Conservatives contest 94 per cent of seats in local elections

The Conservative Party are contesting 94 per cent of seats up for election on 5 May – an increase on 2007 when these seats were last fought, according to new analysis released today.

And nearly 250 Conservative councillors have been elected unopposed after Labour and the Liberal Democrats both failed to field candidates.

Labour have only had 7 elected unopposed, and the Liberal Democrats 5.

Labour have failed to field candidates in nearly 30 per cent of seats, despite being the main opposition party ahead of the local elections.

Conservative Party Co-Chairman Baroness Warsi said that the statistics showed Ed Miliband’s promise of a new generation in politics was yet another bankrupt idea.

“The Conservatives are the only party fighting for every part of England. This is in stark contrast to Labour which can’t find candidates in three out of ten seats. So much for Ed Miliband’s promise of a new generation in politics – he can’t even beat New Labour” she said.

“Over the next month, we’ll be showing how Conservative councils not only deliver better services but cost £43 a year less per family on a Band D bill than Labour-controlled councils and £114 a year less than Liberal Democrat councils. Labour councils charge more and deliver worse services. The message is clear – don’t let Labour do to your council what they’ve done to the country.”

Earlier this month Labour MP John Spellar had said that it would be “not only bad for Labour, but bad for democracy” if the Labour party “let the case go by default in some areas by not running candidates”.