Local election results 2024: Key wins and losses across the country

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With just over two-thirds of councils yet to declare a result, experts have warned the Conservative Party is set for its worst local election performance in 40 years.

So far, 35 out of 107 councils have declared a result, with Labour grappling three authorities from the Conservatives and an overall increase of 52 councillors – as well as declaring a crushing victory in the Blackpool South by-election.

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The Conservatives have so far lost 122 councillors across the country, while the Lib Dems managed to secure 18 more – with key results in mayoral elections also yet to come.

So what are the key wins and losses across the country? The Independent takes a look below.

Three years ago, Sir Keir Starmer is reported to have considered resigning as party leader after Labour lost the Hartlepool parliamentary by-election to the Tories in a humiliating defeat, having previously held the seat since it was created in 1974.

But this year Hartlepool gave Labour cause for celebration, as it won control of the council for the first time since 2019 thanks to a net gain of seven seats, while the Tories lost six.

Both Keir Starmer and his deputy Angela Rayner toured the Essex town of Harlow 24 hours before the polls opened, in a symbolic visit to a part of the country that will be a key battleground at the general election.

But while Labour did make progress in Harlow in Thursday’s council elections, it fell short of an overall majority by the narrowest of margins, ending up with 16 seats, just one behind the Tories on 17.

There was better news for Labour deep in the so-called “blue wall” of the traditional Conservative heartland of Hampshire.

The party gained seven seats and a majority on Rushmoor council, an area that includes the army town of Aldershot, while the Tories lost eight seats and overall control.

Labour will be pleased with its performance in the Worcestershire council of Redditch – another important battleground at the general election – where the party picked up nine seats and overall control, while the Conservatives saw their tally drop by 11.

It was a less cheery picture for Labour in South Tyneside, where the party suffered a net loss of 10 seats.

Independent candidates gained nine seats and the Greens gained two, while the Tories lost their only councillor, in what could be a reflection of anger over Labour’s position on Israel’s war in Gaza, or dissatisfaction with local issues, not least a long-running local bin collection strike.

Labour still has a majority here, but only just: the new council will have 28 Labour councillors, 15 Independents and 11 Greens.

The Reform Party had a full or near-full slate of candidates in only a handful of councils holding elections this year and Sunderland was one of a few places where it fought every seat.

While the party did not win any of them, it did beat the Conservatives into third place in 16 of the 25 seats up for grabs. Labour made a net gain of six to increase its comfortable majority.

This Essex council was another one of Labour’s top targets in a key Conservative-Labour election battleground.

The party needed to gain six seats to take control of Thurrock, which has been run by the Tories for the past few years during a period of turbulence that saw the council declared effectively bankrupt in December 2022.

Labour ended up making a net gain of eight seats, enough for a clear majority, with Independents picking up two and the Tories suffering a net loss of 10.

Three of the 37 police and crime commissioner results for England and Wales have been declared so far, with Labour gaining Avon & Somerset and Cumbria from the Conservatives, while the Tories have held Lincolnshire.

Additional reporting by PA

Source: independent.co.uk