Those standing in the local elections regularly found that the number one issue worrying voters on the doorstep was the health of the economy. With nationwide trends of Labour gains and Tory losses replicated in Stroud, SNJ reporter Chris Warne asks whether the tide of public opinion has begun to turn against the Government's austerity measures.

THE frequency with which applause erupted from the huddle of Labour supporters gathered at the foot of the stage inside Stratford Park Leisure Centre on Friday spoke volumes.

Each one of the party’s newly elected councillors was met by a cacophony of congratulations, with those sporting red rosettes reserving additional cheers for their candidates who had unseated Conservative counterparts.

If the jubilatory mood in the Labour ranks was striking, then so too was the downcast air which, in sharp contrast, hung palpably about the Tory group.

Frances Roden, the district council’s Conservative leader, conceded afterwards that the local election results had been ‘disappointing’ and ascribed the poor showing to ‘issues with central government’.

That the outcome of the district elections so closely mirrored countrywide trends of Labour gains and Tory losses, would support her argument that voters in Stroud cast their ballots based on national rather than local concerns.

Few would dispute the inference also in her comments that the Conservative engine propelling the coalition government has started to splutter of late.

A string of damaging episodes, including the cash-for-access scandal, which led to the resignation of the party’s co-treasurer Peter Cruddas, and the fallout from the Leveson Inquiry, which continues to trouble David Cameron, will no doubt have been fresh in the minds of voters as they went to the polls.

Tory MP Nadine Dorries did not exactly aid the Conservative cause either when less than a fortnight ago she described the Prime Minister and George Osborne as a pair of ‘arrogant posh boys’.

Yet somewhat unsurprisingly, it was the state of the economy which according to candidates really dominated discussion on the doorstep ahead of last Thursday’s local elections.

With the latest figures showing that we have entered a double-dip recession, the outcome of the elections could be interpreted as a sign that public confidence in the government’s economic policy is beginning to falter.

Cllr Roden acknowledged a sense of unease among the general public, saying ‘austerity is difficult for people to accept’, but she also voiced her belief that the results owed in part to a case of the mid-term blues.

Over the weekend there was a suggestion from some quarters that a significant number of Tory activists had opted to stay at home in order to make known their discontent with the party’s national leadership.

Some Conservative supporters at the grassroots were said to be unhappy that their representatives in government, influenced by the wishes of their coalition partners, were pursuing a liberal agenda, concentrating on policies such as gay marriage whilst neglecting traditional Tory concerns like crime and immigration.

Yet in spite of this, Friday’s election results would seem to indicate that the public are becoming increasingly sceptical that continued doses of austerity are the cure for our country’s economic malaise.

Labour candidate Stephen Lydon who successfully contested The Stanleys ward said he thought his party’s economic stance and anti-cuts platform was a key factor behind their gains locally and nationally.

If so, that would suggest the public has warmed to the narrative espoused by Labour that the pace and scale of the cuts has had the effect of choking off the economic recovery.

So long as the economy continues to nosedive, it is almost certain that Labour’s ‘it’s hurting but it isn’t working’ dictum will have increasing resonance with members of the public suffering under the weight of austerity.

Public anxiety over the coalition’s economic competence, revealed by election results up and down the country, seemed to grow considerably following George Osborne’s budget in March.

The cut in the 50p tax rate for top earners served to undermine Cameron’s oft-repeated ‘we’re all in it together’ message, creating the perception that the burden of national debt is being shifted from rich to poor.

But Labour in its own right still has a long way to go if it is to restore its own economic credibility and questions are likely to persist over Ed Miliband’s leadership credentials.

The younger of the two Milibands has had his moments, winning plaudits from across the political spectrum for making the distinction between productive and predatory capitalism and for his denouncement of the Murdoch empire, but only time will tell if these sporadic successes are enough to secure him a victory at the next general election.

Come 2015 the party with the best chances of emerging victorious is likely to be the one that is able to articulate a compelling strategy for creating jobs and kick-starting growth in the economy.

Friday’s results may place Labour in the ascendancy but if the local elections tell us anything it is that both parties still have their work cut out to convince voters they are worthy of office.

A pitifully low average turnout of 32% across the country revealed in the starkest possible terms just how alienated the general population have become from mainstream party politics in this country.

It is the responsibility of all politicians to confront this crisis head on by making it clear who and what they stand for.