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Lib Dems the real winners in Thursday’s Local Elections – so what happened across the Black Country?

by Ian Shires on 8 May, 2022

Liberal Democrats were the real winners in Thursday’s Local Election

Infographic displaying Liberal Democrat gains in the 2022 local elections: Cllrs elected in england 711(+191) Cllrs elected in scotland 87(+20) Cllrs elected in wales 69(+11) Lib Dem Majority councils 16(+3)

Across the country people have shown that they are sick and tired of being taken for granted,

Whether it’s the PartyGate scandals, whether it’s Misleading Parliament, whether it’s the cost of living crisis, or running our health services into the ground, people have shown that they are really sick and tired of being taken for granted.

The result is the Conservatives got the drumming they deserved and although Labour took three Councils from the Conservatives in Landon elsewhere across the country they didn’t fair so well. It was the Liberal Democrats who faired the best even the true blue Daily Mail had to admit that “the Lib Dems appear to be the main beneficiaries,” hoovering up an extra 191 Councillors in England, 20 in Scotland and 11 in Wales, and now have 16 Councils with a Lib Dem majority.

The Liberal Democrats are back with a vengeance ! we have 19% of the vote, These are real votes in a real election, not just an opinion pole forecast. This is higher than we’ve seen for years. A net increase of 191 councillors, with more gains than all the other parties achieved put together. We took Somerset in the Blue Wall Tory south-west and we’ve taken Hull from Labour in the North East.

Yes, whilst it was a bad night for the Tories, Labour could have and should have done better, particularly if they see themselves as winning a majority at the next General Election in 2024. In comparison the Liberal Democrats had their best set of results for more than a decade putting us firmly on track to being a force to be reckoned with in 2024. .

But there is still a lot more work to be done, as right across the Black Country we failed to make the breakthrough back onto councils such as Walsall where Labour lost one seat to the Tories who increased their majority and Dudley where the Tories retained control. Wolverhampton and Sandwell remain firmly under Labour control.

We need to take stock, talk with folk to find out why they decided to stay at home rather than trust us to fight their corner. Happy to take your views wherever you might live across across Walsall. One thing is for certain we must find ways to give our diverse communities a real say in their futures.

   2 Comments

2 Responses

  1. Neil Harris says:

    Hi Ian

    A good result nationwide, but nothing locally.
    I’m a Pelsall resident where there wasn’t a Lib-Dem candidate.

    Appreciate, we are staunch Tory around here and even Labour don’t really campaign, but it such a shame that no one even stood.

    Regards

    Neil

    • Ian Shires says:

      Hi Neil
      Thanks for getting in touch and for your feedback. I totally understand your frustration at not having a candidate of choice on the Pelsall ballot paper. It wasn’t for the want of trying, simply didn’t have the resources. Have to admit I felt really annoyed at our lack of presence in an area where I went to school many years ago and where we had a couple of councillors some years ago. Would be good to speak with you, is there a contact number I can call you on.
      Kind regards
      Ian

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