By Boris Johnson admits tough losses for Tories in local elections
The Conservatives suffered significant losses at Thursday’s local elections, losing almost 500 seats and control of 11 councils.
Liberal Democrats took control in southern England and key London councils went to Labour.
The Tories also saw losses in Scotland, where the SNP won the most seats, and in Wales to a resurgent Labour.
The results come after votes to elect 200 councils in England, Wales and Scotland, and the devolved Stormont assembly in Northern Ireland.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson argued the results had been mixed overall and that it had been “tough” in some areas.
Labour gains were modest outside London, with limited breakthroughs for the party in northern England.
With nearly all results in, Labour has gained 139 seats, with leader Sir Keir Starmer saying his party was “on track” to win the next general election.
However, this was overshadowed by news that police are investigating whether he breached Covid rules at an event in Durham last year.
According to the BBC, Labour would take 35% of votes and the Tories 30%, had all parts of Britain gone to the polls.
The projection gave Labour its biggest local election lead in a decade, and could lead to renewed criticism of Mr Johnson within his own party.
The findings – based on the results declared so far from areas which voted on Thursday – put the Liberal Democrats on 19% and other parties on 16%.
Speaking on a visit to Ruislip, north-west London, Mr Johnson said: “It is mid-term. It’s certainly a mixed set of results.
“We had a tough night in some parts of the country, but on the other hand, in other parts of the country you are still seeing Conservatives going forward and making quite remarkable gains in places that haven’t voted Conservative for a long time, if ever.”
Visiting Barnet in north London earlier, Sir Keir told party supporters: “This is a big turning point… From the depths of the 2019 general election, we’re back on track.”
“We’ve sent a message to the prime minister: Britain deserves better,” he added.
