In all, there will be elections for: 10 directly elected or metro mayors; 2,636 council seats across 107 local authorities (comprising 31 city boroughs, 18 unitary authorities and 58 district councils); 25 members of the Greater London Assembly; and 37 police and crime commissioners.
Each of the major parties will have their own private hopes and fears about the outcome, and will apply the usual spin to the results. However, there are some clear benchmarks for each party, and implications for the timing of the general election by Rishi Sunak, and for electoral strategies.
What would a good result for Rishi Sunak look like?
The results are bound to be pretty dismal, and some degree of panic and speculation about his leadership will ensue. The question is: how dismal, and how much panic? Many of these contests were last fought in 2021, when the vaccine rollout and post-lockdown relief gave Boris Johnson quite a boost, so the Conservative performance is almost certain to be down on that. The uncertain variable is what constitutes losses that are “too high” to continue without a change of leader, or what results are bad enough to trigger a vote of no confidence.
This story is from the May 01, 2024 edition of The Independent.
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This story is from the May 01, 2024 edition of The Independent.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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