Labour may post its best result in London at next month’s local elections — but faces a much tougher battle against the Tories in the rest of England.
These elections largely reprise those held on the same day as the European parliament elections in 2014 when Ukip came first in the nationwide Euro poll and a strong third in share of votes in the coincident local elections.
Electoral politics has changed a good deal since then. Ukip is a spent force, and Labour and the Conservatives registered a higher combined share of the vote at last year’s general election than at any time since 1970.
Recent by-elections as well as the opinion polls show Labour and the Tories neck and neck in the battle for