Is there a thread for local election results watchers?

[BottleBlondeMachiavelli]

IDK if I’m just useless with this app or there isn’t a dedicated thread yet.

Ive only just braced myself to turn the coverage on, though, so maybe everyone is being similarly avoidant?

North Tyneside Mayoral Labour won by 444 votes.

Presenter Tom somebody but comenters from Conservatives, Labour, and an analyst. Each hour they change the commentators, earlier a different Conservative person, different Labour person, a Reform and a Lib Dem peer.

I’ll have a peek after Runcorn - if they are actually going to announce a result.

I doubt I’ll last until the Doncaster result.

OT but did I just see a Maga hat paired with a suit at Runcorn?

And we have a recount. FOUR votes in it for Runcorn. I’m glad I’m off tomorrow. It will be a full day of coverage.

Can't stomach Reform.

Why have the English become so right wing compared to rUK?

No, im not a fan either.

The problem is England has, on average, always been to the right of Scotland. Scottish Labour votes used to the whole thing in balance. Now it’s all splintering. Scotland are turning back SNP, England is splitting between Labour and Reform, by the looks of things. Tories are all but dead.

Even though Labour have held the mayoralties tonight, it’s close in all of them, very close in two, and Reform are second place in all three.

I know boat immigrants are fuelling support for Reform but tue truth is the boats can’t be stopped.

Meanwhile, Keir isn’t listening even to his own backbenchers.

I just don’t see how this all neatly settles down in the next decade. What a depressing night.

It was close but we have a Labour Mayor... 700 votes ahead of Reform. All the polls had said Reform so relieved. I had actually Conservative as I had thought he had a better chance than the Labour candidate as everyone has been moaning about how rubbish the Labour Council is! He wasn't far behind.

Doncaster? I hope Labour listen to Ros’s criticisms.

Farage is now smiling in Widnes.

I just can't bear to watch any of it seeing how many people have been taken in by Reform. Surely any person can see that if Nigel Farage is on their side it isn't likely to be the right party to choose?! It's really worrying.

Yes.

I wish I had a party to believe in rather than working out the least bad option at each election or how to keep a certain party out.

Could not agree more.

They just took Runcorn by 6 votes. So that’s now 5 seats in Westminster.

When I’m feeling braver I’ll go and look at the long running Reform thread. I’d love to believe this is rebellion rather than conviction. but…

I'm in North Tyneside. I voted Independent as our candidates seemed genuinely interested in what they were doing. I'm not shocked about Reform gaining so much favour in this area. People are so fed up of labour. Our alternative candidates are slim pickings. Local FB and other social media is going mad. Local residents are claiming its fixed, people accusing voters of going with tradition.
It's all a bit of a mess. I'm disappointed with the low turn out to vote.

We were also supposed to have the Parish elections yesterday but it was an automatic election as there wasn't enough candidates. Is that a common theme?

I see Reform won the seat lost by the Labour MP who thumped a man on a night out (Mile Amesbury). Wonder how Amesbury is feeling this morning…though he never seemed especially sorry he knocked someone out so maybe he doesn’t give a shit his actions have led to a Reform seat.

It's interesting the result in Runcorn. Clearly people who voted Labour last July didn't bother voting this time, perhaps as a protest. The result by the most narrow margin is a Reform MP, another ex Conservative who was ex Mayor of Cheshire East. Extremely low turnout.

My sister voted Green tactically, Lib Dem MP. She lives in an area where Labour doesn't do well, though she's a Labour supporter. Anyone but Con/Reform.

It'll be interesting to see how Reform perform at local level, but I'm reminded of how awful UKIP were.

To add. Runcorn demonstrates that you cannot out Reform, Reform. It doesn't work.

These Reform acceptance speeches were pretty low on content, and not very fluently delivered.

What do you mean?

@BottleBlondeMachiavelli

Labour PPC, Karen Shore, did say that she was going to close the immigration hotel. She later regretted it but it's a move that perhaps lost her votes.

It is quite common to not need a vote in Parish Councils. Like PTAs, they struggle to get people to stand let alone have too many!

Ah yes I see. Ridiculous to try that.

The Labour government getting the basics right and not alienating their own core voters would have been a start.

The problem with Labour is that they haven't done anything for anyone. They haven't brought in any changes that make a difference to the working class who are still as poor and poorly treated as before. The NHS is still not functioning, neither are any other services.

So upsetting the middle and upper classes with what they have done but crucially not useing these changes to benefit the working class.

And therefore letting the awful and dangerous Reform to make gains.

Exactly. Labour is supposed to raise taxes and use the money to do something useful. They raised the taxes but missed the second part.