European elections expose new cracks in New Labour
The European elections in Britain delivered the first serious questionings of Blair's supremacy and also confirmed some of the important new trends that began to unfold in the elections to the Welsh Assembly and Scottish Parliament.
Turn out is always low at European elections, both here and across the continent, but this election plumbed new depths in both cases. At home it also comes after the worst ever turn out in the local elections. Indeed there is a long-term trend, which certainly hasn't reached the depths of the USA, where elections are seen as irrelevant by increasing sections of particularly inner city populations.
This generalised long-term trend was hardly likely to be bucked by such a lack lustre campaign.
Since the election results came through, new Labour spin has tried to minimise its effects with the usual series of myths.
Everyone had always accepted, they remind, us that the Tories would do better under PR. Well, while it is true that PR probably did give Hague victories in Scotland and Wales but in fact Labour would have done even worse under First Past the Post.
Margaret Beckett, the fall woman in the studio as the results came in was quick to point out that the results would be " bad in the long term" for the Tories. Certainly Hague's subsequent Cabinet reshuffle has further strengthened the voice of Euro-scepticism within the party. But the success of the UKIP as well as the Conservatives as opposed to the virtual eclipsing of the Pro-European Tories will hardly have convinced the likes of Ken Clarke that the time to wage war again on European policy is nigh. Its true that the ship of Conservatism may yet sink on the icebergs of Europe but these results have given Skipper Hague new buoyancy.
It was all very well too for Beckett to make constant refrain that this election was not about the single currency - that the European Parliament has not jurisdiction in this regard (Michael Ancram was quick to point out is not actually technically true). More importantly New Labour's attempt to run this election campaign with no reference to European politics at all certainly back fired.
The contempt in which many potential voters were held by the government was graphically demonstrated by Labour's last election broadcast - Blair is wonderful - so vote for him was the only discernible message. The verdict was clear.
In both Scotland and Wales the nationalists continued to take votes from Labour to the left. Plaid Cymru did better than it expected - winning two Euro-seats when they only expected to take one. Again it did particularly well in areas where it had gained strength in the Assembly and local elections earlier. The SNP with 27.17 per cent were not far behind Labour in Scotland who polled 28.69, with the Conservatives on 28.69 per cent.
For the left the election results in Scotland were particularly significant with the Scottish Socialist Party polling 4.02 per cent across the country. This is a highly successful showing, particularly when combined with the 1.03 per cent across Scotland that the SLP scored. If you add the votes together the far left in Scotland did nearly as well as in France where 5 far left MEPs were elected. This underlines that the form of PR that New Labour brought in for these elections was of the most undemocratic kind with sprawling anonymous constituencies and closed lists where you could not favour particular candidates who policies or record you wished to reward.
This is particularly significant given the fact that for the SSP the elections to the Parliament rather than the European elections were the priority. But these results have clearly taken a step further what was demonstrated there by Sheridan's victory.
In England on the other hand the left was not able to capitalise on the disillusionment with New Labour.
It is true that Christine Oddy -the West midlands MEP initially allowed onto the Millbank slate but then dropped on the supposed basis of not campaigning hard enough made a credible showing with 36,849 votes and 4.34 per cent of the poll. Her fellow MEP Ken Coates however in the East Midlands polled less strongly - with only 17,409 and 2.41 per cent ( probably a verdict on the way Coates alienated many potential supporters with his high-handed behaviour and the eclectic nature of the rest of his slate).
Oddy's candidature also co-incided with one of the most credible far left slates . Certainly the Socialist Alliance headed by Nellist would have been expected to do rather better if Oddy had not been standing.
Overall the lesson is clear. If the far left is to have a purchase with those voters - whether those that stayed at home - voted Green or nationalist - or oh so reluctantly voted for New Labour it needs to get its act together in the way that the Scottish Socialist Party has begun to do.