The victory Sadiq Khan as mayor of London completed this Saturday the overwhelming advance of the Labor Party in the municipal elections partial elections held on Thursday in England and leaves the conservatives of Rishi Sunak at its worst ahead of this year’s general elections.
Labor retains more mayoralties
In addition to London, Labor took over other English mayors this Saturday, including Liverpool, Greater Manchester and South Yorkshire, all in the north. As the results continued to come out, the map of England turned red, the symbol of Labor.
When the results of 103 of the 107 councils at stake have been announced, Labor controls 48, eight more compared to the 2021 elections, while the “Tories” lost ten and control six and the Liberal Democrats won two and are They were left with twelve, while the rest correspond to other formations.
In percentage terms, Labor is up 5% ahead of the 2021 municipal elections, but the Conservatives have lost up to 13% and the Liberal Democrats are up 2%. In this electoral event, only 107 of the 318 town councils in England have voted.
The fall of the Conservatives is stronger if we take into account the number of councilor positions they have lost in these municipal by-elections in England, the most populated area of the United Kingdom, and that They have served to know the opinion of the electorate in view of the general elections scheduled for this year.
The Palestine factor
Despite the progress, Labor had difficulties in places with a strong presence of Muslim populationslike Oldham, on the outskirts of Manchester, something that analysts link to the position of its leader, Keir Starmer, about the conflict in the Middle East. For some Muslim voters, Starmer’s position has not been firm in condemning Israel’s intervention in Gaza.
A calculation by the Sky chain indicates thatdespite the Labor victories, they would not achieve an absolute majority if Thursday’s voting trend is maintained in general elections, which are held by the simple majority system in a single round.
In the British capital, and as the polls had anticipated, Khan won with 44% of the votes, followed by the “Tory” candidate Susan Hallwith 33% of the ballots, while the rest corresponded to other parties, according to the results released this Saturday, which also indicate that electoral participation was 40.5%.
Thus, Khan achieved a third term as first mayor, after making history in 2016 when he became the first Muslim mayor of Londona metropolis with more than eight million inhabitants, in which 44% of the population is part of an ethnic minority.
“Prepared to govern”
Upon being declared the winner, Khan stated that the Labor Party is “prepared to govern again” and asked the Conservative prime minister to call a general election.
“For the last eight years, London has been swimming against the tide of a Conservative Government and now, with a Labor Party that is prepared to govern again under Keir Starmerit’s time for Rishi Sunak to give the public a choice,” he said.
“A general election would not only pave the way for a new direction for our countrybut would bring to life the bold actions that Londoners want to see,” he added.
“I also have a message for those Londoners who did not vote for me this week. I promise that I will always be a mayor for all Londoners and that I will take very seriously the duty I have to represent the interests of each community,” he stressed.
“Our brightest days are ahead,” Khan said after the Labor politician’s victory was made official. The 53-year-old mayor also promised to work to make the city “greener” and “cleaner” and continue to be a “beacon” of tolerance and the “best” in the world.
In the campaign, Khan assured that he will maintain the decision to expand the ultra-low emissions zone (ULEZ, in English), which requires the payment of a fee for the most polluting vehicles, a measure that received criticism and that Susan Hall had promised to eliminate.
Despite the defeat, Sunak seems to have been saved from a rebellion in his party. Analysts highlight that Sunak has managed to avoid for the moment the threat of an insurrection by his party’s deputies after the “Tories” won the Mayor’s Office. Tees Valleyin the northeast of England.
Ben Houchen He won that mayor’s office, although in his campaign he tried to distance himself from Sunak and the conservatives by highlighting his political figure and his electoral promises. When his victory was announced, Houchen did not wear the traditional blue Tory shield on his lapel.
Conservative MPs have not begun to comment, as expected in the face of a landslide defeat, on the need for Sunak to be replaced as party leader and British prime minister.
Although the deadline to call the British elections is set for January 28, 2025, the head of the Government has already said that his intention is to have elections at the end of the year. Voting intention surveys give a clear advantage to Starmer’s Labor, with 43% support, compared to 24% for the Conservatives.
