The counting of votes is still under way but it seems clear that the Conservatives are paying the price for their savage cuts programme and the Liberal Democrats are being severely punished for selling their support to the Tories for a miniscule bit of power like so many cheap hookers (although I feel that is being a little harsh on hookers because they have more integrity).
Labour must be rubbing their hands in glee at the result but they must keep in mind that the voters may well have been using them as a protest vote against the Coalition much in the same way as the Liberal Democrats were used during successive Tory or Labour administrations. Also bear in mind, that the voter turnout figures were low; for the local examples in Thurrock, we see the highest turnout being only 35.51% in Corringham & Fobbing and the lowest being 19.25% in Tilbury St. Chads. For the full results of the Thurrock elections, go to http://www.thurrock.gov.uk/democracy/content.php?page=service_news&ID=4313.
Nationally, several councils that were under No Overall Control (NOC) have swung over to Labour control, a clear sign that the Coalition partners are seen in a very dim light. If the voter turnout figures follow a similar pattern to those in Thurrock, the level of voter apathy is even higher than usual and must be an indication of almost wholesale disaffection in the entire process of elections. This disaffection could be due to the electorate finally believing that there is no one who can truly say represents them. The three main parties are getting less and less in touch and the smaller parties have no hope of gaining any significant power, a sign that the age of party tribalism is ending, perhaps?
The indications are that the next General Election will be a vicious affair with a battle to the death for all concerned in order to get the votes they need. Casualties will be high. The question is – will the casualties be the electoral candidates or the members of the UK electorate?
Until next time…
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