Following the local election earlier in May 2008 most of the UK-wide media have shifted their attention to the upcoming Crewe and Nantwich by-election to read New Labour’s runes for a future UK general election. The seat is being contested following the death of Gwyneth Dunwoody MP.
The story in England was largely one of Conservative resurgence and the party has also made considerable gains in Wales. There are, however, extra dimensions to the Welsh results. The Assembly election in May 2007 provided the first Wales-wide hints that pluralism had entered Welsh politics. There was much evidence in the Welsh local elections of May 2008 to suggest this state of affairs will continue for some time yet. The IWA’s Director, John Osmond, has produced an analysis of the 2008 local elections in Wales, available here as a PDF (92k).
