Local elections deliver Brexit bashing for Britain's May and opposition

By Guy Faulconbridge and Elizabeth Piper

 

Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at the Scottish Conservative conference in Aberdeen, Scotland, Britain May 3, 2019. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne

 

LONDON (Reuters) - English voters frustrated with the deadlock over Brexit punished both Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives and the main opposition Labour Party in local elections, results showed on Friday.

 

Thursday's voting for seats on local councils in England provided a stark display of how Britain's 2016 vote to leave the European Union has split voters beyond traditional party lines.

 

Brexit has damaged the standing of the big parties, both of which are internally divided over how or even whether to lead Britain out of the EU, and have struggled to deliver a coherent message to voters on either side.

 

"It just seems voters, period, saying: 'A plague on both your houses'," said John Curtice, Britain's leading polling expert.

 

Frustration sometimes boiled over. One audience member shouted "Why don't you resign?" before May addressed Conservatives in Wales. Some ballot papers were spoiled, with voters refusing to vote for any of the parties.

 

With all of the English results counted, the Conservative Party had suffered a net loss of 1,332 seats on local councils that were up for re-election, down by around a quarter. Labour, which would typically aim to gain hundreds of seats in a mid-term vote, instead lost 81.

 

The main beneficiaries of the swing against the two main parties were the pro-EU Liberal Democrats, who campaigned on a straightforward demand for a new referendum, aiming to reverse Brexit. They had won 700 councillors, more than doubling their seats. The Greens, who also back a second Brexit referendum, gained 194 seats.

 

The pro-Brexit UK Independence Party (UKIP) lost seats, but its former leader has set up a new Brexit Party, which was not contesting Thursday's vote and had called for supporters to stay home or spoil their ballots.

 

Britain was meant to have left the EU on March 29, but after parliament repeatedly failed to back May's agreement on the exit terms, she was forced to seek an extension.

 

Brexit is now due in October, and May is negotiating with Labour to find a compromise. Talks next week are not expected to reach a breakthrough.

 

But growing numbers of people on one side want to quit the EU abruptly with no deal, and on the other side hope to avert Brexit altogether, options that neither big party's leadership has backed to the frustration of many of their activists.

 

The result suggests the two main parties could be in for a drubbing at elections for the European parliament, which Britain is set to hold on May 23 because it has so far failed to leave the EU. The Conservatives and Labour will face an array of parties luring away their activists with straightforward pro- and anti-Brexit positions.

 

The BBC projected that, if the local election results were replicated across Britain, both the Conservatives and Labour would get 28 percent of the total vote.

 

"JUST GET ON AND DELIVER"

 

Labour sources said their party had little to fear from the results so far, saying it was always going to be a "tough" battle in councils that traditionally favour the Conservatives.

 

Tough was also the word the Conservatives used to describe the local elections, with some pinning the blame for the party's bad showing on the deadlock in parliament, which has rejected May's Brexit deal three times.

 

May told her party in Wales: "There was a simple message from yesterday's elections, to both us and the Labour Party: just get on and deliver Brexit."

 

In rare agreement was Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who said there was now a "huge impetus" on every lawmaker to "get a deal done ... Parliament has to resolve this issue. I think that is very clear."

 

It is still unclear how the Brexit deadlock might be broken, though some say May might call a general election, a prospect Curtice said could end in another parliament where no party has an overall majority.

 

The Conservatives had been bracing for big losses in Thursday's elections - which could revive calls for May to step down and for a change in Brexit policy. Local media said the result was the worst showing by the Conservatives for more than 20 years.

 

"People have very categorically said that she is part of the problem," former Conservative minister and Brexit supporter Priti Patel told BBC TV. "I think we need change, I don't think we can continue like this."

 

Many Conservative eurosceptics fear the newly launched Brexit Party of former UKIP leader Nigel Farage, which did not contest the local polls but is expected to do well in the European elections later this month.

 

That has encouraged some to call for the government to take a tougher stance on Brexit and demand a clean split with the EU.

 

For Labour, others suggested the party should move to supporting a second referendum, noting that the Liberal Democrats had benefited from their clear-cut stance.

 

"We've seen gains in both Remain and Leave areas, with huge swings to us in both former Conservative and Labour seats," Luisa Porritt, a LibDem councillor, told Reuters.

 

"Given our unapologetically anti-Brexit stance, this bodes very well for the upcoming European elections."

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-05-04

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neither main party is able to deliver the brexit that was promised as it was fantasy. Now all we have is various brexit options that will damage our already fragile economy to differing degrees - no politician  wants to deliver any one of these because they know they will be punished by the electorate for doing so, no matter how many people say it's what they want.

