KICK IN THE BALLOTS Tories handed bloody nose in local elections as Labour make big gains…but there’s some relief for Rishi
THE Tories were dealt a bloody nose today as Labour swept to victory in hundreds of town hall seats.
Sir Keir Starmer's party seized control of several councils and stormed the Blackpool South by-election in a bruising morning for Rishi Sunak.
But despite suffering their worst local election results in 40 years, Tory Ben Houchen gave his party a glimmer of hope as he held on to the Tees Valley mayoralty.
The Prime Minister acknowledged the losses had been "disappointing" but stressed there were still lots of results to be announced.
Speaking at a military base in North Yorkshire, Mr Sunak told reporters: “Obviously it’s disappointing to lose good, hard-working Conservative councillors and I’m grateful to them for all their service in local government, keeping council tax low and delivering services for local people.
“But we have still got lots of results to come as well, and there are also things that I would point to, Harlow for example where Keir Starmer held a rally just on Wednesday saying that was a place that he had to win to be on track to win a general election."
Meanwhile, Sir Keir hailed his party's by-election victory as a "seismic win" which proved an "overwhelming vote for change".
The Tories lost control of four authorities and more than 200 councillors were booted out.
Meanwhile, Labour gained four authorities and more than 100 councillors, along with the new mayoralties in the North East and York and North Yorkshire, the Prime Minister’s own backyard.
Labour’s Claire Ward won the East Midlands mayoral election, becoming the region’s first elected mayor.
And Sir Keir's side gained Adur in West Sussex from the Conservatives after gaining eight seats - the first time the party has controlled the council.
As results continued to come in:
- Labour took control of councils in Hartlepool, Thurrock, Redditch and Rushmoor
- Reform UK beat the Tories in 16 out of 25 council seats in Sunderland
- But a Tory minister said: "If you vote Reform, you get Labour” at a general election
- Conservatives pulled off a surprise victory in Harlow that was called "the greatest comeback since Lazarus"
- Labour lost control of Oldham after a pro-Gaza rebellion
- The Lib Dems have gained 32 council seats and the Greens 20
- Conservative Ben Houchen was re-elected as Tees Valley Mayor, but with a reduced majority over Labour
- Labour’s Kim McGuinness won the North East mayoral election, defeating former Labour-turned-independent candidate Jamie Driscoll
- Boris Johnson was turned away from a polling station after forgetting his ID
More results are expected over the weekend, with key mayoral races in London and the West Midlands declaring on Saturday.
But most councils are set to announce their results by the end of today.
For millions of voters this was the final set of ballots ahead of the General Election at some point later this year.
Labour claimed first blood early this morning by regaining control of Hartlepool council in the North East, before also flipping Rushmoor in Hampshire.
The Tory vote is collapsing across the country
By JACK ELSOM, Chief Political Correspondent
HOWEVER you spin it, the local elections have been inescapably bad for Rishi Sunak.
Across the country the Tory vote is collapsing - from the Red Wall penetrated by Boris Johnson in 2019, to the party’s traditional southern fortresses.
Sir Keir Starmer - the night’s main winner - could not have been quicker in dashing to Blackpool yesterday morning for a triumphant byelection victory lap.
It is Brexit-voting towns like this seaside resort he needs to regain if he wants to cruise into No10 some time later this year.
And Labour capturing once-true blue military areas like Rushmoor ought to send shivers up the spine of Conservative high command.
Braved-faced Tory apparatchiks point to the usual caveats: that governing parties always get a kicking outside general elections.
That may be true, but it will be cold comfort for those in Downing Street who know they are running out of road - and time - to defy the polls and win an historic fifth term.
There are still some glimmers of good news for the ever-optimistic Mr Sunak to look to.
By clinging on to the Tees Valley mayoralty, he appears to have headed off a brewing mutiny from those within his party ready to hand him a whisky and a revolver.
It gives him a narrative to sell both to voters - and Conservative plotters - that he’s still in the fight.
And for all their noising off, Reform flopped in the Blackpool contest that should have been their ideal contest.
The task for Mr Sunak now is to convince disillusioned Tories flirting with Nigel Farage’s insurgents that it’s a straight-up him vs Sir Keir at the General Election.
That job will be made easier if can prove his flagship Rwanda plan works and deliver another round of tax cuts.
But the clock is ticking.
Its victory in the Blackpool South by-election marked a 26 per cent swing from the Tories in the third-largest since WW2.
