Labour sources have told the Press Association: “Early signs at the count indicate the Greens have been able to turn out support in a way they wouldn’t be able to replicate at a general election.”
View image in fullscreenBallot papers are tipped out of boxes during the vote count. Photograph: Adam Vaughan/EPAProf Will Jennings, of the University of Southampton, earlier said the contest was too close to call and that in Britain’s new fragmented politics “anything can happen”. He said a Labour defeat would be “terminal” for No 10’s strategy to try to appeal to right-leaning voters, which has alienated its core progressive supporters.
“It would be a symbol of the failure of that strategy and the end point for it,” said Jennings. “The worst-case scenario for Labour is coming third behind Reform and the Greens, not least because of the decision to stop Andy Burnham from standing.”
