Conservatives jubilant, Labour dejected

The local elections in England and Wales may mark an important watershed in UK politics. This may have implications for Northern Ireland. The Labour Party will be very concerned about the next General Election. Gordon Brown, who has never shown great interest in Northern Ireland, will be very reluctant to devote any time or resources beyond the absolute minimum. Unionists, particularly those in the DUP, have often seemingly based their entire strategy for dealing with the UK body politic on the chance that they might hold the balance of power at Westminster. The chances of this happening, which were always extremely slim, seem to have receded across the horizon. Perhaps this will lead unionist parties to reassess their future strategy regarding how they approach UK national politics.