How the 'home of the British Army' turned to Labour after being a Tory ... trends now
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Sir Keir Starmer boasted that Labour was now in charge of 'the home of the British Army' today as his party won control of a major military area for the first time ever.
The opposition won control of Rushmoor Borough Council overnight, the local authority covering the garrison town of Aldershot and neighbouring Farnborough, ending 24 years of Tory control.
The result will send shock waves through the Conservatives in an area which was once a true-Blue Tory heartland where it was unthinkable Labour would win any sort of election.
It will raise Labour hopes of taking the Aldershot Westminster seat of Armed Forces Minister Leo Docherty.
Aldershot has been a major military base since 1854, but the result comes against a national backdrop of massive cuts to the British Army which has seen it shrink to its smallest size in 200 years.
The vast downsizing of forces since the end of the Cold War has seen large chunks of military land in the borough turned into starter homes, altering the demographics of the area still further.
Additionally there are a host of local issues in play, including the decline in the town's once bustling high street, and that of Farnborough, which also has its own major historic military links.
The opposition won control of Rushmoor Borough Council overnight, the local authority covering the garrison town of Aldershot and neighbouring Farnborough, ending 24 years of Tory control.
Aldershot has been a major military base since 1854, but the result comes against a national backdrop of massive cuts to the British Army which has seen it shrink to its
