Rishi Sunak's Tories suffered a dire night at the polls last night, losing more than 1,000 council seats across England in the 2023 local elections.
Grim results for the Conservatives began trickling in shortly after midnight in more than 230 councils across the country, with over 8,000 seats up for grabs.
By 5.30pm today, the Tories had lost control of 38 councils and over 800 councillors as Labour and the Liberal Democrats picked up seats.
Shortly before 7.30pm, it was confirmed the Conservatives had lost 1,000 seats.
A buoyant Keir Starmer said Labour "blew the doors off" in key battlegrounds, as the party seized Medway from the Tories and took control in Dover, Plymouth, Swindon and Stoke-on-Trent.
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"Make no mistake, we are on course for a Labour majority at the next general election," he told jubilant activists this morning.
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In the PM's first major electoral test, his party lost control of Hertsmere, where Deputy PM Oliver Dowden is an MP, while Labour and the Lib Dems picked up seats.
Tamworth, Brentford, Welwyn Hatfield, North West Leicestershire and East Lindsey also fell from Tory administrations to no overall control in a bruising night.
Deluded Mr Sunak tried to downplay the losses, saying: "We are making progress in key election battlegrounds, like Peterborough, Bassetlaw, Sandwell but the message I am hearing from people is they want us to focus on their priorities and they want us to deliver for them."
Ahead of the King's Coronation, the Tories lost control in the Windsor and Maidenhead, with the Lib Dems claiming victory.
A Lib Dems spokesman said it is a "massive blow to Rishi Sunak" and "Conservative MPs across the blue wall will be looking over their shoulder at the Lib Dems this morning".
With counting now complete, the country's major parties can reflect on a big night in British politics.
With the counting now done, a bruising night for Rishi Sunak's Tories has been confirmed.
The live blog is finished for tonight, but scroll down to catch up on a huge night in British politics.
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The Conservative party has lost over 1,000 seats in the local elections.
In a disastrous set of election results for the sitting government, Rishi Sunak's party are now down 1,013 seats at the time of reporting.
Meanwhile Labour have gained over 500 seats, and the Lib Dems over 400.
The elections are the first big test of Rishi Sunak's electoral power and popularity since he became prime minister and so far the Tories have lost control of 40 councils.
We're still waiting for dozens of councils to declare - where the Tories could make some seats back.
Conservative Mayor of Tees Valley, Ben Houchen, has told Radio 4’s PM programme the poor Tory performance is a partly a result of “the turmoil and upheaval of the last 12 months”.
"There has been an issue that the Labour Party have been quite successful in making this a referendum on the government, it was very much about the cost of living, NHS… we could have done better at being able to tackle those questions," he said.
“The risk that we have is that we’ve shot ourselves in the foot as a party for so long now, people are frustrated, people don’t feel like they can vote for us… and what is interesting – and we saw it on the ground in Teeside… it’s more the Conservative Party is in freefall at the moment and the Labour Party aren’t particularly making any ground.”
On what the government needs to be doing, he said, “I’m not sure we currently align with where people are at the moment… I think we do need to get better at emotionally engaging with the public."
(Evening Gazette)A polling expert said today's results, beyond everything, confirm the "vibes" the country feels towards the Tories.
Chris Hopkins, political research director at polling firm Savanta, said: "The most important factor at play here, beyond all of the maths and the councils and the Projected National Share and the Red Wall and all that is, sorry to say it, but vibes.
"The country tells us repeatedly in opinion polls that they’re just not feeling the Conservatives anymore. The brand is too damaged after Johnson/Truss.
"[Brits] have had 13 years of Tory government and they’re feeling an economic pinch more than 2008 under Labour, the current Labour leader doesn’t put them off anywhere near as much as Corbyn or Ed Miliband, and they’re just fatigued. Fatigued of the Conservative Party.
"Rishi Sunak might poll okay personally, and I still think he could turn it around, but he has done little to repair the Conservative brand. This set of local election results tell me that there’s very little he can do, in the time he has before the next election, to repair it enough to stop a Labour government."
