Posted on 14-6-2004

UK Labour Takes A Beating
bt Patrick Wintour, June 12, 2004, The Guardian

A badly mauled Tony Blair was last night facing emphatic backbench calls
to return to the domestic agenda and display a new respect for his party
after Labour suffered its worst 24 hours at the polling booths since the
mid-70s.

Although there was better news for Labour last night when Ken Livingstone
won a second term as London mayor, the near massacre in the party's
heartlands led to backbench demands for a change of course, rather than a
new helmsman. Some Labour MPs also urged Mr Blair to delay a general
election until 2006 giving further time for the wounds of Iraq to heal and
improvements in public services to become incontrovertible.

Labour fell to third in the share of the vote with 26%, lost more than 460
councillors and relinquished control of seven councils, including
Newcastle upon Tyne, Trafford, Doncaster and for the first time in 25
years the party's showpiece council of Leeds. Labour has never previously
lost Doncaster, and Newcastle was a stronghold for 30 years. Even in
Barnsley, Labour only clung on by one seat.

A BBC survey of selected wards suggested the result equated to a 38% share
of the popular vote for the Conservatives, followed by the Liberal
Democrats on 29% with Labour trailing in third place on 26%. Other surveys
put the Tories even higher. It is thought to be the first time that the
governing party has been forced so far back into third place in such a big
test of public opinion.

The turnout in the local elections was estimated to be up by an average of
9% on last year's polls to 40% overall. In the four regions taking part in
trials of all-postal ballots turnout was up by 13%, the BBC reported.

In London, Ken Livingstone narrowly hung on as mayor for a second
four-year term, but will struggle to retain control of his budget after
Labour slumped in the London assembly. Directly after his victory, Mr
Livingstone was congratulated by Mr Blair in a telephone call from
America, where he was attending Ronald Reagan's funeral. Victory was only
declared after second preference votes were counted because none of the 10
candidates got more than 50% of the vote. Mr Livingstone was re-elected
with 828,380 first and second preference votes, ahead of the Conservative
Steve Norris with 667,178.

There was a 37% turnout among the 5.2 million people eligible to vote in
London, up from 33.5% in 2000. But there was a huge number of rejected
votes - 385,952 in the mayoral election and 167,071 in the London Assembly
election.

Speaking in Washington about Labour's generally poor showing, Mr Blair
said: "I think it's a question of holding our nerve and seeing it through
- and realising that, yes, Iraq has been an immensely difficult decision.
"In respect of the basic performance of the government, I think our
response should be to make sure we carry through and implement the radical
programme we have introduced."

The chancellor, Gordon Brown, said: "We need to listen, learn and reflect.
One of the lessons I already recognise is that we need to work even harder
as a government".

In unusually frank comments that reflected the extent of government
jitters, John Prescott, deputy leader, described the result as "a kicking"
and the home secretary, David Blunkett, said he was "mortified and
appalled".

The mood among Labour backbenchers was similarly despondent. Two Labour
backbenchers, Eric Illsley and John Mann, told the Guardian that Mr Blair
must consider delaying the election until 2006.

Mr Blair will meet his backbench critics on Monday, by which time he is
likely to have suffered further reverses at the European elections.

Labour is taking solace that Muslims in Birmingham, Bury and Wolverhampton
did not turn to the Conservatives as a vehicle to punish Mr Blair for his
foreign policy. By contrast, in areas where Liberal Democrats were the
chief challengers, the anti-war middle class and Muslims deserted Labour.

Clare Short, the former international development secretary, called on Mr
Blair to stand aside. "I think that the electorate is sending a message to
Tony Blair because the Labour party is incapable of correcting him. What
he did in Iraq has brought disgrace and dishonour on Britain around the
world," she said. She added: "As Tony Blair won't change the policy, the
only way to make a correction is for him to step aside from the
leadership."

Crucially, Labour hopes the verdict on Iraq will soften if the coming
transfer of sovereignty improves internal security and Iraqi leaders
visibly take the helm. Mr Blair will make a set piece speech on domestic
reform in the next two weeks.

The Liberal Democrats insisted that yesterday's results were a precursor
to general election victories. Charles Kennedy, rewarded for his decision
to make the local elections a verdict on Iraq rushed to Newcastle, the
scene of his greatest triumph. He said: "Iraq is symptomatic of a
permanent loss of trust."

Despite their gains, the Tories failed to reach the kind of share of the
vote that would make them serious contenders for power. Michael Howard
said: "We are now represented up and down the country in the cities where
we want to play an important part."