Cogito Ergo Non Serviam
UK Local Elections: Vote LibDem, Green, Nationalist
Much of the UK goes to the polls today voting in elections for local councils in parts of England, for the Sennedd in Wales and for the Scottish Parliament in Scotland. This journal takes the view that Labour has governed badly enough that it should not even be considered. Reform is merely British MAGA and unworthy of anything other than contempt. The Conservative Party is playing "me, too" politics to Reform and therefore is a silly choice. The Green Party and the Liberal Democrats are the only two credible parties in England, and voters should choose between them based on which has the better chance of winning the seat. In Wales, Plaid Cymru is the best option. In Scotland, the SNP despite its scandals of a few years ago deserve a fifth consecutive term in office.
No one can dispute that the government of Sir Keir Starmer has disappointed even its most devoted fans. Despite a massive majority, it has found its way into trouble as evidenced by the Peter Mandelson disaster. Appointing an associate of Jeffrey Epstein to be His Majesty's Ambassador to the United States was just stupid. The violation of process to get the appointment through was bonus idiocy. In short, the PM and his party have all kinds of power and have no clue how to use it. More Labour is simply more dithering.
Reform and the Tories are really just two factions of awful conservative thinking (the gerund used loosely). One prefers to burn the house down while the other simply wants to let it decay on its own. Neither has a credible plan to improve the lives of Britons. The Tories are a known quantity when it comes to failing the people. Reform has no track record in that regard, but if Nigel Farage is the face of the party, it needs plastic surgery. He is an unserious hypocrite who should not be allowed to operate a business let alone a nation.
The Liberal Democrats and the Greens are moving from protest votes to more credible political factions. In a different electoral system, one could envision a member of either party serving as PM. The differences between the two are not important to the average voter, and given the lay of the political land in the UK, a vote for either is sensible.
That endorsement, such as it is, does not extend to Wales nor to Scotland. Britain remains a highly centralized stated despite the existence of devolved legislatures. Putting people in charge who believe those legislatures deserve more power is only logical if one wants a system that is more responsive to the needs of the voters.
Plaid Cymru in Wales is likely to be the largest party for the first time in history, and if so, that puts Welsh independence on the table. While Rhun ap Iorwerth, the party leader, is not likely to get it, London Labour may allow the Welsh assembly more power in future. That would be reason enough to vote for Plaid Cymru.
In Scotland, the SNP is likely to win yet again but the final arithmetic for forming a government is still unclear. There is a large undecided vote which could either give the SNP an outright majority, or those votes could create a situation in which the SNP and Greens go into coalition as both are pro-independence. As with Wales, getting a referendum out of London Labour is unlikely, but more pressure for more powers is reason enough to back the Nats.
If Labour does badly enough, the knives may come out for the PM. This journal is of the opinion that any attempt to remove him will fail for now. Sir Keir has resisted joining the Iran war and that makes it easier for his supporters to stay in line – “he kept us out of war” is a winning slogan. At the same time, if the war goes on much longer, the British economy will fail. If that were to happen, the PM might not make it to the end of this parliament.
© Copyright 2026 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Ubuntu Linux.
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