Tory losses now stand at 816 councillors and an alarming 40 councils.
Rishi Sunak will face uncomfortable questions about his leadership as the party's worst fears appear to be coming true.
And Labour seem pretty gleeful about the whole thing, having gained around 450 councillors and taken control of 17 councils.
These include key battleground areas including Stoke, Dover, Medway and Plymouth.
Labour is now the largest party in local government pic.twitter.com/HbxiRLuLeO
— The Labour Party (@UKLabour) May 5, 2023
Labour have taken overall control of West Lancashire Council, as well as South Ribble Council.
The party gained six seats, while the Tories lost 10 across the two councils and independents lost six.
(Getty Images)The Conservatives have lost control of Great Yarmouth Council, but no party has an overall majority.
The same has happened at Newark and Sherwood District, as well as Ribble Valley Council, in Lancashire, and West Suffolk Council.
Across these four councils, the Tories lost a total of 37 seats.
Another rare bit of good news for Rishi Sunak.
The Tories have bucked the trend in Wyre Forest, where they gained six seats to gain overall control of the council.
Labour also gained two seats, but the loss of seven independents proved crucial.
(AFP via Getty Images)Anti-extremism campaign group, HOPE not hate has reacted to the introduction of photo ID for the first time at the local elections.
Georgie Laming, Director of Campaigns at HOPE not hate, said: "The alarm was raised before the local elections about the impact photo ID would have, and it's disappointing that the Electoral Commission has said they will be creating an action plan to address the issues they were forewarned about.
"For those without access to photo ID, these rules have caused confusion and disillusionment in our democracy which must urgently be addressed before the next election."
Ahead of the election, HOPE not hate found that 23.8% of people, approximately 10million people, weren't aware of the new rules and warned of the negative impact this would have on the individuals without ID and their faith in our democracy.
The Tories have lost control of Broadland Council, in Norfolk, but no party has an overall majority.
Conservatives lost eight seats and independents lost one.
Labour gaines five, while the Lib Dems got two as did the Greens.
The Tory mauling has been hailed as a great result for tactical voting.
Neal Lawson, Director of cross-party campaign group Compass, said: "These elections show that the progressive majority in this country is starting to find its voice.
"Progressives are winning where they haven’t won in years - or ever before. We’ve already seen unprecedented results like The Greens winning Mid Suffolk, the Lib Dems Stratford and Labour Bracknell Forest.
"But sadly our national party leaders lag behind activists and voters, who know tactical voting and campaigning is the best way to beat the Tories."
He continued: "But while these results are good, Labour is not doing well enough to guarantee an overall majority at the next general election.
"To get the level of cooperation we need means Labour backing proportional representation.
"This new Traffic Light Squeeze is beating the Tories. Next, it must transform our country."
Labour gained Dover from the Conservatives, after winning six seats in the port.
The new council is Labour 17, Conservative 14 and independent one, when it was previously Conservative 20 and Labour 11.
The Conservatives have lost control of Charnwood Council, after losing 14 seats.
Labour gained eight and the Greens won seven, while one independent lost their seat.
There is no overall majority at the council now.
At Melton council, the Tories lost 8, while Labour gained five, independents gained two and the Lib Dems won one.
Again, there is no overall majority.
The Liberal Democrats have taken control of Chichester Council.
The Tories lost two seats while Labour and independent councillors lost one each.
The Lib Dems gained an impressive 14 seats.
The Conservatives have lost control of Wealden District Council.
The Tories lost a massive 20 seats.
Lib Dems gained seven, while Labour and independents councillors gained three.
The Greens have won their first outright majority on a UK council in what it hopes cements a "coming of age" moment as a mainstream party.
Mid Suffolk fell from a minority Conservative administration to sole control of the Greens as they made inroads elsewhere during the local election results on Friday.
