The results of Thursday’s elections in the U.K. to a spectrum of offices — from State Assemblies to mayoral posts to councils — have not sprung any major surprises.
The prophesies of doom by the political establishment and the mainstream British media on the electoral prospects of the Labour Party under the new politics of its leader Jeremy Corbyn have been belied; the Scottish National Party has held its own for a historic third time in the Scottish Parliament; the Liberal Democratic Party is seeing the beginning of some green shoots after an arid year; and the U.K. Independence Party has made small gains, including a few seats in the Welsh National Assembly.
The spotlight is, however, on the Labour Party, which was predicted by politicians and media pundits to perform so badly that a leadership change would become inevitable. Mr. Corbyn insisted the party had “hung on” and done better than expected in Wales and England.
In Scotland, the SNP won 63 seats but fell short of an absolute majority, which they won in the last elections. The Labour Party, which suffered a virtual rout of its base in the 2015 general elections, won 24 seats (less 13), losing its place as the official Opposition party in the Scottish Parliament to the Conservative Party, which won 31 seats (16 more).
In the elections to the Welsh Assembly, Labour has retained its majority, winning 29 seats out of 60 . It retains 35 per cent of the vote, down 8 per cent from the last elections. The losses to Labour and the Conservative Party are gains for the UKIP, which has marked its presence for the first time in the Assembly with seven seats.
In the 124 councils up for elections in part or whole, Labour has lost seats but gained in vote percentage from the last elections.
