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
83 Responses to “The alarm bells should be ringing for Welsh Labour”
Leon Wolfeson
Labour are in the same situation as PASOK. They’re no longer a real leftist party, and won’t be seen as such. The only reason they’ve hung on in England and Wales is FPTP means there’s no real alternative.
In Scotland, they suffered what PASOK did in Greece. They’re the past, and should get out the way so a new leftist party can form.
Leon Wolfeson
Blaming workers is exactly the wrong answer.
The Blairites are to the left of where Labour is, and Labour’s policies were Pale Blue – they got only the tribal parts of the left wing, most of which stayed at home.
You are arguing for further moves right.
Leon Wolfeson
The Tories barely increased their vote share, losing nearly as many voters to UKIP as they got from the LibDem Orange Bookers moving over.
And they barely scraped out a majority in Parliament. So…no.
Leon Wolfeson
71%? No, it’s never been *remotely* that high.
Leon Wolfeson
Of course it is. The people urging it to go even further to the Tories ignores the fact that Labour lost because they went right – turns out the Orange Bookers, who fled the LibDems for the Tories don’t give Labour the time of day.
So Labour got the PASOK treatment in Scotland.
The only reason they didn’t get the same in England and Wales is there’s no left-wing alternative, thanks to FPTP.