More physique blows for Rishi Sunak as Tories lose true-blue councils

Rishi Sunak suffered more body blows at the hands of voters tonight as the Tories lost a slew of councils in crucial general election battlegrounds.

Despite a bright spot with the Tory Tees Valley mayor winning re-election, the bad news has kept rolling in for the PM after a disastrous set of local authority votes.

Labour gained Adur in West Sussex from the Conservatives this afternoon after scooping eight seats – the first time the party has controlled the council. There was an even more extraordinary turnaround in Nuneaton and Bedworth, where Keir Starmer’s party racked up 15 more seats to take control, with the Tories down 14.

Labour also seized overall control of Milton Keynes for the first time since 2000 after adding three councillors. It followed the shock win in Rushmoor in Hampshire this morning, a council it has never before controlled.

In Mr Sunak’s own constituency back yard, Labour’s David Skaith won the York and North Yorkshire mayoralty.  

Polling guru Professor John Curtice has suggested the Tories are on track to lose 500 councillors – half of those up for grabs – in one of the worst showings by the party for 40 years. 

As he tries to fend off a fresh coup bid from Tory rebels, the PM acknowledged that results so far were ‘disappointing’ but insisted Keir Starmer had still not sealed the deal. 

Eyes are now turning to tomorrow, with Conservatives hoping that Andy Street could take some more pressure off the premier by winning a third mayoral term in the West Mids.

Tory incumbent Ben Houchen was re-elected in Tees Valley, but saw his majority slashed. Three years ago Lord Houchen secured a huge victory with 72 per cent of the vote, but this time he only received 53 per cent on a turnout of just over 30 per cent. 

The day began on a grim note for the Tories as Labour’s Chris Webb secured a massive 26 per cent swing in Blackpool South to become the newest MP in the Commons.

In a particularly alarming sign the Tory candidate barely managed to push Reform into third place, by just 117 votes. Visiting the constituency this morning flanked by Angela Rayner, Keir Starmer said voters wanted to ‘turn the page’ on the government. 

It was the seventh parliamentary seat the Tories have lost in a by-election since Mr Sunak became PM in October 2022 – underlining that Sir Keir looks to be on track for Downing Street. 

As English councils declared, Labour claimed a ‘truly historic result’ to take Rushmoor – the home of the British Army – from the Tories and end nearly a quarter-of-a century of Conservative control.

Sir Keir also saw wins in Hartlepool and made other gains in key general election battlegrounds Thurrock and Redditch as they enjoyed early success. Welwyn Hatfield – Grant Shapps‘ seat – remained under no overall control, but the Tories were reduced to the lowest number of seats ever. In Castle Point the party’s eight councillors were wiped out.  

In a bright spot, the party has managed to hold on to control of Harlow – which local MP Robert Halfon described as ‘the biggest comeback since Lazarus’. 

Labour also suffered woes of their own in Oldham, where the party lost overall control after independents picked up seats in an apparent backlash over the Gaza war.

Speaking at a military base in North Yorkshire, Mr Sunak told broadcasters: ‘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.

‘That hasn’t happened, and indeed we are still waiting for the results in the Tees Valley mayoralty just near to here which is obviously a very important test as well.’

Labour tried to play down falling short in Tees Valley, saying Lord Houchen – a close ally of Boris Johnson – ran as a ‘pseudo-independent’.

Sources argued that an estimated 12.5 per cent swing would be enough to sweep most Westminster constituencies in the area. 

In a bruising tour of broadcast studios, Tory chair Richard Holden was asked whether he was confident MPs will not try to remove Mr Sunak as leader.

‘Parliamentary colleagues need to look at this and see… and wait through the weekend as well,’ he told Sky News.

The losses have triggered speculation that mounting Tory unrest could lead MPs to seek to remove the Prime Minister.

But Mr Holden sought to highlight local issues at play, insisting the Blackpool South by-election took place in ‘particularly difficult’ circumstances following the resignation of former Tory MP Scott Benton after a lobbying scandal.

He admitted it had been a ‘tough night’ but told LBC the party was coming off a ‘very high watermark in 2021’.

However, Tory MPs were scathing in their assessment. 

Paul Scully said he did not believe the leader should change, but warned of a ‘bunker mentality’ in No10.

‘Crisis management is almost a day to day job of the government,’ he told LBC. ‘We are not speaking to people. We need to reach out.’ 

Former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng told LBC: ‘All of our seats are under threat. There’s no such thing really as a safe Tory seat anymore.’ 

Veteran Tory aide Tim Montgomerie, who has been highly critical of Mr Sunak, told the BBC: ‘Personally I think the results are so bad… I just don’t think he is connected with the voters.

