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”
Closedshop
Just to add as well, respected pollster Peter Kellner says that around 60% of the UKIP voter base would be defined as working class.
Pointing out that they have a very good chance of sweeping through Labour heartlands in the post industrial areas is just reflecting the results rather than personal hopes.
Leon Wolfeson
Most of the far right is “working class”. So are a lot of the older people who have gone to the UKIP. So is a large chunk of the vote which came to them from the Tories – along with a richer “polite” set, more “Farage’s people”.
Personal hopes don’t come into this, at all.
The realities are the Scottish vote and the local vote in that area.
Leon Wolfeson
Ah, they’re to your left. And perhaps, but because they’ll draw on the Tory vote.