With elections to the Welsh Assembly due next year, the red lights should be flashing for Labour
With all eyes fixed firmly on Labour’s disastrous performance in Scotland and much of England, last night should set alarm bells ringing for the party in Wales.
In 2010, Welsh Labour suffered what was deemed to be a difficult evening. The results at the time said it all. The loss of four seats saw the party take 26 in Wales whilst the Conservatives picked up an additional five to secure eight Welsh seats in the House of Commons.
Labour’s proportion of the vote fell by 6.5 per cent whilst the swing from Labour to Conservatives was 5.6 per cent.
Going into this year’s election, all the talk had been of Labour making albeit modest gains in Wales. As the final Welsh Political Barometer prior to the polls opening indicated, Labour were supposed to be on course to bag an additional two seats in Cardiff Central and Cardiff North.
With all 40 seats declared in Wales however, the results make for sobering reading. In the only bit of the UK that has a Labour Government, led by Carwyn Jones, the party saw itself make a net loss of one seat in Wales, whilst the Conservatives picked up an additional three to return 11 Welsh MPs.
This all comes on the back of results in last May’s European Elections which put UKIP in second place in Wales, less than 1 per cent behind Labour in the popular vote.
With elections to the Welsh Assembly due next year, the red lights should be flashing for Labour in Wales with election results going in the wrong direction.
Ed Jacobs is a contributing editor to Left Foot Forward. Follow him on Twitter
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83 Responses to “The alarm bells should be ringing for Welsh Labour”
Ben Skipp
Hoping for Tim Fallon for the Lib Dems, hopefully end of Orange Bookers. I think baring a half hearted commitment to austerity Lab campaign was fairly socialist, personally I’d rather see more socialist, but in terms of getting elected I’d rather see centre left.
Mattwales
You lied when you said I blamed the workers and you lied when you said I blamed the unions. You have exactly no moral high ground.
I blamed good old Len *MY* union boss, who’s election would make Hosni Mubarak blush.
As for hating the works you and your fellow travellers have allowed the Tory’s in, the deepest shade of blue you’ll ever see.
We lost. And its on you.
Mattwales
You’re right, that was 2001 not 2005. An honest mistake (you may want to Google that term) Now remind me again. What was the score last night?
Leon Wolfeson
2001 was …413.
I don’t believe you, as you have repeatedly denied your own posts, been dishonest, and are trying to argue that Labour need to be even more like the Tories and hence bleed votes.
Leon Wolfeson
So you said I lied, but then confirmed I told the truth. As you lash out at Unions, and for that matter democracy.
You keep blaming the left, the people who Labour abandoned, for your party getting into power. You are showing arrant PC bigotry against the left as well as hate and fear of workers.
You won, go rejoice, Tory. Labour handed you the victory by moving right, but it’s never enough for you, you demand they go still further right, become ever closer to the Tories.