May newsletter note

Author: Liam Booth-Smith   |  

This note from the Chief Executive is from our May newsletter. You can read the newsletter in full here and register to receive it straight to your inbox on our homepage.

As I write the Conservatives have won control of Derbyshire. The Tees Valley mayoral race is neck and neck and in Birmingham reports coming from the count say it’s too close to call. For the vanquished this moment should be the nadir but it doesn’t feel that way. The local elections have put Labour on the floor, the next five weeks will see if they actually fall through it.

I’ll leave analysis of the local elections for another time but what this means for the general will unfold in the next few days. The results we have suggest ‘until now’ projected Conservative breakthroughs in Labour strong holds are proving true. I wonder to what extent this will alter the strategies of either main political party. Having worked a few elections I know the emotional state you’re in after a defeat and it’s not one conducive to going out and knocking on doors. Will Labour’s volunteer army really want to follow General Jeremy into battle so soon after this defeat?

Up next will be the manifestos, supposedly launching in a week or two. Thankfully for all political parties Localis has been busy putting out policy recently so you’ll find reports below on housing and childcare reform. Plus, we’ve put together our ’10 ideas to create a strong and stable economy’.

Finally, spare a thought for the election agents. I’ve been one, it’s knackering and thankless. By the end of the campaign you’ve likely upset your volunteers and candidate to keep the show on the road. Most will have spent the last 12 hours staring at their opponent’s stacks of votes turning into tower blocks, whilst theirs barely gets above a bungalow. ‘The candidate is the horse, the agent is the jockey’ I was told the first time I was an agent. What they didn’t tell me is in elections the horse rides the jockey. To the election agents, winners or losers, enjoy a good night’s sleep.

Liam Booth-Smith
Chief Executive