The left-wing environmentalists have controlled local authorities in minority and coalition administrations before, but this is the first time they will have outright control.
With eight more results to be declared, the Greens' victory was declared when they won 18 of the East Anglia council's 34 seats.
Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay told the PA news agency: "For the first time anywhere outside Australia we've seen the Greens take the majority control of a council.
"It's enormous because what we've seen over the last four sets of election since 2019 is the Green party really coming of age as a mainstream party in this country."
Mr Ramsay said the Greens have been part of around 20 local administrations in the past but capturing overall control is a "really significant" moment that "paves the way for success at the general election."
He said his party is picking votes from both Labour and the Conservatives across rural and urban areas.
(Getty Images)Labour have taken control of Gravesham council in Gravesend, which was previously under no overall control.
Conservatives lost four seats while independent councillors lost one.
The new council is now Labour 22 and Tories 17.
The Conservatives have lost control of East Hertfordshire, after losing 23 seats, with the Greens up 17.
The new council is Green 19, Conservatives 16, Lib Dems 10 and Labour five.
The authority continues to be under no overall control.
Labour has taken control of High Peak council in Derbushire.
The party gained eight seats, while the Conservatives shed six and the Lib Dems lost two.
Previously High Peak was under no overall control.
The local election results suggest that the SNP could hold the balance of power at the next general election, the party's Westminster leader has said.
The SNP's Stephen Flynn said Friday's results, which have seen Labour seize key battlegrounds at the expense of Rishi Sunak's Tories, could suggest that Scotland could be in a position to "pull the strings" of a minority government after the next general election.
Mr Flynn said: "It's increasingly clear that the SNP can hold the balance of power after the next general election - putting Scotland in prime position to pull the strings of a minority UK government."
(PA)The council wins keep on coming for Keir Starmer's team as the Tories are left licking their wounds.
This time it's Bracknell Forest, which saw Labour gain a massive 18 seats, while Conservative numbers plummeted by 27 to just 10.
(PA)Another Labour gain to report in Broxtowe in Nottinghamshire.
The council was previously under no overall control, but Labour picked up 12 seats to give it a toal of 26 - enough to run the authority alone.
The Tories lost nine, while the Lib Dems shed two seats.
If all of Britain had the chance to vote in local elections today and voted in the same way as those who have done, the share of the vote for each party would be:
Polling expert John Curtis told the BBC the nine-point lead that Labour is projected to have over the Conservatives is the largest lead that the Labour party have recorded since losing power in 2010.
The Lib Dems have won South Hams, Devon, which was previously under the Conservatives.
The Tories lost nine seats, with the Lib Dems gaining nine.
Independent councillors also lost two seats, with Labour gaining one and the Greens gaining one.
Labour has taken control of North East Derbyshire after gaining 10 seats.
The authority had previously been under no overall control but Labour now hold a majority with 28 seats.
The Tories lost seven, taking them down to an overall 19 seats in the council, independent councillors lost four seats, while the Greens gained one.
It's not all good news for Labour today though.
It has lost control of Slough, where the Conservatives have become the biggest party, with 21 of the 42 seats.
Labour lost 17 seats, with the Conservatives gaining 16 in the Berkshire council.
The Conservatives have lost North Warwickshire after a good night for Labour.
The council is now under no overall control after Labour gained four seats and independent candidates gained two.
The Conservatives still remain the largest party with two more seats than Labour, despite losing six seats today.
Another Lib Dem gain to report, with the Tories losing control of Dacorum council in Hertfordshire.
The Conservatives lost a whopping 13 seats on a brutal day for the party, with the Lib Dems gaining nine, Labour picking up three and one independent getting the nod.
The Lib Dems have delivered a blow to the Tories in Nadhim Zahawi's constituency.
The party has taken overall control of Stratford-on-Avon council, where the former Tory Party chairman is MP, after making 13 gains.
The Conservatives lost seven seats, leaving the new council comprising of Lib Dems 25, Conservatives 12, Green three and one independent.