 

May incompetence  has has brought this on us, by her trying to ride a poplurest tiger she could not control  and conjuring red lines out of the ether which sounded good, but locked her on the course to her present deal which satisfies neither side.

 

There is no way forward.

 

The country is split for a generation.

 

The only way is back to where we were before .

 

No deal is not a way forward as it will pretty soon morph into May's deal imposed on us by the EU in exchange for not completely crushing our economy. It will also lead to the breakup of the UK as we know it. 

 

personally I think we need to revoke article 50 and reset. If we still want to do brexit, have a discussion on it  and decide what we want out of it first, with a realistic consideration of the probable costs, not the fantasy that was talked about last time.  

 

 

 

An off topic post has been removed. 

The Tories and Labour (Brexit backers)  took a beating, UKIP lost 80% of its seats.

 

Liberal and Green (Remain backers) gained massively.

 

In what mangled logic does that tell anyone the public want the hover to get on with Brexit.

1 minute ago, Chomper Higgot said:

The Tories and Labour (Brexit backers)  took a beating, UKIP lost 80% of its seats.

 

Liberal and Green (Remain backers) gained massively.

 

In what mangled logic does that tell anyone the public want the hover to get on with Brexit.

Opinion polls constantly showing Brits do not want Brexit.

Estimated 1 million protesters in London calling for a second referendum.

Over 6 million sign Revoke Article 50 petition.

BoE warnings over the damage Brexit will do to the British economy.

 

And even when they get probably the biggest kicking in political history they still do not understand we no longer want Brexit.

 

 

Opinion polls constantly showing Brits do not want Brexit.
Estimated 1 million protesters in London calling for a second referendum.
Over 6 million sign Revoke Article 50 petition.
BoE warnings over the damage Brexit will do to the British economy.
 
And even when they get probably the biggest kicking in political history they still do not understand we no longer want Brexit.
 
 

B of E..one of the biggest liars re project fear b4 the ref.
No doubt once again trying to look after their finsncially well healed friends.
Cairney is ex gkodman sachs I believe

Sent from my SM-G7102 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

33 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said:

The Tories and Labour (Brexit backers)  took a beating, UKIP lost 80% of its seats.

 

Liberal and Green (Remain backers) gained massively.

 

In what mangled logic does that tell anyone the public want the hover to get on with Brexit.

oh come on Green got hardly any seats 90 which we know they will lose next time around ,, mind you Brighton loves them .

13 minutes ago, Basil B said:

Opinion polls constantly showing Brits do not want Brexit.

Estimated 1 million protesters in London calling for a second referendum.

Over 6 million sign Revoke Article 50 petition.

BoE warnings over the damage Brexit will do to the British economy.

 

And even when they get probably the biggest kicking in political history they still do not understand we no longer want Brexit.

 

 

Yea Right ,keep on dreaming . May lost 1000 seats because she did not give us Brexit .

6 minutes ago, malagateddy said:

B of E..one of the biggest liars re project fear b4 the ref.
No doubt once again trying to look after their finsncially well healed friends.
Cairney is ex gkodman sachs I believe

Sent from my SM-G7102 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app
 

Brexit bankrolled by a handful of tax shy Billionaires, Multimillionaires and hedge-fund managers.

 

Be assured, they have their own and the interests of their hyper wealthy chums in mind.

 

Employing Old Etonians to con cap differs to back them is pure genius.

 

You are being played and you are begging for more.

 

 

35 minutes ago, bert bloggs said:

Yea Right ,keep on dreaming . May lost 1000 seats because she did not give us Brexit .

That’s why people voted for pro European-parties instead? I guess in the world of pink unicorns that makes sense. 

 

Brexit is dead. No one wants this project of some old angry losers. 

3 hours ago, tebee said:

neither main party is able to deliver the brexit that was promised as it was fantasy. Now all we have is various brexit options that will damage our already fragile economy to differing degrees - no politician  wants to deliver any one of these because they know they will be punished by the electorate for doing so, no matter how many people say it's what they want.

 

May incompetence  has has brought this on us, by her trying to ride a poplurest tiger she could not control  and conjuring red lines out of the ether which sounded good, but locked her on the course to her present deal which satisfies neither side.

 

There is no way forward.

 

The country is split for a generation.

 

The only way is back to where we were before .

 

No deal is not a way forward as it will pretty soon morph into May's deal imposed on us by the EU in exchange for not completely crushing our economy. It will also lead to the breakup of the UK as we know it. 

