S.O.S

Always seems to happen when I take a bit of time off from blogging. I'm still not 100% but I'm back at work tomorrow so I guess I'm back on the blog as well.

First up... May Day... May Day...

International call for help - which is what Labour are looking for just now. A May Day massacre is how it was described in some quarters. Labour polled 24% in the council elections in England and Wales last week - falling into 3rd place behind the Conservatives (44%) and, remarkably, the Lib Dems (25%). They lost 331 councillors and control of 9 councils. And they lost out to Mayor Boris Johnston in the London mayor election.

That's the bad news - is there ANY good news for Labour here?

Well, I guess, if you look hard enough into the deepest, darkest parts of this election debacle then there is a silver lining for Labour.

Firstly they've got to be glad that this election only took place in England and Wales. Given the state of the party north of the border, Labour in Scotland would have been annihilated if those results had been replicated here. So now Ms Alexander, on realising this, has decided that a referendum on independence is a way to revive Labour in Scotland (more on that in a later blog I feel...).

Second - and this is maybe a bigger one. There's perhaps one person who was even less happy than Gordon Brown that Boris beat Ken Livingstone in the London election. Is it just me or is it possible that David Cameron may not be thrilled with Boris' victory? Not only has Boris - a candidate better known for his comedy stint on Have I Got News For You and a number of what can only be described as ridiculous comments - now become the most senior elected Conservative in the UK, he is now in a position to make policy in the largest city in the UK. If he messes up even a little bit bang goes the Conservatives opportunity for a large majority in the next election.

A bad night for sure - perhaps, electorally, Labour's worst. But there's hope. Maybe...