Labour self-destruct in Slough

Slough was one of the very few good stories for Labour on the night of 1st May.  Labour councillors were being ousted all over the country but in Slough, Labour bucked the trend and took control of the local council.  Labour MP for Slough, Fiona Mactaggart was on Radio 4's Week in Westminster on Saturday explaining why this had happened.  She pointed to a listening exercise that the party had held in the constituency.  It doesn't appear, however, that the new Labour councillors are capable of listening to each other.  Following a row over leadership of the Labour group, enough councillors have defected to put the Conservatives back in control with one local group of independents.

Diana Coad, our candidate for the seat, told the Slough Observer that "we have enough councillors to take control. I can’t confirm how many new members we have because numbers are rising."

Conservative blogger Tony Sharp finds the situation baffling and is unimpressed by the defection of councillors just days after they were elected under Labour colours.  ConservativeHome is getting unconfirmed reports that one of the defectors has been made Deputy Leader of the Tory group.

We hope to have more later today.