No alcohol served at the bar, but that didn't stop the scuffles

With Rod Stewart on the night before at the Leeds First Direct Arena and the Vengaboys the night after, an election which saw the country swing from one extreme to the other seemed fitting for the venue where votes from across Leeds were counted last night.
The General Election count in Leeds. Photo: JPI MediaThe General Election count in Leeds. Photo: JPI Media
The General Election count in Leeds. Photo: JPI Media

Candidates and their supporters milled around the bar area, only to be told no alcohol was being served and it was soft drinks only. And not even full fat Coke.

A mischief maker suggests this is because in 2017 a few activists got a little bit too merry and starter to shove each other before the ballots were even counted.

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But as it turned out, they didn’t need the sweet release of a warm lager this year to get them going, the mere mention of Jeremy Corbyn promoted jeers and boos from Tory types intent on winding up Labour’s Richard Burgon.

And wind him up they did. Burgon managed to blame almost everyone for the Labour Party’s electoral failures nationally other than the one man whose fault it was - Jeremy Corbyn.

Instead Mr Burgon gushed over his leader, who would soon not be his leader, and blamed the nasty media for all the party’s ills. Don’t worry about antisemitism, Brexit, or the fact many voters find Mr Corbyn unpalatable.

A difficult night for Labour in Yorkshire is not likely to get any better as we go into Friday.

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Mr Corbyn will make a statement and set out when he will step down.

And no doubt the leadership battle will begin as various high-profile party members start shuffling for their time in the sun.

Not to worry, though, as Labour is not the only party to not know where they’re going.

One Green candidate in the First Direct, when called to get the result, shouted: “I don’t even know where to go, where’s the control table?!”

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The country will presumably be also asking where the control lies as the main parties tussel in the next few days, Labour to find a new leader, and the Conservatives on how to best use their newly gained majority.