Luke Akehurst

May 7, 2024 | labourlist.org | Luke Akehurst

Every year since 2011, I have written a preview of the local elections and a scorecard after the elections referring back to it. You can see my preview article here. Some years, it is difficult to gauge the bigger picture because different indicators are pointing in different directions, or Labour’s performance is different in different regions. This year, as in 2023, it is a bit easier to write, as all the indicators point in the same direction.

Apr 3, 2024 | labourlist.org | Luke Akehurst

In the run-up to every set of May elections when there isn’t a simultaneous general election, I write a preview of the local elections, including historical data so we can benchmark Labour’s performance. I’ve been doing this since 2011. This year is the smallest set of local elections in the four-year cycle, and definitely the last before the general election. Around 2,592 councillors are being elected across 107 councils. This compares to 8,500 councillors elected in 2023.

Mar 28, 2024 | lukeakehurst.blogspot.com | Luke Akehurst

The first substantive item at the full NEC meeting on 26March was David Evans’ report as General Secretary. David said he wasdisappointed that the General Election had not been called for 2ndMay as the staff were all ready to fight it. Now the local elections andGeneral Election would be fought sequentially. There was a live possibilitythat Sunak would lose control of the Tory party and be forced into a June orJuly election to forestall a leadership challenge.

Feb 18, 2024 | labourlist.org | Luke Akehurst

After a testing week, Labour has come roaring back with two thumping byelection wins in Kingswood and Wellingborough, the latter with the second highest swing from Conservative to Labour since 1945. Keir Starmer now holds arguably the best by-election success record of any post-war Labour leader (seven gains and only the one early loss in Hartlepool in 2021), and the opinion polls have been steady at a Labour lead of 15 to 20 points.

Jan 24, 2024 | lukeakehurst.blogspot.com | Luke Akehurst

The NEC meeting on 23January began with obituaries and eulogies for Derek Draper, Glenys Kinnock,Tony Lloyd and Alan Rogers. Our first substantiveitem was to conclude the NEC’s work on the Forde Report by receiving a finalpaper on progress on its implementation from Vidhya Alakeson, Director ofExternal Relations. This report noted that154 of Forde’s 165 recommendations have been completed, and only 11 had beenconsidered but would not be being progressed.