Now that a little time has passed after the local elections, we have been reflecting on the results and the data, trying to determine what we can learn as a party and how we can carry those learns forward. It is safe to say that this was not a normal election, the backdrop of COVID and the (surprising) positivity of the country towards Boris on the back of furlough and vaccines, coupled with a growing anti Labour mood served the Tories well. We are certain that in a normal election cycle For Britain would have fared better, continuing the trend of winning seats. However the data shows that like all the other parties, we lost votes because many in the country placed their ‘X’ for what they saw as a ‘reward’ to Boris, and a statement to Labour. This is something highly unusual in local elections; a sitting Government extending its lead over the official opposition.

When we look at our results, in this election the most direct comparison is against parties such as UKIP and Reform, and in that respect we fared quite well. UKIP lost every single one of their seats (48) and pulled in tiny vote shares wherever they stood. We have called before for UKIP members to join For Britain, the party has served its purpose, and perhaps now members and supporters will do just that. Equally Reform (Brexit Party) failed to win a seat, picking up just 1% of the regional list votes. This show the transient nature of politics – issues at the forefront of the public’s mind can cause huge swings, and we definitely saw that in May. Reform will always been seen as a single issue party, and that issue is now effectively resolved. Again, we would urge their members and supporters to unite behind our banner and our more thorough and wide reaching manifesto. It is also worth a mention that the other parties received media attention and coverage, whereas For Britain are blacklisted in the main, and any coverage is invariably a hit piece. Some of the lies spoken on TV and in the press are quite something, and part of our ongoing battle; look at how supporters such as Morrissey are viciously attacked merely for wearing our badge.

In every seat where we stood against the Socialist Workers Party or the Trade Union and Socialist Coalition, we beat them (bar one seat), showing that there is absolutely no appetite for far left politics in Britain. In fact, we managed to beat all the parties (including Labour), the only exception being the Tories, which emphasises the point above. The ‘mainstream’ party we had most success against was the Lib Dems interestingly, followed by the Greens.

While some are rightly disappointed not to have had more success, it is vital that we take the positives from this strange election – thousands of people voted for us. Thousands got to hear our message through leafleting and canvassing, and I can say with certainty that our message was greeted with overwhelming positivity. Changing the minds of voters not to vote in fear of letting in ‘the other’ is part of our challenge. As lockdown eases we can meet again, hold branch meetings and continue the momentum we have built in the knowledge that our success will undoubtedly increase as politics in the UK normalises. It was great to see our activists back on the streets this weekend (see some pics at the end of this article). There will be fresh ideas, new strategies and the required changes to build and grow the party.

So I urge members and activists, start scheduling your branch meetings, and start talking to other parties to unite behind us, as only For Britain have the policies and strength of character to continue down a consistent path with a solid set of principles and beliefs. Every single person can play a vital role in growing the party – don’t wait for others to do it – I see the passion you all have, and that can be channelled into building this party.

We are ahead of the curve on all the big issues; we talked about grooming gangs and cover ups; the police later apologised for doing this exactly as we stated. We listed a ‘5 year freeze’ on immigration in our manifesto, now Michael Barnier has now called for a ‘5 to 10 year halt on immigration across Europe as it hasn’t worked’. Our demand for the end to non-stun slaughter is now putting pressure on the Tories to improve animal welfare and this area has now been picked up by some of the mainstream media. Our policies have always made perfect sense.

So let’s go forward with positivity.

Is it easy? No. Nothing worth achieving never is.

Is it worth it? Absolutely.

The issues we talk about continue to worsen under the Tories, and our policies on issues such as Climate will become increasingly important. We have a major role to play in the future of British politics and nobody should be knocked off course or dispirited by this unique local election. We are fighting for the soul of Britain.

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