- Kate Whannell
- Political reporter, BBC News
‘We need to do more’: Culture secretary on Tory local election loss
The government needs to reflect and do more, culture secretary Lucy Fraser said after her party’s crushing defeat in UK local elections.
Some Conservatives blamed Rishi Sunak after the party lost more than 1,000 MPs in Thursday’s vote.
But Mr Fraser told the BBC that despite a rocky start to the Tory campaign, voters “started to trust Rishi Sunak”.
Labor Party leader Wes Streeting said the “best is yet to come” for his party.
The party gained control of 22 councils, including important battlefields such as Medway, Swindon, Plymouth, Stoke-on-Trent and East Staffordshire.
Asked if the party had made enough progress to form the next government, Streeting said those who voted for smaller parties in these local elections will be the next general elections scheduled for 2024. He argued that he would switch to the Labor Party at
If their share of the vote repeats in the general election despite winning in key areas, Labor may fall short of an overall majority and rely on forming a government in partnership with other parties. Some suggest that there is
Streeting has not ruled out a coalition with the Liberal Democrats, saying Labour “is not in the ballpark to talk about a coalition government”.
He also said changing the voting system by introducing proportional representation would not be included in the Labor manifesto.
On the same show, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey – he also enjoyed Series of positive results for Thursday He rejected a coalition with the Conservative Party, but rejected a coalition with the Labor Party.
He added that it was a “hypothetical question” and that it “does not take voters for granted.”
The SNP said the MP could keep the balance of power in view of the possibility of parliament hanging in the upcoming elections.
Streeting: Labor Not in the Ballpark of Talking Coalition
SNP Westminster Deputy Leader Mhairi Black said, “A strong team of SNP MPs will put Scotland in the lead in the UK’s minority government”, adding that “Keir Starmer’s pro-Brexit party is increasingly linked with the Conservatives.” As it becomes indistinguishable, the SNP will drag Labor out,” he added. Left party. ”
Laura Kuensberg explains Labor hopes the Republicans will win a lot of support next year and believes any discussion of a coalition will be pointless, while the Conservatives want to spark debate on the issue.
Asked whether the Conservative government would change after the party’s poor performance, Mr Fraser said: “We definitely need to reflect” but added: I’ll see,” he said, arguing that voters would regain faith in the party.
She said that although it had only been six months since Rishi Sunak became prime minister, the public was “slowly starting to trust the government and Rishi.”
She also said the results need to be seen in the context of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, which she said affected the cost of living crisis.
However, following the results of the local elections, some Conservative parties, both at home and abroad, began to question the direction of the government.
veteran party member Sir John Redwood tweeted: “Last Thursday, many Conservative voters went on strike.
The Conservatives lost votes to Labor and the Liberal Democrats, but also to the Greens. The Green Party achieved its best-ever result in local elections in central Suffolk, where it won the party’s first-ever majority in the UK parliament.