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Local Elections 2012: Tories And LibDems Braced For Heavy Losses, Say Polls

PA  |  Posted: 29/04/2012 14:25 Updated: 30/04/2012 11:01   PA

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Uk Election
FILE: Ballot papers

Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are braced to lose hundreds of council seats when voters go to the polls this Thursday.

On what is expected to be a tough day for both of the Westminster coalition parties, about 5,000 seats are at stake on 181 councils across England, Scotland and Wales.

There are also mayoralty contests in London, Liverpool and Salford, and polls for the London Assembly.

The elections come after a string of difficulties for the Government, over tax rises, its handling of the fuel strike and the Tories' relations with Rupert Murdoch's media empire.

Both the Tories and Lib Dems are struggling in the polls. A YouGov survey this weekend suggested support for the Tories had fallen to 29%, 11 points behind Labour on 40%.

The Liberal Democrats were on 11%, only marginally ahead of the UK Independence Party (UKIP) on 10%.

Tory Communities Secretary Eric Pickles played down his party's prospects, saying Labour should be able to make 700 gains "just by turning up".

"Probably we're talking 400 or 450 coming from us," he told The Sunday Times.

He said the Tories were a "long way" from making any breakthrough in Labour strongholds like Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle.

A Downing Street source pointed out the Tories were fighting from a "high base" in this round of elections and that Labour would make "clear gains".

But the source stressed that the 29% figure - the Tories' lowest rating since 2004 - was higher than the party's mid-term nadirs before the 1983, 1987 and 1992 elections which it went on to win.

Lib Dem president Tim Farron said his party did not "expect people to be raving about us" but that things had improved slightly in the past year.

"In the last 12 months the Liberal Democrats' opinion poll rating has edged from pretty dreadful to only a bit depressing," he told Sky News.

"We know we are in a position we have never been in before, at least since the First World War - a Liberal Democrat government in mid-term - and of course we are having to take difficult decisions because of the state of the economy."

However, he said he had received a "fantastic response" on the doorsteps and that there was no prospect of the Lib Dems being overtaken by UKIP, as the polls threaten.

"I'm fairly confident that will not happen or even remotely but we as candidates put ourselves forward at election time and you have got to be big enough to take whatever the outcome is and accept the outcome," he said.

In London, sitting Tory Mayor Boris Johnson appears to be bucking his party's national trend with polls consistently putting him ahead of Labour rival Ken Livingstone.

However, he insisted today the contest was "going down to the wire".

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Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are braced to lose hundreds of council seats when voters go to the polls this Thursday. On what is expected to be a tough day for both of the Westminster coaliti...
Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are braced to lose hundreds of council seats when voters go to the polls this Thursday. On what is expected to be a tough day for both of the Westminster coaliti...
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verycross
122 Fans
06:23 PM on 04/30/2012
I am of hope having read the most of the comments here , we may see a UKIP goverment next time round. My only concern is they could take to many conservative votes and allow labour/a LibLab coalition elected in , completely obliterrating any worth of the hardships we currently under go. If I can see any light at the end of the tunnel it is not for altering course .
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mjacijim
0 Fans
02:46 PM on 04/30/2012
there should be ordinary everday working people in parliament who know how we have to live not the idle rich who know nothing of life
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handyserve
6 Fans
02:39 PM on 04/30/2012
Politicians of all persuations have not kept faith in the electorate who vote for them. When will they realise that when you tell people what you are going to do in a manifest, that is what they expect if you get voted in. The trouble is, thay all have an underlying agenda and forget their promises made before the election. I am going to put my trust in UKIP to break the mould. They are not anti Europe as are many of us...we juct don't want to be ruled by them, finance them or let them make our laws... I am sure that the UKIP guys are far more in tune with the man in the street than the other three parties. Let us get our democracy back, control our own borders, regulate our own indistries, abide by our own laws and trade with whoever we choose to do business with with our own currency........ just like before the EEC morphed itelf into the unelected EU. Cameron, Clegg, Osborne, Balls, Milliband and Cable are almost history. Let the British public be their judges when it is time to vote. It is Spring so let's do some Spring Cleaning. Use your vote wisely.
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strudy
14 Fans
11:45 AM on 05/01/2012
I guess you have seen how UKIP is made up and its NEC and you are going to vote for them !!! it sort of defies your reasoning but as we live in a democratic system its your choice,you never know Neil Hamilton might be your leader one day,its full of other parties rejects ...
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Approveds
30 Fans
12:28 PM on 04/30/2012
The Liberal Democrats are finished, The rich Eton boys trying to run the country are not doing very well either.
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abelum
31 Fans
11:26 AM on 04/30/2012
It is not unusual for the ruling party to do badly in local eletions, it is the big one that you have to worry about. labour disenters will help the tories at the big one.

