"Tories find reasons to be cheerful despite election bloodbath" - Extreme Tory distortion of reality. [View all]

[barbaraann]

On track to lose 500 council seats, Conservatives point to Labour’s failure to win control of Harlow council – by one seat

The Conservatives were on track to lose up to 500 council seats and Labour made gains across traditional Tory territory in the south. But Downing Street insiders were keen to point out that Labour failed to win control of Harlow council, a top target Keir Starmer had visited on the eve of polling day. The Conservatives held it by one seat. Ben Houchen also won a third term as Conservative Tees Valley mayor, despite a 16.7 point swing to Labour, and Andy Street was predicted to hold on to the West Midlands mayoralty on Saturday.
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The Tories hailed hanging on to Harlow as an enormous triumph, with the local MP Robert Halfon saying it was the “biggest comeback since Lazarus”. But the council only remained under Tory control by one seat thanks to the re-election of a councillor who was suspended last month over remarks he made about Muslims. The Conservative party refused to respond to queries about whether he had been readmitted.

Meanwhile, the swing towards Labour in Tees Valley would, if replicated at a general election, wipe out all Tory-held battlegrounds there. “This all means a definite Labour government with at least a reasonable majority,” another Tory insider said.

Senior Labour aides point out that the Tories who appear to have performed best – Houchen and perhaps Street, who will find out the outcome of his election on Saturday – effectively campaigned as independents, disowning the Tory leadership and record in Westminster. Houchen was not wearing a blue Tory rosette for his victory speech on Friday and said he could “absolutely” work with Starmer were he to become prime minister.
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https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/may/03/tories-reasons-to-be-cheerful-despite-election-bloodbath

I've been glued to the UK election results coverage and cannot get over how Sky News AND the BBC are pounding the Tees Valley win. It's just crazy. Rishi Sunak showed up for a video op with Houchen and Houchen did everything he could to physically distance himself from Sunak. Sunak is just another expert right-wing propagandist who doesn't seem to have an actual soul.