An extraordinarily good night for Labour - but not with Muslim voters
Henry Zeffman
Chief political correspondent
IMAGE SOURCE,REUTERS
Let’s be clear, tonight has been an extraordinarily good night for the Labour Party. Under Keir Starmer they have won more seats than they would ever have dreamed in the aftermath of the 2019 general election.
But there is grit in the oyster. They have performed strikingly badly in seats with large numbers of Muslim voters. Labour’s vote is down on average by 10 points in seats where more than 10% of the population identify as Muslim.
That’s one reason Labour have lost Leicester East to the Conservatives and the main reason perhaps that Jonathan Ashworth, a shadow cabinet minister, lost Leicester South to an independent - so far the biggest shock of the night.
More may yet come. I’m told by a senior Labour source it’s extremely likely that a pro-Palestine independent will win in the new seat of Batley and Dewsbury. It’s possible an independent will win in Blackburn.
I’m getting mixed reports about Shabana Mahmood, the shadow justice secretary, in Birmingham Ladywood, but her team are certainly far less bullish than they were at the start of the night.