Editorial: If Labour is not going to vow to back veterans against the legacy imbalance then the Tories should cite it in the coming election

The prospects of a Conservative victory in the general election this year or early next seem slimmer than ever.

In the council elections in England, the Tories had lost approximately half their seats as of late last evening.

But interestingly the Labour Party had only scooped up some of those lost councillors, with more going to other parties. And in London, it seemed that Sadiq Khan was going to get back as mayor, but only narrowly.

What does that all mean? First, it seems that the Conservatives will find it almost impossible to form another government on its own, or even at all. No party since World War Two has won a general election after 14 years in office, so the odds were already against it. Yet the results that are still coming in suggest voter unease about the Labour Party. The sentiment that led to the so-called Red Wall MPs, elected as Conservatives in traditionally Labour constituencies in 2019, has not gone away.

These are patriotic working class voters whose economic instincts might be left-wing but who supported Brexit, love their country, despise Islamic extremism and its apologists, and who oppose ultra woke stances on matters such as trans rights.

The Conservatives might yet deny Labour a majority so should not give up. They should use Northern Ireland policy as a way to make Keir Starmer uncomfortable.

Today we report on our front page how Labour has declined an opportunity to reassure veterans that their opposition to the Legacy Act will not just lead to a return to unbalanced historic investigations against state forces.

And what does Labour think about Ireland’s shared opposition to the act, such that it is suing the UK?

It is an outrageous legal action by a country that harboured terrorists for three decades. Rishi Sunak should be making Labour’s reticence to clearly defend the security forces on these issues a key part of his campaign.