Britain: Labour's electoral meltdown continues to worsen

Labour has long ago lost most of the support it once enjoyed in working class areas. The May 1 poll demonstrated that it has now also lost much of those sections of the middle class electorate it had won from the Conservatives in 1997.

In England, these twin factors found expression in the Conservative victory in Bury, in the north, for the first time in 22 years, and Labours loss of Reading, one of its few strongholds in the southeast.

The picture in Wales is even more devastating. Long considered Labours heartland, the party has continued to hemorrhage support and lost control of Merthyr Tydfil, Blaeau Gwent, Torfaen, Caerphilly and Newport councils. No one did particularly well, least of all Labours coalition partners in the Welsh Assembly, Plaid Cymru, as Labours vote dispersed across the political spectrum and resulted in victories for the Liberal Democrats, Tories and independent councilors.

Even so, the rise in support for the Conservatives amongst those who turned out to vote would be enough to secure them a general election victory. The poll has been compared with the situation that faced John Majors Conservative administration in the local elections that preceded Labours landslide victory in 1997.