Torries should just wait for the labour to get itself into a tangle, there are leadrship somethings to start an infighting . The labour party may be the party of the people but the labour MPs are not the people's mps.
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rangerover35
28 Fans
11:15 AM on 04/30/2012
who got us in the mess in the 1st place, LABOUR not the tories short memories
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Approveds
30 Fans
12:26 PM on 04/30/2012
I do not see how Labour could have caused a world economic crisis, that may bring down the Euro. How did Labour cause the economies of Greece, Spain, Ireland, Italy, France, Belgium, USA etc to go into recession?
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fishyfishy
28 Fans
02:40 PM on 04/30/2012
Makes no difference who got us in this mess Cameron and Co who I voted for haven't a clue how to get us out. Blame the man on the moon if you have to it wont make a difference. We need a UKIP Gvt if only to rid us of the EU. Yes I know they are made up of Tories but at least they will deliver on a referendum. Cameron and Clegg are only interested in appeasing minority groups and changing the House of Lords. I'd rather have a Gvt who tried and failed than a Gvt who failed to try like this lot
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katertaif
My wife thinks I have one fault. Everything I do!
521 Fans
10:52 AM on 04/30/2012
What is wrong with British politics? We are!!!!. Tories favour their rich pals, voters disillusioned, and vote Labour. labour promises much, delivers nothing, and voters become disillusioned and vote tory. Tories vavour their rich pals, voters become disillusioned, etc. etc. Same old merry go round. Meanwhile the country is damaged a little more each time. The leaders of th ecoalition of three, because that is what it is are quite happy with it all. Milliband keeps his prestigious job, and crows about how people are getting the message. Until they are voted in that is. then it will be the turn of Cameron' successor to say the same thing. The tory MP's having voted out a failed leader. Anyone on these boards could write their scripts for them.
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radian
33 Fans
10:41 AM on 04/30/2012
Replace your mp with UKIP, see what they can bring to the table, surely they are as able as any of the others, we need a fresh keen party not these same old dinosaurs that just take turns in power giving away our country bit by bit.
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realworldnews
35 Fans
10:28 AM on 04/30/2012
The complaint heard now is that the coalition has lost touch with the people. An alternative, and probably more realistic interpretation is that the people are losing touch with the reality of the dire situation the government is wrestling with. Even if the truly awful Ed Miliband and Ed Balls were in power they would have to do much the same things to stave off a future IMF bailout. The terrible thing about reality is that it's, well, real.

