Southport journalist Martin Hovden writes: One thing is certain about the results of the Sefton Council elections on Thursday: Labour will retain control of the borough.

Even with the recent defection of five Labour members in the Maghull area, the 43-strong Labour Group still has nearly twice the number of councillors than all the other parties put together.

But there could be a few surprises here in Southport. Seven seats are up for grabs and special attention should be paid to two wards – Birkdale and Kew.

Earlier this week BBC election guru Sir John Curtice urged people to compare this week's results to last year's, rather than when the seats were last fought in 2018 (the first local elections for then Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn) if we want an accurate reflection of how people feel about the current national political scene.

As a result Thursday's result will be a real litmus test of people's view of Boris Johnson and his involvement with Partygate, the cost of living crisis, the Ukrainian war etc.

And if there is a backlash against the Prime Minister, there's bound to be a domino effect on Conservative candidates all over the country.

So watch out for the result in Birkdale. Tory activist Lee Durkin came within 26 votes of winning the seat last year (he lost to Labour's Sonya Ann Kelly who won with 1125) and has been very active in the ward since then. Will his share of the vote drop dramatically if people have a negative view of Boris Johnson? Or have people moved on and forgiven the PM?

Add to this the person fighting to hold onto his Birkdale seat is Liberal Democrat war horse Ian Brodie-Browne and the battle gets even more interesting, especially as Lib Dem votes tend to come at the expense of Labour. So will Labour and the Lib Dems split the vote, allowing the Tories to win?

The Kew result will be a test of Sir Keir Starmer's leadership of the Labour Party. Just a few weeks ago, sitting Labour Councillor Janis Blackburne was all set to fight the election, when out of the blue she was told by Labour's regional office that she had been suspended because of her support of tweets by former leader Jeremy Corbyn.

As I said then, it was a disgrace that Southport Labour Party failed to say a word about the treatment of Janice Blackburn, nor any acknowledgement of the work she had done in the ward.

Labour was quick to parachute in a new candidate in the form of Laura Lunn Bates. Until the suspension of Janice, Laura was fighting hard to be elected in the Dukes ward (where she lives). It doesn't say much for Labour's loyalty to Dukes when they suddenly pull their candidate to fight in another ward. Hoping to hold onto his seat in Dukes is veteran Conservative Sir Ron Watson.

Politics is a funny old game.

Polling stations are open form 7am-10pm on Thursday (May 5).

Don't waste your vote.

Originally Posted by editor

As a result Thursday's result will be a real litmus test of people's view of Boris Johnson and his involvement with Partygate, the cost of living crisis, the Ukrainian war etc.

And if there is a backlash against the Prime Minister, there's bound to be a domino effect on Conservative candidates all over the country.

I don't care about National Politics, this is a local election, and I'm interested in what the local candidates are going to do for me.

#Partygate

#Beergate

Who cares.......

All eyes on Birkdale and Kew in Thursday's council elections

…highlights the bizarre, misshapen nature of politics in the UK!

Originally Posted by editor

…
As a result Thursday's result will be a real litmus test of people's view of Boris Johnson and his involvement with Partygate, the cost of living crisis, the Ukrainian war etc.
And if there is a backlash against the Prime Minister, there's bound to be a domino effect on Conservative candidates all over the country.
…
The Kew result will be a test of Sir Keir Starmer's leadership of the Labour Party. Just a few weeks ago, sitting Labour Councillor Janis Blackburne was all set to fight the election, when out of the blue she was told by Labour's regional office that she had been suspended because of her support of tweets by former leader Jeremy Corbyn.
…

Yet another profound disservice to good local government; disappointing!

Southport journalist Martin Hovden writes: One thing is certain about the results of the Sefton Council elections on Thursday: Labour will retain control of the borough.

Even with the recent defection of five Labour members in the Maghull area, the 43-strong Labour Group still has nearly twice the number of councillors than all the other parties put together.

And there lies the problem for Southport, a mainly Conservative Town, run by a Labour monopoly that (a) isn’t really interested in Southport, and (b) looks to punish the Town simply because the vast majority of the Electorate don’t support Labour, or its policies.
Regardless of the Sefton/West Lancs argument, Southport desperately needs to be out of the clutches of a Council, dominated by Labour Councillors who don’t have the interests or wishes of Southport’s residents in their agenda.

justbecause says: …
"And there lies the problem for Southport, a mainly Conservative Town, run by a Labour monopoly that

1. isn’t really interested in Southport, and
2. looks to punish the Town simply because the vast majority of the Electorate don’t support Labour, or its policies.

"Regardless of the Sefton/West Lancs argument, Southport desperately needs to be out of the clutches of a Council, dominated by Labour Councillors who don’t have the interests or wishes of Southport’s residents in their agenda."

____________________________________________________________________________________

"the vast majority of the Electorate don’t support Labour, or its policies"

…is a claim not well supported (in terms of votes cast, seats won or indeed the attention paid to Southport by Sefton Council). If it was ever the case that Southport and Ainsdale were once redoubts for Conservative party voters whether through differences in the socioeconomic status, or whatever,

• Southport's and Sefton's populations are not fixed and immutable;
• neither is the composition of the Council; and certainly
• Sefton Council does not "punish the Town".

What is more, in the roughly half century since major reorganization of local governments in England, political institutions have not improved. The boundaries are not the problem. It is the bizarre confusion about who is responsible for what that foments unsatisfactory outcomes. When constituents look to their local MP (as our Damien would have us believe) for redress of problems vis-à-vis the Council, and Councillors and Council candidates are primarily promoters of their respective political parties (nationally, as well as locally), then you know something is amiss.

This commentary, All eyes on Birkdale and Kew in Thursday's council elections, is a clear-cut example of wrongheadedness, if ever there was!

Originally Posted by justbecause

Southport journalist Martin Hovden writes: One thing is certain about the results of the Sefton Council elections on Thursday: Labour will retain control of the borough.

Even with the recent defection of five Labour members in the Maghull area, the 43-strong Labour Group still has nearly twice the number of councillors than all the other parties put together.

And there lies the problem for Southport, a mainly Conservative Town, run by a Labour monopoly that (a) isn’t really interested in Southport, and (b) looks to punish the Town simply because the vast majority of the Electorate don’t support Labour, or its policies.
Regardless of the Sefton/West Lancs argument, Southport desperately needs to be out of the clutches of a Council, dominated by Labour Councillors who don’t have the interests or wishes of Southport’s residents in their agenda.

Mainly Conservative town?
They got less than half the votes cast at the last GE, which was 1/3rd of the electorate.
They're also in 3rd place in terms of local councillors in Southport.