ZWF: Local elections spell doom for U.K.'s Tories
Zander's Weekend Facts #65: Sunday, May 7, 2023
Inside this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts, what off-year elections in Britain mean for the future, and a look at what Zander’s been reading this past week. Plus, a compilation of the top headlines you need to know from the last seven days.
Also, go listen to the latest episode of the Zander’s Facts podcast! Episode 103 features an update on the ongoing NBA Playoffs with Zander’s Facts NBA analyst Hill Billy. Go download the Zander’s Facts podcast wherever you get your podcasts!
Here are Zander’s Weekend Facts for Sunday, May 7, 2023:
Conservatives lose lots in U.K. local elections
Just days before the coronation of King Charles III, millions around the United Kingdom flocked the polls to vote in this year’s local elections.
On Thursday, 230 councils and over 8,000 councillors seats in England were up for grabs, the largest local elections in the country since 2019. It was also the first time the U.K. went to the polls since the crisis that struck the government went last year, beginning with Boris Johnson’s scandals lead to his resignation as Prime Minister. After Liz Truss couldn’t outlast a head of lettuce and resigned after less than two months in the job, Rishi Sunak has since served as the U.K. PM.
However, the U.K. is also facing several other crises, including inflation levels that would make ours in America blush (over 10%), a cost-of-living crisis, labor strikes impacting the economy, and others which have soured the electorate on the current government.
The Conservative Party has held in the majority in Parliament since the May 2010 elections, although the MPs were not on the ballot this past week. However, 3,365 council seats held by the Conservatives were up for a vote, and the results were not good.
As of Saturday night, with 229 of 230 councils decided, the losses for the Conservatives were massive. Results showed the Conservatives holding 2,299 seats, a drop of 1,058 seats. Interestingly, the Conservatives actually lost over 1,330 seats in the May 2019 election.
But in a split from 2019, the Conservatives didn’t end up with the most seats in the election. The results from the election can be found in the image below from BBC News.
The Labour Party ended up with 2,674 seats, the most out of any party in the election, picking up over 500. While the Liberal Democrats added an even more impressive 33% to their seat total, adding 405 seats for a total of 1,626.
It’s important to note that these elections did not include all councils, including many in the metropolitan London area.
However, when taking all 333 local governments in England into account, Labour still come out on top. The center-left party now control 5,609 council seats in the country, compared to 5,395 for the center-right Conservatives.
Now comes for the fallout, and for the ruling Conservative Party, it likely won’t be pretty. Just two months after the Conservatives lost over 1,000 council seats in 2019, PM Theresa May resigned. With the next general election in the U.K. looming in less than two years (no later than January 24, 2025) Conservatives look poised to lose their 13-year majority.
Analysis from Sky News shows an estimated vote share of 36% for Labour in a national election, compared to just 29% for the Conservatives. Similar analysis from the BBC showed Labour at 35% and Conservatives at 26%.
But two years is an eternity in politics.
Even so, the elections may even have some interesting U.S. connections.
The 2016 European Union referendum, which saw a Conservative-backed majority vote to leave the EU, came just five months before Donald Trump’s victory in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
We’re only a short 548 days away from the 2024 presidential election.
For more information on this week’s top story, here’s an article from BBC News - Local elections 2023: Labour and Lib Dems take seats from Tories
What Zander’s been reading
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Check out this week’s featured article on The Wall Street Journal - Pepsi’s New Healthy Diet: More Potato Chips and Soda - (Article available for free on Apple News)
Rapid-fire Facts
These are top news headlines from the past week in rapid-fire fashion:
Russia/Ukraine War: On Wednesday, Russia claimed it shot down two Ukranian drones above the Kremlin in Moscow in an assassination attempt of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ukraine has denied any role, while the U.S. did the same after a Putin spokesman accused the U.S. of being involved in the plot. U.S. intelligence officials say they are investigating, with the incident being a false flag operation by Russia noted as a possibility. The news comes as Ukraine is preparing a counteroffensive to take back Russian-controlled territories of the war-torn country.
Writers Strike: The Writers Guild of America went on strike on Tuesday for the first time in 15 years. After the WGA couldn’t reach a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, nearly 11,500 writers put down their pens. Last month, nearly 98% of those who voted in the WGA authorization vote voted to strike. The WGA is demanding higher minimum and residual pay, more writers for shows, shorter exclusive contracts, and more. The AMPTP is also facing contracts ending with the Directors Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA next month.
Proud Boys: Four leaders of the Proud Boys, a far-right extremist group, were found guilty of seditious conspiracy in relation to the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Among the four found guilty was Henry “Enrique” Tarrio, former chairman of the group. In total, the four Proud Boys were found guilty on 31 of 46 counts, with sentencing expected in August. The Justice Department’s criminal investigations surrounding the insurrection have now led to over 600 convictions in the over two years since.
