Squeezed Middle: detangling the local elections

The Power Test

In the aftermath of last week's local elections, Sam Freedman and Ayesha Hazarika, together with author and Political Science Professor Rob Ford, look at what the results might mean for a future Labour government on this week's episode of The Power Test podcast.

Under the surface of a very good set of elections for the party, and another very bad few days for the Tories, Ford, who was part of the BBC's elections analysis team, suggests however there are a few trends that may give an early warning to some of the challenges the party may face in power. In particular, the willingness of the left to be "much less partisan and back other options" such as the Green Party which now has a "serious and credible base in local government - having quadrupled the number of councillors they have in the last five years".

Sam warns that the party may therefore find itself squeezed in the middle - between a more centrist leadership trying to play to Red Wall voters, and others at the same time trying to defend from a rising left flank.

"If I'm a Labour MP in Hastings or Stroud or places like that where the Greens are coming on very strong and I'm in a Labour government that is being tough on benefits because that's what the newspapers want us to do, and not spending money, I'm going to start getting nervous pretty quickly that I'm going to lose my voter base."

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