Skip to main content
Starmer Labour's electoral Achilles heel
General secretary ROBERT GRIFFITHS delivered the main political report to last weekend's Communist Party executive committee meeting. This is an edited copy of his report
KS

WHILE Tory losses in the local elections were bigger than expected, many millions of electors did not trust Labour with their protest vote against the cost-of-living crisis and “partygate” after Boris Johnson’s disastrous priorities during the Covid epidemic.

The Lib Dems and Greens were the biggest winners, but Labour under Keir Starmer’s lacklustre leadership failed to make headway across large parts of northern England, the Midlands and the south-west and Cornwall. Indeed, the Greens made more gains than Labour in England.

There were two key factors in Labour’s failure in much of England outside London and parts of the south.

Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
More from this author
Claudia Jones
Features / 27 February 2025
27 February 2025
From McCarthy’s prison cells to London’s carnival, Jones fought for peace and unity while exposing the lies of US imperialism, says ROBERT GRIFFITHS, in a graveside oration at Highgate Cemetery given last Sunday
For a worker’s Budget, tax the fat cats
Features / 4 November 2024
4 November 2024
In the second of two articles on Labour’s weak Budget, ROBERT GRIFFITHS argues that Britain’s massive private wealth and offshore tax havens show clear potential for radical redistribution through progressive taxation
Budget
Features / 3 November 2024
3 November 2024
In the first of two articles, ROBERT GRIFFITHS argues that despite a parliamentary majority, Labour’s timid Budget fails to seize a historic opportunity and lacks the ambition needed to address Britain’s deep social and economic crises
8 - CPB china(1)
Features / 30 September 2024
30 September 2024
As the People's Republic turns 75, ROBERT GRIFFITHS details how British communists championed Chinese sovereignty against imperialism, weathering the political storms of the Sino-Soviet split and collapse of the USSR to rebuild relations for the modern era
Similar stories
11starmerno10
Features / 14 October 2024
14 October 2024
A Tory-lite Labour Party is clearly unpopular with the electorate who are desperate to see actual improvement to Britain’s decimated public services, writes JOE GILL
Newly elected Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer gives a speech
Features / 9 July 2024
9 July 2024
Communist Party leader ROBERT GRIFFITHS dissects the election results, looking at all of the political spectrum, from the hard right to the far left, and assesses the political landscape it reveals
PAdemo
Features / 1 May 2024
1 May 2024
General secretary of the Communist Party of Britain ROBERT GRIFFITHS explains why his party argues for an overall Labour victory to put the workers’ movement in a better position to fight for real socialist politics
Keir Starmer
Editorial: / 24 April 2024
24 April 2024