05 May 2023 , 07:11
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Labour and Keir Starmer are rattling Downing Street's gates.
Ours is a country voting for an end to 13 years of Conservative rule.
In all likelihood we'll have to wait until Autumn next year for a general election.
The Tories and Rishi Sunak and the Tories will cling grimly to No10 as long as they can.
But early council results in England are promising for Labour, the Liberal Democrats and Greens.
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And very bad for tarnished Conservatives, who could actually lose around their feared 1,000 seats.
The cost of living crisis, economic incompetence and an ailing NHS in a Broken Britain where nothing seems to work are narrowing any Tory survival path.
Labour has elected dozens of councillors after a grim night for the Tories (Manchester Evening News)Labour campaign chief Shabana Mahmood's boast that Labour's on course to win the general election sidesteps the fact that it may not be a resounding victory.
Starmer, if he is Britain's next Prime Minister, may govern with a small or no majority.
He's yet to seal the deal with a vivid, compelling and convincing offer.
Yet steady Starmer has reasons to smile, and skidding Sunak to grimace.
Stoke-on-Trent going Labour is a significant Midlands blue brick dislodged from Labour's red wall.
Plymouth is a heartening capture in the South, Middlesbrough's mayoralty a boost in the North.
Winning Medway puts in Labour's sights a string of Kent Tory constituencies last held in the Blair era.
Conservatives will be worried too over Liberal Democrat blue wall advances including Brentwood in Essex.
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Ed Davey's party is now running King Charles' council in Windsor before tomorrow's coronation.
All this after cynical Tories imposed polling booth ID photo checks to cut opposition votes.
We might face 80 or so of Harold Wilson's long weeks in politics and many of Harold Macmillan's unexpected events before that General Election.
Much could happen, Covid and Putin's invasion emphasising that politics and the future are unpredictable.
What is certain though is Starmer will be disappointed tomorrow's Royal pomp will overshadow Labour's advances.
Sunak will think it £250m well spent to spare his pain.