Former Conservative Secretary-General Nick Bowles has revealed that he voted for Labor for the first time since Tony Blair’s 1997 election.
This happened when polling stations were closed in local elections in England, Scotland and Wales, with voters voting in thousands of council seats to elect local representatives.
Mr Bowles, a former Tory MP from Grantham and Stamford, tweeted earlier Thursday: “I first voted for Labor on an equally glorious May morning in 1997.”
Mr Bowles, who serves in David Cameron’s government, left the Conservatives in April 2019 after accusing his former party of failing to compromise on Brexit and leaving the House of Commons.
Elected for the first time under the banner of the Tories in the 2010 elections, he remained an independent MP until November 2019, before deciding not to seek re-election as an early election sought by Boris Johnson.
After sharing his decision to vote for Labor on Thursday, Mr Bowles also retweeted a message from Sir Keir Starmer that read: “Today is our chance to send a message to the Tories that they cannot ignore: Britain deserves better. “.
“Make a voting plan and tell your friends and family to do the same,” he added.
In England, more than 4,000 councilors on 146 councils ran in major cities, including Leeds, Manchester, Birmingham and all 32 London boroughs.
All 32 of Scotland’s councils – last contested in 2017 – and 22 of Wales’ councils are also up for grabs.
As the census is already under way, the first results, including the main Labor goals in London of Wandsworth and Barnet, are expected to be announced in the early hours of Friday morning.
The results will be seen as a major mid-term test for the Conservatives amid the ongoing Partygate scandal, with police still investigating events at number 10 and growing concerns about the cost of living crisis.
Writing for The Independent before the voters went to the polls, research expert Professor Sir John Curtis said: “At first glance, the omens are not good for Boris Johnson.
“His party shows no signs of regaining the lead in this parliamentary vote until his honesty and ethics have been the subject of controversy. On average, the Conservatives are currently six points behind Labor. This is a difference of nine points from the 2019 general elections.
He suggested that the election could “well lead to the loss of the Tories by several hundred seats – but it doesn’t have to look like a tsunami that threatens to sweep Johnson off Downing Street.”
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