The South West is always an interesting region for Labour Party politics and the recent local elections continue to provide food for thought.
There is no question that Labour had a good result across the region this week, with retained and additional councillors right across the South West.
Of the 36 Local Authorities in the South West region Labour Councillors can now be found in 19 of them, giving us 52.7% regional coverage, and including some 202 hard working councillors and activists.
The biggest gains were made in the Forest of Dean (+9), South Gloucestershire (+6) and Plymouth (+5) with Bristol (+4), Exeter (+4) and Stroud (+4) not far behind.
Five of these gain areas (Plymouth, Bristol, Exeter, Stroud and the Forest of Dean) have also been previously Labour controlled councils, instilling some hope that in the years to come they may be so once again.
There were also some nice surprises.
Whilst we made expected yet hard fought gains in areas such as Bristol, Exeter and Plymouth we also achieved some surprising results in dark blue areas such as Torridge, Torbay and the South Hams. Having stood as the PPC in Torridge & West Devon at the last general election I can tell you that getting a Labour councillor into the district council is quite the miracle!
However, it isn’t all good news.
We still only have four Labour MPs (Plymouth Moorview, Exeter, Bristol South & Bristol East) and no Labour MEP in the South West and whilst we’ve made impressive gains in the local elections not one of the local authorities is Labour controlled. There is still much more to do.
I would also argue that the foundations of the Labour movement in the South West – and perhaps in other regions too – contain an ugly truth; a truth that shows low membership, low recognition and low engagement.
It is often said that campaigners outside of the key cities in the South West are ignored, which I truly hope isn’t the case but, if it is, we must start in earnest to ensure a connected and efficient movement in the region.
As I have previously said, the Tory vote in the South West is either staying strong or increasing. Whilst the Liberal Democrats are an easy target the focus must be on Conservative politicians throughout the region; after all the Tories want the Liberal Democrats to take the kicking so that they can pass on by and stay in Government.
In order for us to win back the key seats we lost in 2010 in 2015 – and in doing so take our party back into Government – as well as electing a South West Labour MEP again in 2014 we must not only protect our key areas of core support but share our experiences, our skills and our support for those activists in the wider region.
Whilst winning elections is hard work we can sometimes forget why we’re in politics at all. It shouldn’t just be about winning elections, it should be about providing a vehicle through which the community feels able to meet, communicate and solve community problems together. It should be about empowerment and delivering change.
We have much work to do in building grassroots relationships with our past, our present and our future. Many trade unionists are no longer party members, many active community campaigners don’t see party politics as the best way of achieving change and a significant proportion of young people are no longer joining parties, co-ops or trade unions at all.
We have much to offer, but we have much to do. Lets work to rebuild our networks, to reach out to support our regional comrades in distant wards and to work towards empowering our communities and, as part of that process, get Labour back into power in the years yet to come.
For a breakdown of Labour councillors across the South West click South West Local Elections 2011
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UNITY SOUTH WEST is a campaign established by volunteers in the South West working to support centre-left progressive campaigners in the region to communicate, organise and campaign together in unity; holding shared values and a purpose of community organising at its core.
For more information visit www.unitysouthwest.co.uk
Trade unions are a key part of rebuilding a grassroots political movement. However, it’s essential that the Labour Party acknowledges that the disconnect between the unions and the Party goes far beyond “drifting apart slightly”. There is great anger over the way the Party leadership has dismissed trade union views at crucial moments in the last 15 years – an example being the massive civil service job cuts under Labour.
The Party shouldn’t go into this with an attitude of “If we ask them, they will come”. There’s a lot of mistrust to be overcome.
I think a good way forward is working in coalition with unions on specific local issues. This will give an opportunity to be rebuilt trust and start the discussion of what Labour has in common with unions, in terms of values, needs and priorities.
Sorry about that Trevor – the article has been duly updated and I have embedded a simple spreadsheet so that readers can see the full regional breakdown. D.