

Polish Pride Party

For the first time, voters in London had the opportunity to vote for candidates from the Polish Pride Party, which was set up earlier this year by Prince John Zylinski, to protect the rights of EU citizens in the UK, among other things.

The party pledged to “heal” London and build a million homes. Other, more controversial policies include the abolition of council tax and illegalization of Europhobia.

Despite EU citizens being allowed to vote in local elections, unlike general elections, the party failed to gain significant support or traction.

Tory Survival

As a consequence of the anti-Semitism scandal which has mired the Labour Party in controversy, the Conservatives managed to maintain seats and majorities in a number of London boroughs they were expected to lose.

Barnet Council was widely expected to fall to Labour, but, according to councilors and local activists,  the Tories managed to cling on purely because claims of anti-Semitism being rife in the Labour Party’s ranks cost its candidates support and votes.

READ MORE: Labour on Course for Best Performance in Local Elections in 40 Years — Poll

Although the Conservative Party performed better than expected, it still lost out to Labour in terms of overall councils in England, with the Tories possessing a majority in around 1,200 councils, while Labour now controls over 1,700 councils.

#DogsAtPollingStations

Voters bringing their dogs along to polling stations to take snaps of them for social media has become something of a tradition in the UK.

In line with previous elections, #DogsAtPollingStations began trending on social media platforms, such as Twitter and Instagram, pretty much as soon as voting commenced across England.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan joined in, posting a photograph of him and his dog, Luna, outside a polling station in the capital on May 3.

 

Luna’s first trip to a polling station! Open until 10pm. You can find out details about where your nearest polling station is here: https://t.co/FX4Wl4qqQa #PollingDay #Dogsatpollingstations pic.twitter.com/FSRVhZr8XC

— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) May 3, 2018