Amid the political sound and fury still reverberating after the seismic local elections in England, there is a quieter but determined noise emanating from the counties and shires. It is the sound of a new politics, based not on hubris or party tribalism but a belief that, in these complex, fast-moving times, only cross-party cooperation can win power and use it effectively.
In Hertsmere and Bracknell, in Lewes and Waverley, across the London commuter belt in Surrey, Kent, Hertfordshire, Sussex and more, progressive party activists refused to be beaten by an electoral system that is stacked against them.