There is also a general misconception that we have a Conservative-lead government. Cameron and Co. may be slightly right of centre, but they are a very, very long way from being proper Conservatives and are further weakened by their unfortunate alliance with the LibDems. Perhaps if they were the real deal we would be getting out of Blair and Brown's mess more quickly.
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honesttaxpayer
52 Fans
10:49 AM on 04/30/2012
The creation of the problem predates Blair and Brown - they were just the stupid clowns who believed the Fantasy Land of Thatcher Economics and followed on like the braimless sheep they were!
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realworldnews
35 Fans
11:05 AM on 04/30/2012
If you keep up with economic news around the world you'll recognize that virtually every other country either has or is in the process of doing exactly what the Thatcher government did decades ago. The unsustainable drain on the public purse of all those outdated, antiquated, unproductive nationalized industries had to be addressed along with measures to curb the power of the unions who had played such a central role in their collapse. In more recent times other nations have discovered the truth of this and adopted similar policies. The left-wing supporters will never understand the logic of this, but then economics isn't their strong suit so why would they?.
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joebuxton110
26 Fans
02:18 PM on 04/30/2012
If were still in the mess Labour left and we want to get out of the mess QUICKLY ??.
Why are we still giving billions away in overseas aid, instead of paying off the dept..
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HUFFPOST SUPER USER
wallace792
Fear Naught
123 Fans
04:24 PM on 04/30/2012
The 3 main parties are ALL hand-n-glove with each other, ALL awaiting their turn to govern this island of sheep we have ALL become! One should not be yelling out the mis-judgement of the last political crowd! We as VOTERS are ALL responsible for allowing governments to stray from their see-through promises!
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john5368
18 Fans
10:03 AM on 04/30/2012
I was hopeing that this lot would get this country back on its feet and help us who are on low pay but no, its the same thing the rich just get more money and us at the lower end just find out we got no jobs.People should have to vote not like we have had it but as they have it in OZ, did I vote last time yes and for one of these as I was fool into thinking what he said he would do. Was I a fool or what if you ask me now who I will be voteing for it would be the BNP, as the Labour party are just as bad.
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adowilliams
6 Fans
11:05 AM on 04/30/2012
Well if the BNP get in, it will be good news for the textile industry..
New uniforms for all, special outfits for those we dont like, or we can blame for our failings..and think about the number of flags and banners that would be drapped from our public buildings.
Probably also good news for those who make burning torches, since we would have loads of torch light marches.
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trout1944
28 Fans
08:50 AM on 04/30/2012
everyone knows that,,the worst pm this country ever had..and as for clegg & co WELL
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mikewilliams2000
3 Fans
08:49 AM on 04/30/2012
Don't vote any more, no matter what party, one replaces one idiot with another, and they all seem to be exceptionally good at taking the tax payers money
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katertaif
My wife thinks I have one fault. Everything I do!
521 Fans
10:45 AM on 04/30/2012
That was Billy Connelly's gag many years back. Don't vote, it ony encourages them. I tend to agree with your idea, but the trouble is that in th efirst place we would need everyone to boycott the polls, and that would send them the message loud and clear,but it won't happen. If only one person in the country voted, the party s/he voted for would claim it as a great victory for democracy. Secondly, if you don't vote, you have no kick about whoever does get in. Thirdaly, I believe a strong protest vote is the answer. Vote UKIP or even BNP, no matter that yo cannot syand the BNP, they will never holdpower anyway, bt they can be a very useful buffer, and force which ever of the big three gets in to actually listen to us and do what we want them to do. Maybe 50 or so UKIP and BNP MP's would force our rulers to forget party dogma, and junior school histrionics, and get on with what we put them there to do. A mass boycott wouldn't work not everyone would observe it, the other way might.
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RamblerBill
33 Fans
11:07 AM on 04/30/2012
Isn't the real problem that, whoever you vote for, the government always gets in?
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honesttaxpayer
52 Fans
08:41 AM on 04/30/2012
Good news for anyone getting less than £150000pa and who dislikes spineless self serving creeps.
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girlygirly68
53 Fans
08:33 AM on 04/30/2012
The reasons given above have little to do with why this government is failing. They lied to the electorate from day one of their manifesto. With social media as revealing as it is today, these lies tend rear up and bite you. With only 30% of the planned cuts implimented what a disaster awaits us all. All the Tory/lib voters from less privileged backgrounds taken in by these blatant liars, must be kicking themselves. However will they take positive action next time around. Remember all three main parties are all spouting the same anti-british proposals. By that I mean, they will give your hard earned tax revenue to everyone else but you. Foreign aid, immigrant benefits, visitor NHS bills( not paid for ). The list goes on and on but where are we in this? Start looking after Britain, thats what you are paid for. Not to posture around the world saying "Look at how clever and generous I am".
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Scam2
23 Fans
08:51 AM on 04/30/2012
Well said and much nearer the mark than the reasons given by Huff P. The indigenous people of the UK have been screwed by the agenda of all three main parties since Thatcher and her mob's selling off of publicly owned utilities to foreigners.
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