The Conservative Party is set to face historic losses following the elections held across the UK yesterday (May 2).
The results have been pouring in throughout today (May 3), and it has been reported that the Tories have lost 228 councillors across the country so far, compared with a Labour gain of 99 (via The Guardian).
55 out of 107 councils have been accounted for.
Labour has won control of councils across England that it hasn’t held for decades, and has begun to pile pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ahead of a looming general election.
Thursday’s elections saw voters place their vote for who will run various aspects of their daily lives, including rubbish collection, road maintenance and crime prevention in local areas. However, it is also a strong indicator of the general consensus across the country at the moment, as well as a potential insight to how the results of a general election may fall.
The general election has to take place by January 2025, but could come as soon as next month. Sunak has the power to decide on the date, and has already indicated that it will be in the second half of 2024.
With yesterday’s votes, Labour has been successful in a special by-election for Parliament, and if repeated in a general election, could spell out one of the Conservatives′ biggest-ever defeats.
An important gain for Labour came as the party easily won back Blackpool South, which voted Conservative in the last general election (held in 2019 when then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson won). Today, it was shared that Labour’s Chris Webb secured 10,825 votes, while the Conservative opponent had only 3,218.
Speaking in the city, Labour leader Keir Starmer pushed for Sunak to call a general election. “This was directly to Rishi Sunak to say we are fed up with your decline, your chaos and your division and we want change,” he said.
As highlighted by Time, Labour has also won in areas that voted heavily for Britain’s departure from the European Union, including Hartlepool and Thurrock. The party has also seized control of Rushmoor for the first time
As well as Labour, other parties including the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party are also making gains.
John Curtice – a professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde – stated the results so far indicate that the Conservatives are losing around half of the seats they are trying to defend. “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,” he told BBC Radio (as per AP News).
So far, the only negative for the Labour Party has been in some areas across the country with large Muslim populations, where the candidate seems to have lost votes due to his strongly pro-Israel approach regarding the conflict in Gaza.
The results will roll in through into Saturday (May 4), and it is looking likely that Labour’s Sadiq Khan will remain as Mayor of London.
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