UK Elections

The 2012 UK elections were nothing out of the ordinary, there was no general election so no change of government. Yet there were still important elections, in May council elections were held across England, Scotland and Wales as well as several mayoral elections and the London Assembly. The election went fantastically for Labour, which was somewhat expected as opposition parties tend to do well in mid-term elections.

Labour received 38% of the vote to the Conservative’s 31% and the Liberal Democrat’s 16%. This meant that Labour gained 823 councillors and 32 councils whilst the Conservatives lost 405 councillors and 12 councils and the Lib Dems lost 336 councillors and one council. It is important to note that Labour gained quite a few councils that previously had no overall control. In London things were different, Boris Johnson won re-election, making him the only Conservative success of the election. Johnson won about 50,000 more votes than Labour’s Ken Livingstone in the final count. The London Assembly was more in line with the rest of the country as Labour gained at the expense of the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. In the Assembly Elections the Green Party did well, replacing the Lib Dems in third place after receiving around 40,000 more votes than them.

In November elections were held for Police and Crime Commissioners across England and Wales, as in these elections people did not vote on party lines, independents did extremely well. Off the 41 PCC positions available, independents won 12, Labour 13 and the Conservatives 16 (despite receiving 250,000 fewer votes). The Liberal Democrats got nothing.

Overall the 2012 elections were very good for Labour, polls show that as the year closes Labour has a 10-15 point lead over the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats are losing third place to UKIP. The next general election will not occur until 2015 so there is plenty of time for things to change. If we keep on track we could have a Prime Minister Ed Miliband.