Leeds shows we can beat the ‘Libservatives’

By Darrell Goodliffe

One of things that went widely unreported following the general election was the good clutch of local election results for Labour. The gains made were especially striking against ‘ConDem’ opposition and in a number of places they were enough to ensure the councils changed hands.

In Leeds, Labour produced a number string of good results, successfully defending seats like Kirkstall and Hyde Park & Woodhouse and making gains. The Liberal Democrats lost Moortown and also Burmantofts and Richmond Hill while the Conservatives suffered a surprise loss in the Roundhay Ward to Ghulam Hussain.

However, despite this performance Labour remained tantalisingly short of a majority holding 48 of the council’s 99 seats. After some political wrangling, a ‘supply and confidence’ arrangement was reached, allowing Labour to govern as a minority with support from the Greens. In return, the Greens have won Labour support for a home insulation programme. Exciting times lay ahead for both parties as they explore the possibilities of a genuine progressive alliance.

So, what can we learn from Leeds when it comes to fighting the ‘ConDemNation’?

Firstly, we have to remember the Conservatives are accomplished at handling power whereas the Liberal Democrats, to be brutal, are not. Either they are hyphened off into ‘pet project’ areas or they are willingly lined-up like tin cans at a fairground shooting gallery. Leeds City Council’s former Conservative joint leader, Andrew Carter, was, for example, very careful to make sure his ‘colleague’ Richard Brett took the heat during the refuse workers’ dispute; he sat merrily in the background and pulled Brett’s strings to the point where he thought it was all his own idea.

We can already see something similar happening with Liberal Democrats in very sensitive positions – within the Treasury, for example; exactly the place the Conservatives want them. It really is sad to watch, but it works like this: the Liberal Democrats naively assume their position means real influence, not that they are being set-up as fall guys. Already we have seen this bizarre kind of delirious delusion take hold in frankly factually absurd claims like “there were 23 Liberal Democrat policies in the Queens Speech“.

Secondly, this noxious combination of the politically savvy Conservatives and the terminally naïve Liberal Democrats will produce a regime that is ignorant of local communities and will trample over them. Liberal Democrats talk a good game when it comes to community politics but when they achieve power this goes out the window; community groups become nuisances that are at best tolerated and at worst disdained. This will invariably make them vulnerable to a strong Labour challenge where Labour roots itself in the local communities.

On a whole range of issues in Leeds, ConDems blatantly ignored local communities – and they paid the electoral price. Hyde Park & Woodhouse, for example, has seen a complete switch from having three Liberal Democrat councillors to now only having one – hardly surprising considering the way the local community was ignored on a raft of issues like the fate of Royal Park School and how best to look after Woodhouse Moor.

Conservatives have a degree of flexibility to do this because they have a core constituency which will vote blue come hell and high water. The Liberal Democrats don’t; the main modus operendi of their vote is often the age-old protest. This is easily demonstrable in the last election, where high polling ratings translated into a loss of seats and a 1% rise in vote share. When the Lib Dems take power, this section of their support is easily demoralised and chipped-away.

So, there are opportunities a plenty for Labour in opposition nationally to rebuild itself and exploit the many weaknesses of its new opponents in government. If we build strong community bases, and chip away patiently, we will prevail.

In Leeds we face a different challenge; to consolidate our position and make further inroads especially against the Liberal Democrats in areas like Headingley. Next year’s local elections will provide Labour with opportunities nationally to land an early blow against the coalition, and locally in Leeds, to consolidate the end of ‘Libservatism’.