Snowmail: Labour face the deepest cut of all

Last Modified: 02 May 2008
By: Krishnan Guru-Murthy

On tonight's programme

Worse than Michael Foot, that's probably one of the easiest images to conjure up when thinking quite how bad these elections results are for Labour. The worst result for four decades, more than 300 seats lost, several councils in both north and south and it's looking increasingly likely that Boris Johnson has beaten Ken Livingstone in London, surely the deepest cut of all.

There's no good way for Labour to look at what has happened, the official explanation runs like this... 'There's a global economic slowdown that isn't our fault.

We may also have been a little slow to realise the impact of things like 10p tax abolition. But we got it in the end, and we will now listen to the voters. What really matters is what you do when times get tough.'

That's the line the government is taking tonight. In short Gordon Brown has only one prayer - that the economic downturn starts looking up by the time he calls an election in two years time.

But even that is looking like a slim hope tonight. If you look at how the Tories have gained votes in the north of England, and working class areas in towns and cities, David Cameron can justifiably claim to have turned something of a corner.

The Tories have taken Bury and North Tyneside which gives them a legitimate right to claim they are breaking back into areas where they have struggled for 10 years. His party are being very careful today not too sound triumphant. But they are on a new footing after these elections.

And privately Labour insiders are saying things need to change significantly if they are to have a hope of winning the next election.

Wishing on the economy isn't enough. Tonight, as we go on air we may start getting a more detailed inkling of what has happened in London, and the psychological impact that will have on the party national. Turnout in London appears to have been really high in several areas, we'll be examining whether that was because of issues like the congestion charge that drive many people nuts, or whether it had more to do with the big personalities of the two main rivals. Ken - a maverick, a rebel who had been expelled from the party and then absorbed back into it, who forced through risky policies central government would never have dared.

But who got involved in personal battles with journalists, controversies over his drinking habits, and the revelation of several children the public was never aware of. And Boris a man many thought would be a huge liability and clown who had insulted minorities, a whole city, been exposed over an affair, sacked for not telling the truth about it.

And who had admitted trying cocaine but is most famous for appearances on television game shows. Are there lessons here for politics in general? Perhaps people want characters they can really get to grips with. Zimbabwe election results announced

Also tonight, that much awaited result in Zimbabwe has finally been published. As expected in recent days the opposition MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai has beaten Robert Mugabe.

But according to these results, not by enough to avoid a second round. It places him in a difficult position, having previously said there was no point in participating in such a vote when the results were being rigged.

Britain has also called into question the legitimacy of the results announced today.

And we'll of course have the rest of the day's news, including anything that emerges from the Mid East quartet meetings going in London today.