The party's new MP Chris Webb bagged 10,825 votes, followed by the Tories on 3,218 and Reform on 3,101.
Sir Keir said the result was "vindication of the hard work over the last four long years to change the Labour Party".
Following their defeat, the Conservatives said: "This was always going to be a difficult election given the specific circumstances related to the previous incumbent."
Scott Benton - who won the seaside seat for the Tories in 2019 - was forced to quit after being caught in a lobbying scandal.
Reform UK failed to get more votes than the Conservatives but only by a narrow 117 votes.
Richard Tice's right-wing insurgents did however beat the Conservatives in 16 council seats in Sunderland.
A Tory spokesman said: "What has been clear is that a vote for Reform is a vote for Sir Keir Starmer - taking us right back to square one."
With Mr Houchen being reelected in Teesside, Mr Sunak is now pinning his hopes on clinging onto the West Midlands.
While the Tees Valley Mayor was expected to retain power in the North East, Andy Street's reelection battle in the West Midlands is too close to call.
Key results in the local elections so far
SOME of the key results as they trickle in...
Blackpool South: Labour wins by-election seat from the Conservatives with a big swing
Hartlepool: Labour regains control of the council after suffering losses in 2021
Harlow: Tories defy a Labour onslaught to hang on to the council in victory described as “the greatest comeback since Lazarus
Oldham: Labour loses control of the council as pro-Gaza independents force hung authority
Redditch: Labour wins control of the council in this classic bellwether part of the country
Still to come: Mayoral races in West Midlands, Tees Valley, London and plenty more council seats
But Mr Houchen's victory may just be enough to quell attempts by mutinous Tories to force Mr Sunak out.
Rebels had long eyed the local elections as their last chance to replace the PM before the General Election.
But sources are now claiming there is no appetite for a change in leader and even Number 10 appears confident they won't walk the talk.
Allies rallied round Mr Sunak this morning, with Tory chairman Richard Holden calling him the "right man for the job".
He told Times Radio: "The Prime Minister is going to go on and lead the Conservative Party into the general election, there’s no doubt about that.”
Asked for his reaction to the results so far, Mr Holden said: “Not a great set of results but coming off I think it would be fair to say a very high watermark in 2021.”
In 2021 - when most of these contests were last fought - Boris Johnson hoovered up votes with a "vaccine bounce" emerging from the pandemic.
The results were so bruising for Labour that Sir Keir was on the verge of quitting.
This was always going to be a difficult election given the specific circumstances
Mr Holden added: "I think what they want to see is us delivering on things like the Rwanda scheme... what I think people want to see is more Conservative delivery on things like illegal migration, they want to see that deterrent."
He told the BBC: "When people are voting in individual by-elections they know they're not voting for the government of the country."
Polling guru Professor John Curtice said the early results were "nothing short of catastrophic" for Mr Sunak.
He told the BBC: "The government is potentially heading for quite a considerable defeat."
The top pollster said early results put the Conservatives on course for their worst result in 40 years.
The Tories did pull off a surprise victory this morning to hang onto the Harlow council - which its MP Robert Halfon described as the "biggest comeback since Lazarus".
He said Labour had predicted a "landslide" result, with two visits from Sir Keir during the campaign.
Meanwhile in Oldham Labour actually lost control of the authority after pro-Gaza independents cost them a majority.
Labour frontbencher Pat McFadden admitted the Israel-Hamas war "is a factor" for some voters and said his party would "work hard" to win those people back.
Reform run the Tories close - but would have wanted to beat them in Blackpool
By MARTINA BET, Political Correspondent
THE contest in Blackpool South represented a key moment to measure the electoral appeal of Reform UK.
The right-wing insurgent party hailed its best by-election result this morning, earning 16.9 per cent of the vote.
This the first time they reached above 15 per cent and the second time above 10 per cent.
Reform candidate Mark Butcher was only 117 votes away from beating the Tories and leader Richard Tice declared the party is now the only “real opposition” to Labour.
But the Brexit-voting seaside seat should have been fertile territory for Reform, and the result is still a long way behind by-election scores Ukip hit on their way to the 2015 general election.
And while only a small amount of votes separated them second place, the Tories will be breathing a sigh of relief they came second.
Elections guru Prof Sir John Curtice said: “The only thing that’s stopped this result from being basically an unmitigated disaster for the Conservatives was the fact they just narrowly squeaked ahead of Reform.”
No comments: