By Alan Cross Alan Cross, on behalf of Dorset Labour

At last with the local election results in front of us we can see the true feelings of the British electorate and it cannot be anything but grim reading for the ‘Blue Party’ faithful.

It is also, I would suggest, a rebuttal of those on both sides of the political fence who said that Keir Starmer would never be able to connect with both the ‘lefty socialist’ Labour faithful or the working class folk forming the ‘Red Wall’ of the north.

The encouraging results show that Labour has gained control in many council areas that will be key in next year’s General Election – namely Plymouth, Medway, Swindon and Stoke, with the northern mayorship of Middlesborough thrown in for good measure.

Although we had no elections in our part of Dorset, it was great to see Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole turf out their morally and financially bankrupt Conservative administration.

In Bournemouth, as across the country, there would appear to have been a twin-barrelled assault by Labour and the Lib Dems on the Conservative ranks, exactly what has been forecast by many in the media.

Nationally, Labour gained ground in the key northern areas, and the Lib Dems picked up a host of council seats and even won control of some councils in true blue Tory constituency areas.

The Greens also made progress – except in Brighton, the one place they have ever wielded power – disastrously.

So, what has changed since the last time many of these authorities were up for election? I would highlight three main factors:

1 – The dismal performance by successive Tory prime ministers culminating in the disastrous Liz Truss administration which hung out to dry all the mortgaged householders of Britain and threatened to sink the whole British economy.

2 – That 13-year point in the history of all British governments when the notoriously undemonstrative British electorate decides enough is enough.

3 – The appointment of a far more sensible and responsive opposition leader, in this case Keir Starmer, who consolidated their Party and provided the acceptable appearance of a government-in-waiting.

From the doorsteps the same issues have surfaced over and over again – the cost of living; the incessant rise in the weekly shop; the potholes in roads leading to punctures; the impossibility of getting a doctor’s appointment, and the NHS in general; and the inability of this Sunak government to reach a settlement with its public service workers leading to a breakdown in service delivery.

At least the Royal Coronation offered us all a chance to forget the humdrum of the everyday world and raise a glass to King Charles – regardless of whether you decided to ‘pay homage’ or not.