Results are coming in from the U.K.'s local, mayoral and devolved elections—"Super Thursday," as over-excited politicos are calling it. The Labour Party, led by left-wing leader Jeremy Corbyn, is looking stronger than many expected in England and Wales, but has had a terrible night in Scotland. Here's the key things to know so far (we'll be updating this as more information comes in):
Labour has evaded disaster in England. Some predictions had the party dropping 150 to 200 seats, which would have seriously imperilled left-wing leader Jeremy Corbyn, who fears a challenge to his leadership. In the event, the number looks set to be well below that, with most councils held and just 24 seats dropped after 80 of 124 councils were counted. Still, for an opposition party to lose council seats in the mid-term period is considered an omen of bad electoral performances to come.
The SNP has won another term. This will be the party's third term in government in Scotland, and there remains little serious challenge to their power. They might be victims of unrealistic expectations though; much conversation among politicos now focuses on whether they will win a majority in the parliament. There's little practical reason they need one, as their opponents are too divided to join together and defeat them on many issues. But it would show a chink in the party's previously unassailable armour.
The Tories look set for second place in the Scottish parliament. In recent decades, the Conservative Party has had little serious presence in Scotland. That could be on the turn: the Conservatives are firmly in second place, behind the SNP but above Labour, and expected to sustain that. Their leader Ruth Davidson, who deserves much of the credit for their turnaround, managed to take the seat of Edinburgh Central from the SNP. This would mean that in the 17 year history of the Scottish parliament Labour had gone from the party of government to not even being the main opposition.
Welsh nationalist leader Leanne Wood won her seat in the Welsh Assembly. In a shock result, she beat Labour's Leighton Andrews in Rhondda. That striking headline masks what has so far been a decent enough performance by Labour, who remain on course to be the largest party by a decent margin, and could well secure a majority.
The "Lib Dem fightback" is on. After a devastating result in the general election in 2015, the Liberal Democrats have had a period in the wilderness. But the redoubtable centrist party has been playing a long game, focusing on winning back local power before building up to the national level. At the time of writing, they had held all their councils and gained some seats. That will feel like a good performance.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Josh is a staff writer covering Europe, including politics, policy, immigration and more.
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