England Round-up

Those in Greater Manchester and the Liverpool City Region might feel the Labour Party had a successful day at the ballot box last week, after both Andy Burnham and Steve Rotherham swept to victory as elected mayor in their respective regions. But looking elsewhere in the country reveals that the gaping wounds the party has suffered lately show little sign of being stitched up in time for the General Elections in a month’s time.

Labour lost 382 seats across the country as the Tories took Derbyshire off their hands, as well as seizing control of Warwickshire, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Gloucestershire, the Isle of Wight and Monmouthshire, which were previously under no overall control. Labour also lost control of Nottinghamshire and Northumberland. To all intents and purposes, Labour is virtually no longer present in the governance of English counties.