 

personally I think we need to revoke article 50 and reset. If we still want to do brexit, have a discussion on it  and decide what we want out of it first, with a realistic consideration of the probable costs, not the fantasy that was talked about last time.  

 

 

 

The brexit that was promised was called "leaving the EU". The only thing that needs revoking is Theresa May.

10 minutes ago, bert bloggs said:

Yea Right ,keep on dreaming . May lost 1000 seats because she did not give us Brexit .

Wake up...

Your nightmare was for real.

 

Tories lost over 1,300 seats Over half the seats they held, where did they go??? certainly not to the Ultra right wing Brexit party (UKIP) who lost 5 out of ever 6 they held.

 

So where did they go???

Most of them went to the LibDems and the Green parties, both Remain parties.

 

2 minutes ago, nauseus said:

The brexit that was promised was called "leaving the EU". The only thing that needs revoking is Theresa May.

Well I would say both the Tory Party and UKIP have been revoked. ????

To all my UK TV friends:

You are so proud to have a democracy in UK. 

And you always insist that the govt should execute the voting of this referendum. 

However people in UK changed their mind. 

It's time to say Good Bye to Brexit. 

14 minutes ago, nauseus said:

The brexit that was promised was called "leaving the EU". The only thing that needs revoking is Theresa May.

And yet UKIP lost 80% of their seats.

 

Seems voters have figured something out.

55 minutes ago, bert bloggs said:

Yea Right ,keep on dreaming . May lost 1000 seats because she did not give us Brexit .

The Tories got a kicking, as, to a much lesser degree, did Labour.

 

Did they get a licking because people who normally vote Tory simply didn't vote, or did they get a kicking because the people who normally vote Tory voted for someone else?

 

I suspect the latter, but then I would count myself normally as a Tory voter, and at present, I would not vote for them.

 

We may get a clearer idea at the end of the month, should the European Elections be held...

Brexit bankrolled by a handful of tax shy Billionaires, Multimillionaires and hedge-fund managers.
 
Be assured, they have their own and the interests of their hyper wealthy chums in mind.
 
Employing Old Etonians to con cap differs to back them is pure genius.
 
You are being played and you are begging for more.
 
 

I have wanted the UK OUT of the eu for over 20 years..stop waffling on re myself and other brexiteers as you know NON of us personally.
Doffing caps etc..far more appropriate for the citizens of eu subsidy junkie countries.They should doff their caps at the taxpayers of the UK and Germany.
Matter of interest..us Belguim an eu subsidy junkie country???
Have a lovely day.


Sent from my SM-G7102 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

I think it's almost inevitable that the two main parties will settle on a compromise deal this coming week, which could involve relaxing the red lines on the Customs Union and the single market. I don't think parliament has a majority for a referendum on this deal, though, and Corbyn would have to wait for the next GE.

 

Whatever the next week's outcome, Theresa May is too entrenched to resign until she has delivered whatever version of Brexit that would gain a majority in Parliament.

 

The fact that the Lib Dems and Green parties, both of whom campaigned 'Anti-Brexit', won over 800 seats over the Tories, Labour and the UKIP, which seems to be ignored by both May and Corbyn as does the message that the peoples' votes indicate they not want any form of Brexit.

 

Whether that would also prove to be the case if a referendum on a deal is held, is unclear.

    

2 hours ago, Basil B said:

Wake up...

Your nightmare was for real.

 

Tories lost over 1,300 seats Over half the seats they held, where did they go??? certainly not to the Ultra right wing Brexit party (UKIP) who lost 5 out of ever 6 they held.

 

So where did they go???

Most of them went to the LibDems and the Green parties, both Remain parties.

 

They lost a thousand ,greens got 60 wow and the lib dems always do well in local elections just to not vote for the other partys ,but when "real" elections come they are nowhere , its because May did not give us Brexit the cons got a kicking , .

12 minutes ago, bert bloggs said:

They lost a thousand ,greens got 60 wow and the lib dems always do well in local elections just to not vote for the other partys ,but when "real" elections come they are nowhere , its because May did not give us Brexit the cons got a kicking , .

So because May did not give us Brexit everyone decided to vote for anti-brexit parties ?

28 minutes ago, bert bloggs said:

They lost a thousand ,greens got 60 wow and the lib dems always do well in local elections just to not vote for the other partys ,but when "real" elections come they are nowhere , its because May did not give us Brexit the cons got a kicking , .

So if your assertion is correct, why did UKIP get such a kicking losing 80% of their seats?

