It is not accurate to write of “the Tories’ narrow retention of fortress London boroughs like Westminster” (Editorial, 5 May). In 2014, there was a 44-16 Tory-Labour split on Westminster council. It is now 41-19. Labour had a golden chance to make bigger inroads in Westminster, which voted by 53,928 to 24,268 against leaving Europe.
Labour sent all its chiefs, from Jeremy Corbyn and Jon Lansman to most of the shadow cabinet, and celebrities like Owen Jones, to campaign in Westminster. They were welcomed but they refused to talk about Brexit, attack Mrs May’s disastrous handling of the dossier, or highlight the serious economic damage that will be done to London by leaving the single market and bringing in a new immigration control bureaucracy of Home Office jobsworths to make life miserable for anyone who wants to employ EU citizens.
So, on the biggest constitutional, economic, social, cultural and geopolitical issue of the day, Labour had nothing to say to voters in a council area greatly affected by leaving Europe. That may explain why Labour won only three more seats and have left the Tories firmly, not narrowly, in control of Westminster.
Denis MacShane
London
• As an activist who knocked on doors in Barnet for the Labour party, I must take issue with Adam Langleben’s assertion that “every Jewish Labour household we visited, people said, ‘Not this time’” (Labour antisemitism scandal is blamed for Tory victory in ‘easyCouncil’ Barnet, 5 May).
I came from neighbouring Brent but, recognising Barnet’s significance, and being Jewish myself, I canvassed several times, often accompanied by other Jewish activists. On Thursday I helped get out the vote in Adam’s ward, arriving at 10.30am, and knocking on my last door at 9.45pm. At least once I was in a team with Adam.
I don’t dispute that Adam had negative reactions from Jewish voters, or that the perception of Labour party antisemitism played a crucial role in this result. But Adam cannot know about every Jewish household. I met Jewish voters who were still prepared to vote Labour. Rabbi Danny Rich, the chief executive of Liberal Judaism, was elected a councillor, certainly with Jewish support. In Childs Hill ward, Labour had its first win in 40 years. I cannot believe that no Jewish voters had a part in that.
The perception of antisemitism in the Labour party should not be minimised. Where that perception is accurate, antisemites should be expelled. But we should also be careful not to give credence to the myth that antisemitism is endemic or rife in the party. The tragedy of the situation in Barnet is at least partly explained by the willingness of some to spread this myth in order to do harm to Labour.
Dr Ian Saville
London
• As a defeated Labour candidate in Thursday’s council elections, I don’t think your report (Victories in remain areas boost Cable, 5 May) does justice to the stunning victory of Lib Dems taking control of South Cambridgeshire. They secured 30 out of 45 seats, 13 with female councillors, under a female leader, Bridget Smith, reducing the Tories to 11, despite a good turnout. This is a prosperous constituency, long considered a safe Tory seat, formerly Andrew Lansley’s, currently occupied by Heidi Allen MP.
Yes, South Cambridgeshire voted heavily remain, but on the doorstep big issues of the county and district failures in terms of potholes, housing, rural services, deeply flawed infrastructure planning and bitterly opposed busways were writ large.
Clearly, considerable tactical voting was deployed to defeat the Tories, together with reorganised wards and boundaries leading people to rethink who deserved their vote. That seems more significant for the Tory party than any boost to Vince Cable (however otherwise deserved).
Roger Tomlinson
Coton, Cambridgeshire
• Much commentary has centred on Labour’s win in Plymouth, forgetting to mention that Plymouth voted heavily to leave, and that over the years the council has swung between Labour, Conservative and no overall control.
If I still had a vote in my home town I would be weary of hearing about the northern powerhouse, so beloved of the Tories while the south-west is ignored, and sick to death at having, as a taxpayer, to subsidise their HS2 vanity project while transport links beyond Exeter are pitiful.
And of course there is defence and fears that the Devonport naval base will be further reduced; since 2010 the Tories have not put the money where their mouth is. This is most recently exemplified by concern about the future of HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark, over whose fate Conservative MP Johnny Mercer and Labour MP Luke Pollard have joined forces. Though why anyone concerned about this country’s defence and security and with their head screwed on would vote for Corbyn mystifies me.
Elizabeth Balsom
London
• Very disappointed by the pessimistic analysis from the Guardian of the local election results in England for Labour.
In reality, Labour now has around 900 more seats than the Tories, has control of about twice as many councils, has gained its best result in London since 1971, and has managed to gain more seats in Westminster and Wandsworth than at any time since 1986.
Could they have done better? Of course. Is this a bad result for Labour? By no means. The negative spin in the media against Labour is not justified when seen against actual results.
If this were a general election, Labour would be the largest party in the House of Commons.
Joshua Reynolds
Tredegar, Gwent
• The real victors in the local elections in England were Labour with their 2,350 seats over the Conservatives’ 1,332 seats. Also, Labour won control of 74 councils, compared to the Conservatives’ 46. Further, the Conservatives only won seven out of 32 London borough councils and now control only one out of 36 metropolitan district councils in England.
Leslie Mutch
Dingwall, Ross & Cromarty
• Ukip’s Black Death metaphor may be more prescient than any complacency about the party’s abysmal local election results (Ukip: Like the Black Death, we’ll be back, says official, 5 May). Corbyn isn’t reaching former Labour supporters in the Midlands and the North. With the most incompetent government in my lifetime negotiating our future, a Brexit likely to appeal to anybody looks out of the question. If the boils of poverty, inequality and racism that Ukip has exploited cannot be lanced, the plague will return. Next time it may be something much more deadly.
Philip Kerridge
Bodmin, Cornwall
• Ukip is like the Black Death? Let’s just hope this is more accurate than most Ukip statements. Britain did, after all, finally recover from the effects of the Black Death.
Alexandra Shepherd
Aberdeen
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