Tories suffer early losses in local elections

Labour celebrated significant early local election gains, including a "seismic" voter shift in the Blackpool South by-election.

With 70 of 107 councils declared, Labour has picked up 115 councillor seats, according to the most recent BBC numbers, while the Conservatives have lost 272. Labour took control of councils in Thurrock, Hartlepool, Redditch and Rushmoor – the latter victory hailed by the party as "truly historic".

Labour also prevailed in the Blackpool South by-election, as expected. Chris Webb becomes the new MP, taking over from former Conservative Scott Benton on the back of a huge 26% swing – a victory Keir Starmer described as "seismic". 

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One "interesting facet" of the results so far, said Sky News, is that the Tory vote is "down most in areas that voted Leave in the 2016 Brexit referendum". The sprinkling of Reform UK candidates is having an impact on the Conservatives' numbers. Richard Tice's party finished just 117 votes behind the second-placed Tories in the Blackpool South poll.

Government sources told Sky News the "stars could not be more aligned against us" after a series of scandals hitting local MPs.

Labour has not been immune to encroachment from rival parties. The Greens picked up 30 seats to bring their total to 66. And in Oldham, Labour lost their slim council majority after a swing to independent candidates, possibly a result of alienating the town's large Muslim community "because of its stance on Gaza", said The Guardian.

As the results continue to come in, all eyes will be on the West Midlands and Tees Valley, where Conservative mayors Andy Street and Ben Houchen are fighting for re-election in races widely seen as the potential watershed between a disappointing night for the Tories and a total washout. 

For now, Rishi Sunak is "still confident he can see off any attempt to remove him from office", but a Labour victory in Tees Valley, where Houchen won with more than 70% of the vote in 2021, would mean "all bets are off", said The Times' political editor Steven Swinford. The results of the London mayoral race are due to be announced tomorrow.

Labour still has more work to do to lock in its political ascendancy as yesterday's low turnout and rise in the number of independent councillors highlight the high level of voter disillusionment across the nation.