7 hours ago, tebee said:

neither main party is able to deliver the brexit that was promised as it was fantasy. Now all we have is various brexit options that will damage our already fragile economy to differing degrees - no politician  wants to deliver any one of these because they know they will be punished by the electorate for doing so, no matter how many people say it's what they want.

 

May incompetence  has has brought this on us, by her trying to ride a poplurest tiger she could not control  and conjuring red lines out of the ether which sounded good, but locked her on the course to her present deal which satisfies neither side.

 

There is no way forward.

 

The country is split for a generation.

 

The only way is back to where we were before .

 

No deal is not a way forward as it will pretty soon morph into May's deal imposed on us by the EU in exchange for not completely crushing our economy. It will also lead to the breakup of the UK as we know it. 

 

personally I think we need to revoke article 50 and reset. If we still want to do brexit, have a discussion on it  and decide what we want out of it first, with a realistic consideration of the probable costs, not the fantasy that was talked about last time.  

 

 

 

Do you honestly think us leavers would be happy with that? There'd be civil war if article 50 was revoked.

55 minutes ago, bert bloggs said:

They lost a thousand ,greens got 60 wow and the lib dems always do well in local elections just to not vote for the other partys ,but when "real" elections come they are nowhere , its because May did not give us Brexit the cons got a kicking , .

60, are you sure about that?

 

As pointed out already by others, your reasoning makes no sense whatsoever.

4 hours ago, bert bloggs said:

Yea Right ,keep on dreaming . May lost 1000 seats because she did not give us Brexit .

Blindingly obvious to anyone with sense.

9 minutes ago, jesimps said:

Do you honestly think us leavers would be happy with that? There'd be civil war if article 50 was revoked.

They're not going to be happy with any brexit they get either - this is the problem when politicians promise the impossible.

 

I think more and more people  are getting fed up with brexit, many now just want it to end  and don't really care how it ends as long as it does end !

 

Revoking article 50 is the only way it will end .

 

A crappy deal like tm's we will be dealing with it for 5 - 10 years.

 

No deal will end it, but we will immediately go into negotiations about mitigating the consequences of no deal. We will be dealing with those for a generation or more.

21 minutes ago, stevenl said:

60, are you sure about that?

 

As pointed out already by others, your reasoning makes no sense whatsoever.

And isn't even based on the truth.  From the OP:

 

"The main beneficiaries of the swing against the two main parties were the pro-EU Liberal Democrats, who campaigned on a straightforward demand for a new referendum, aiming to reverse Brexit. They had won 700 councillors, more than doubling their seats. The Greens, who also back a second Brexit referendum, gained 194 seats".

57 minutes ago, jesimps said:

Do you honestly think us leavers would be happy with that? There'd be civil war if article 50 was revoked.

The French protest violently, not the British. The irony, when it did get violent and Cromwell won, it all reverted back to having a monarchy when he died, The English didn't know what they wanted even back then but it cost tens of thousands of lives first and the leaders of the revolt ended up being beheaded themselves.

46 minutes ago, tebee said:

They're not going to be happy with any brexit they get either - this is the problem when politicians promise the impossible.

 

I think more and more people  are getting fed up with brexit, many now just want it to end  and don't really care how it ends as long as it does end !

 

Revoking article 50 is the only way it will end .

 

A crappy deal like tm's we will be dealing with it for 5 - 10 years.

 

No deal will end it, but we will immediately go into negotiations about mitigating the consequences of no deal. We will be dealing with those for a generation or more.

and then go back to rejoining the EU with red faces and worst conditions.

5 hours ago, sawadee1947 said:

To all my UK TV friends:

You are so proud to have a democracy in UK. 

And you always insist that the govt should execute the voting of this referendum. 

However people in UK changed their mind. 

It's time to say Good Bye to Brexit. 

I see it the same way.
3 years was fumbled on Brexit.
What came out?
Only economic damage and social discord.
Which advantages or which important milestones towards a positive Brexit have been realized so far?
I can only see 3 years of wasted time and tons of money / assets / economic relations / social peace were burnt.
It makes no sense to continue riding a dead horse.
From this dead horse the UK should get off.

5 hours ago, nauseus said:

The brexit that was promised was called "leaving the EU". The only thing that needs revoking is Theresa May.

like her or loath her she is still your last slim chance of getting some form of brexit,gove,bojo and JRM will run to the hills and hide rather than be tory party leader,they have made their money and dont want the hassle,if/when may goes the tories will put in place someone who states clearly they want to revoke A50