Serbia Mass Shootings: Two mass shootings struck the eastern European country of Serbia last week. On Wednesday, eight children were killed at a shooting at a primary school in Belgrade, the capital. On Friday, another eight people were killed and 14 were injured just after midnight near the village of Mladenovac, just south of Belgrade. In a 2018 report from Small Arms Survey, Serbia was found as having the highest civilian gun ownership rate in Europe, with the second-highest gun death rate in Europe according to World Population Review.
New York Fossil Fuels: New York state became the first state in the U.S. that banned fossil fuel equipment in new construction by legislation last week. The ban, which begins in 2026, will prevent new buildings from installing gas stoves or propane furnases, instead relying on fully electric equipment. California and Washington state have previously enacted similar bans, but through building codes instead of passing legislation. New York City previously enacted a similar ban, which went into effect starting this year.
Zander’s Facts Sporting Club
Here are the top headlines from the sports world in the ZF Sporting Club:
NBA Playoffs: Game 4s are on the horizon in all four series of the NBA Conference Semifinals. At 3:30 pm et on ESPN later today, the #3 Philadelphia 76ers host the #2 Boston Celtics with the Celtics holding a 2-1 series lead. At 8:00 pm et on TNT tonight, the #1 Denver Nuggets, holding a 2-1 series lead, visit the #4 Phoenix Suns. Tomorrow on TNT, the #8 Miami Heat host the #5 New York Knicks at 7:30 pm et, while the #7 Los Angeles Lakers host the #6 Golden State Warriors at 10:00 pm et. Both the Heat and Lakers hold 2-1 leads in their series.
NHL Playoffs: With the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the Second Round, all four series have Game 3 next up. In the East, the Florida Panthers lead the series 2-0 over the Toronto Maple Leafs, with Florida hosting Game 3 at 6:30 pm et tonight on TBS. The Carolina Hurricanes also hold a 2-0 series lead over the New Jersey Devils, with Game 3 in Newark, NJ starting at 3:30 pm et today on TBS. Out West, both series are tied at 1-1. Game 3 between the Dallas Stars and Seattle Kraken in Seattle gets underway tonight at 9:30 pm et on TBS. Finally, the Edmonton Oilers host the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 3 tomorrow at 8:30 pm et on ESPN.
Kentucky Derby: In the 149th running of the Kentucky Derby, three-year-old horse Mage was able to take home the crown. The victory was the first at the derby for both jockey Javier Castellano and trainer Gustavo Delgado. Two Phil’s finished just behind in second, while Angel of Empire rounded out the top three. Early favorite, Forte, was ruled a scratch from the race on Saturday morning. The build-up to the race also saw seven horses die at Churchill Downs in the last few days.
Napoli Win Serie A: Even with five matches remaining, Napoli clinched the Italian Serie A title with a 1-1 draw against Udinese on Thursday. It’s the first time since 1990 that Napoli have claimed the Scudetto, putting a cap on a dominant season in the league, with second place Lazio 16 points behind. While this is the third time overall that Napoli have won the league title, it’s the first time the club has done so without Diego Maradona. In other soccer news, the UEFA Champions League Semifinals begin on Tuesday as Real Madrid host Manchester City. AC Milan and Inter Milan will play on Wednesday, with both matches kicking off at 3:00 pm et and airing on CBS, Paramount+, and Univision.
Super Bowl Ratings: Nearly three months after the game was played, Super Bowl LVII was officially declared the most-watched telecast ever in the U.S. The Kansas City Chiefs’ 38-35 win over the Philadelphia Eagles, which aired on Fox and Fox Deportes, was viewed by an average of 115.1 million viewers. The previous highest viewing average was for Super Bowl XLIX in 2014, when the New England Patriots beat the Seattle Seahawks 28-24. The NFL is also expected to announce the schedule for the upcoming season on Thursday, May 11.
Wrapping up the Facts
Before this edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts wraps up, here’s another reminder to check out the latest episodes of the Zander’s Facts podcast. Download and listen to the latest episode of the podcast, along with every episode of Zander’s Facts, wherever you get your podcasts.
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You can also listen to every episode of the podcast on this very website. All Zander’s Facts podcast episodes are now available on zandersfacts.substack.com under the “Zander’s Facts” tab for your enjoyment! That includes the next episode of the Zander’s Facts podcast, which comes out this Wednesday!
That’s a wrap on this week’s edition of Zander’s Weekend Facts. The Facts in print return next Sunday, May 14, 2023.