‘I think he should go.’

Following the declaration of the Blackpool South result just before 5am, Sir Keir reiterated his demand for Mr Sunak to call a general election.

Standing alongside his new MP in the constituency, the Labour leader said: ‘It’s a fantastic result, a really first-class result and here in Blackpool a message has been sent directly to the Prime Minister, directly to the Prime Minister, because this was a parliamentary vote.

‘This was directly to Rishi Sunak to say we are fed up with your decline, your chaos and your division and we want change. We want to go forward with Labour.’

He added: ‘That wasn’t just a little message, that wasn’t just a murmur, that was a shout from Blackpool.

‘We want change, and Blackpool speaks for the whole country. It says we have had enough now after 14 years of failure, 14 years of decline. We need to turn the page and start afresh with Labour, which has a positive plan for the country.’

Mr Webb scooped 10,825 votes to secure a 7,607-vote majority. The Tories won 3,218 votes, just 117 votes ahead of third-placed Reform UK.

The 26.33 per cent swing was the third biggest from the Conservatives to Labour at a by-election since the Second World War. 

The Tories said the Blackpool South by-election was ‘always going to be difficult’ given the ‘specific circumstances’ surrounding former MP Scott Benton.

A party spokesman said: ‘This was a tough fight and David Jones was an excellent candidate who campaigned hard for every single vote.

‘This was always going to be difficult election given the specific circumstances related to the previous incumbent.

‘What has been clear is that a vote for Reform is a vote for Sir Keir Starmer – taking us right back to square one.’

The Blackpool South outcome added to a night of turmoil for the Conservatives, as they also suffered dismal results in local elections across the country.

Labour are boasting of being ‘on track’ for power at Westminster after making gains in key council contests.

In his victory speech, Mr Webb said: ‘People no longer trust the Conservatives. Prime Minister: do the decent thing, admit you’ve failed and call a general election.’

The Blackpool South contest was prompted by the resignation of former Tory MP Scott Benton from the House of Commons after he was caught up in a lobbying sting.

The Conservatives won the seat at the 2019 general election, with Mr Benton as the party’s candidate, with a more than 3,500-vote majority. 

Tory deputy chair Angela Richardson told the BBC: ‘The result was not unexpected. I think, given the circumstances that caused the by-election in the first place, it was always going to be difficult for the Conservatives.’

Polling guru Professor Sir John Curtice said the Tories could be on course to lose 500 councillors in ‘one of the worst, if not the worst’ performances by the party in 40 years.

‘So far they are basically losing a half of the seats they are trying to defend. If that continues they may end up losing 500 or so seats, which is the thing they were meant to avoid,’ he told BBC Radio 4’s Today.

‘Early days yet, but where we have got the detailed voting numbers, it looks as though the Conservative vote is a wee bit down on where it was last year.

‘We are probably looking at certainly one of the worst, if not the worst, Conservative performances in local government elections for the last 40 years.’

Elections expert Michael Thrasher told Sky News that the swing to Labour in Blackpool was ‘more or less off the scale’.   

As well as the Tory-Labour fight, the performance of insurgent outfit Reform was also being keenly scrutinised throughout the night of election results.

Reform beat the Tories in 16 out of the 25 seats being contests on Sunderland council, with leader Richard Tice crowing they were ‘becoming the real opposition to Labour in Red Wall areas’.

The results from the 107 local authorities in England who held elections on Thursday could yet decide Mr Sunak’s ‘s political fate.

Labour has gained police and crime commissioners from the Conservatives in Cumbria and Avon and Somerset.

The PM is also braced for further dire results from mayoral contests, which will start to be declared in the coming hours.

Labour’s most impressive victory of the night so far came in Rushmoor.

Sir Keir’s party boasted of now being in charge of the ‘home of the British Army’ in a nod to the Hampshire authority’s links to the military.

They taunted Mr Sunak that it was ‘time for a general election’ in the wake of the result.

Labour won nine out of 13 seats up for grabs on Rushmoor Borough Council, with the Tories winning three and the Liberal Democrats one.

It gave Sir Keir’s party a majority on the council as the Tories ceded control after 24 years in charge.

The council includes Aldershot, known as the home of the British Army, and Labour was keen to highlight that link as proof that the party had changed since Jeremy Corbyn’s time as leader.

A party spokeswoman said: ‘This is a truly historic result.

‘Rushmoor – the home of the British Army – has never had a majority Labour council before, and has been run by the Tories for the last 24 years.

‘This result demonstrates just how much the Labour Party has changed and people in Rushmoor know that only Labour can deliver the change they want to see.

