Portsmouth Labour: years of decline and defeat, but will they still retain control?
Portsmouth Labour councillors have confirmed that they are negotiating with the Liberal Democrats over a potential coalition of the council. This came as the council was once again left with no majority.
The local elections of 2021 saw the Labour Party win 7 seats but this was no match for the Conservatives with 16 seats and the Liberal Democrats with 15 seats.
Over the years the local elections have been disappointing for Labour, data has shown.
Despite winning only 7 seats, there is still hope for Portsmouth Labour. The Conservatives may be denied authority in the council without finding an alliance.
When asked about the potential alliance of Labour and Liberals, Dr Graham Heaney, Labour councillor for the Portsmouth St Jude ward said: “The Liberals have often had some good ideas. They are good at the rhetoric of what they do, but it’s a question of getting them to deliver.”
Dr Heaney said that the Liberals need to be “pushed and pressed” to get policy into action. An alliance between the parties may be what the city needs.
The Liberal Democrat manifesto listed many progressive ideas, including to pay the real living wage.
Dr Heaney said: “They had given no time scale. They now have said that they want to do it in a year, but I don’t think they will.”
During the 90s Labour had control of the Portsmouth North seats Paulsgrove, Cosham, Hilsea and Copnor. These have now turned Conservative.
Over the years Labour’s control of the council has been declining.
When asked about the swing to Conservative seats, Dr Heaney said: “There’s no reason for the Labour Party to panic, but there should still be concern.”
Locally, the Labour party has won the smallest number of seats for many years, data has shown.
The Conservatives have made massive gains on local councils across England. When asked for the reason for Labour’s loss, Graham said that the reputation of some previous Labour councils were “appalling and incompetent.”
Despite the disappointing local election results, Portsmouth Labour have still been celebrating some success.
Stephen Morgan, Labour MP for Portsmouth South, tweeted: “In #Portsmouth South we gained a council seat, our vote share went up 4% and we ran close in three other wards.”
Despite their small victory, Portsmouth Labour have not gained full control over the council since 1999.
There can be no denying that many of the local election results were disappointing for the Labour party. The hope for Portsmouth Labour lies in whether they decide to support a minority administration.
Dr Heaney said: “In a funny sort of way, Portsmouth represents the national picture of the way politics is going.
“The competition locally will continue, and there will be a split in the vote.”
The decision for Labour is still to be made. Dr Heaney said: “We have to make a decision, and we can’t put off a decision about putting someone into power. We can’t work without it.”
