UK: Liberal Democrats win local elections

For Ed Davey (pictured), his party's push in these elections is historic.

REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth/File Photo

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2 mins

Great Britain wakes up on the morning of May 7 with the full results of Thursday's local elections.

The election promised to be bad for the conservatives, and it was ultimately the center-left party of the Liberal Democrats who emerged victorious from this meeting.

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With our correspondent in London,

É

meline Vin

The Liberal Democrats won more than 200 more seats across the country, a push that party leader Ed Davey called historic.

And especially noticeable in the south of England, in the area known as the “blue wall”, where two local councils have swung in their favor after years of conservative power.

Very symbolic losses

For the Tories, precisely, the objective was to keep the seats, not even to win them.

But they lost nearly 500, a quarter of the total.

And this in very symbolic neighborhoods.

Example in Wandsworth, which former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher described as “the 

jewel in her crown 

”, and known for its local tax, the lowest in the country.

Very poor performance also in Scotland and Wales.

Local executives everywhere attribute the defeat to the damaged image of Boris Johnson with the British.

A word about Labour's opposition.

The leader, Keir Starmer, welcomed excellent results, it is true that the rose party took over almost all of London and remains the first formation locally.

But it only swelled its ranks by a hundred seats, half as many as the Liberal Democrats (LibDem).

Breaking the rules of confinement?

And Labor also sees a new front opening up: the Durham police confirmed yesterday, Friday May 6, that they were reopening their investigation into Keir Starmer.

The leader of the opposition would have participated - with his troops - in a festive meal in April 2021. It was prohibited at the time.

But especially if the accusations are proven, it would look like the Downing Street parties, for which Keir Starmer is calling for the resignation of the Prime Minister.

►Also read

: United Kingdom: opposition leader under investigation for breach of containment

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