‘A Labour gain for Rushmoor is a result Rishi Sunak cannot ignore. It’s time for a general election.’

In another eye-catching victory for Labour, the party won control of Thurrock after starting the night as the second biggest party behind the Tories.

The Essex council, which had recently moved to no overall control because of defections, is in a strong Brexit-supporting part of the country.

It has also been among those local authorities in dire financial straits, with council tax having been hiked by an eye-watering 8 per cent last month.

Thurrock was effectively declared bankrupt in 2022 following a failed investment spree.

Labour hailed their victory in a key parliamentary battleground, with a party spokesperson saying: ‘This is exactly the kind of place we need to be winning to gain a majority in a general election.

‘The people of Thurrock have sent the Conservatives a message that they want change.’

Labour won nine of the 12 seats up for grabs in Hartlepool to gain control of the council, with independents winning two and the Conservatives one.

Hartlepool has a symbolic importance for Sir Keir after Labour lost the parliamentary by-election there in 2021.

A party spokesperson said: ‘Winning back Hartlepool council is a groundbreaking moment after the disappointing results we saw here in 2021.

‘Keir Starmer pledged to change the Labour Party after that result and today’s win shows that this changed Labour Party is ready to deliver the change that communities like Hartlepool are crying out for.’Making gains here shows that the party is on track to win a general election and is firmly back in the service of working people.’

Along with the direct challenge from Labour and apparent squeeze on Tory votes in ‘Red Wall’ areas from Reform, the Liberal Democrats claimed they were gaining ground in traditional Conservative heartlands in southern England.

A party source said they were expecting positive results in Oxfordshire, Hampshire and Hertfordshire. 

As well as the council elections, voting also took place on Thursday in 11 mayoral contests and 37 police and crime commissioner elections.

Conservative rebels are poised to pounce on a dismal night for Mr Sunak by mounting a fresh effort to oust the PM from No10 in the coming days.

Tories fear they could lose up to half of the council seats they are defending.

The final result in Sunderland was Labour 18, Liberal Democrats four and Conservatives three, as Sir Keir’s party retained control.

Although Reform did not win one of the 25 seats being contested, Mr Tice hailed his party’s performance.

He said Reform were ‘rapidly becoming the real opposition to Labour, whether it’s in the North, the Midlands, we know it’s the case in Wales’. 

Mr Tice added: ‘We are very excited. This is a very good day for Reform UK. It’s also a good day for democracy, actually, because the Great British people have got a serious alternative to consider when they want to go and vote.’

Cabinet minister Chris Heaton-Harris said the results in Sunderland showed ‘if you vote Reform, you get Labour’.

The Northern Ireland Secretary told the BBC: ‘It’s a very straightforward equation for people at the next general election.

‘If they want to vote Reform, they’ll end up with Labour MPs, and they’ll end up with a Labour government, and then they’ll end up, probably, with everything they didn’t want to vote for based on the profile of Reform voters.’

Peterborough remained under no overall control, but Labour became the biggest party after gaining five seats while the Conservatives lost 11. 

Labour retained control of South Tyneside, but lost at least seven seats to independents.

Sir Keir’s party were fearing a local elections backlash over the Gaza conflict in some parts of the country.

In London, Labour mayor Sadiq Khan is expected to win an historic third term in City Hall despite a challenge by Tory rival Susan Hall over ULEZ and crime rates.

As polls closed last night, Labour MP Pat McFadden MP, the party’s national campaign coordinator, said: ‘The most important election of the night is the historic by-election in Blackpool, caused by yet more Tory chaos and scandal.

‘It’s the only election today where voters have had the opportunity to directly reject Rishi Sunak’s party in Westminster.

‘It’s going to be a long night and the full picture of results from local elections may not be clear until over the weekend, but we expect to see Labour gains that show we’re making progress in the places we need to win the next general election.’

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey also sought to pile the pressure on Mr Sunak, saying: ‘Up and down the country, so many lifelong Conservative voters backed the Liberal Democrats today’.

Every voter in England and Wales was able to cast a ballot in at least one type of election before 10pm on Thursday.

There were 2,600 council seats in England up for grabs across 107 authorities.

Many of the seats were last fought in 2021 – a year in which the Conservatives did particularly well in local elections at a high point in Boris Johnson‘s premiership.

The Tory slump since then was demonstrated by the latest YouGov poll, published on Thursday, showing the party on 18 per cent with Labour on 44 per cent.

This was the lowest Conservative vote share of this Parliament, lower than under Liz Truss, when it sank to 19 per cent.

The survey of 2,010 British voters, conducted between April 30 and May 1, also showed the Tories only three percentage points ahead of Reform on 15 per cent.