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Rishi Sunak suffered a terrible first day of council election results with the prime minister now nervously waiting on the result from the West Midlands and London mayoral contests.
In the early hours of Friday, Labour won the Blackpool South by-election from the Conservatives with a record 26 per cent swing, while a series of police and crime commissioner posts held by the Tories fell into Labour hands.
Of the 107 councils that held elections on Thursday, 102 had declared their full results on Friday night with the Conservatives losing more than 400 councillors, as the party lost control of 10 councils.
In the capital, all eyes are on Sadiq Khan who is running an “extremely close” race with Tory candidate Susan Hall. While a win for Tory Andy Street as mayor in the West Midlands could help stop a leadership plot from rebel MPs.
State of play as of 8:10am
Total no of councils – Lab 48 +8 | Lib Dem: 12 + 2| Con: 5 -10 | Ind & Others: 1 | Greens: 0 | NOC: 36 (-1)
Councillors – Lab 1,026 (+173) | Lib Dem: 505 (+101) | Con: 479 (-448) | Ind & Others: 224 +92 | Green: 159 (+65)
Liverpool and South Yorkshire results
Labour’s Steve Rotheram has won the Liverpool Mayoral election with 183,932 votes.
He beat his nearest rival by more than 156,000 votes.
The Conservative candidate received 27,708 votes.
Labour’s Oliver Coppard has retained his job as South Yorkshire Mayor with 138,611 votes, with Conservative Nick Allen second with 44,945.
Wandsworth and Merton mayor results
Wandsworth and Merton has seen a 5.1% swing to Labour from Tories as mayoral election results flood in.
Sadiq Khan wins Greenwich and Lewisham constituency
Labour’s Sadiq Khan has won in the Greenwich and Lewisham constituency with 83,792 votes.
Conservative’s Susan Hall received 36,822 votes.
161,183 people voted – a 40 per cent turnout.
Sadiq Khan faces anxious wait amid claims Susan Hall ‘has won’ London Mayor contest
Sadiq Khan faces an anxious wait to find out if he will be re-elected as London mayor amid fears about low turnout and anger over his flagship motoring policy and Labour’s stance on Gaza.
A Tory Westminster insider close to Susan Hall’s campaign has told The Independent that the contest is “extremely close” and Mr Khan’s rival “may have won” in what would be a stunning election shock.
The briefing is based on an analysis of the turnouts in the boroughs across London which suggest that strong ones for the Tories have seen voters come out in greater numbers.
Read more here:
Police are being ‘weaponised’ by politicians in local elections, former top prosecutor warns
The double whammy came as Rishi Sunak’s party faced predictions it would lose up to 500 councillors across England and struggle in two crunch mayoral votes.
Nazir Afzal, a former Chief Crown Prosecutor, warned police forces were “being weaponised as part of the campaign by those who don’t care about the problems facing policing particularly resourcing”.
Starmer confident Sadiq Khan will take home London mayor victory
Sir Keir Starmer said he remains confident Sadiq Khan can win a third term as the Labour mayor of London.
Speaking to reporters in Mansfield, the Labour leader said: “Sadiq Khan was absolutely the right candidate. He has got two terms of delivery behind him and I am confident that he has got another term of delivery in front of him.
“But look, if you look across the country, I am standing here in Mansfield in the East Midlands where we have won a significant victory in the mayoralty here, but that is the pattern across the country.
“We have been winning in Blackpool in a by-election with a 26% swing, we have won in York and North Yorkshire, true blue Tory territory, and here in the East Midlands where there are very many constituencies that matter hugely in that general election.
“All of this is done with a purpose. I want a Labour Government to serve our country.
“This is effectively the last stop on the journey to the general election and I am really pleased to be able to show we are making progress, we have earned the trust and confidence of voters and we are making progress towards that general election.”
Boris Johnson tried to use Prospect magazine as voter ID at polling station
Boris Johnson has said he tried to use a magazine about politics as voter ID when he turned up to the polls this week.
Staff initially turned the former Conservative Party leader away because he could not produce proper voter ID.
Labour will ‘turn the page on decline’- Starmer
Sir Keir Starmer said his party with “turn the page on decline” as he set out his stall for the general election.
The Labour leader said: “It now is upon us to deliver that change to each of those people that put their faith in us in the vote here in the East Midlands and we will do so with a positive case for the country.”
He listed Labour’s plans to “pick up the NHS”, make sure the streets are safe, build affordable homes, and provide secure jobs.
Sir Keir said: “That falls to us, because today is the day that we celebrate the beginning of the turning of the page, one of the last milestones now as we go into that general election.”
He added: “Let’s turn the page on decline and usher in national renewal with Labour.”
In pictures: Starmer with newly elected East Midlands mayor Claire Ward
Labour celebrates mayoral victory in East Midlands as Starmer says Tories no longer deserve to be in power
The Conservatives no longer deserve to be in power, Sir Keir Starmer said, as he celebrated a Labour mayoral victory in the East Midlands.
Speaking in Mansfield alongside the new Labour mayor of the East Midlands Claire Ward, Labour leader Sir Keir said: “I think the message here is very, very clear, and I think across the East Midlands there has been a sending of that message to the Government, which is we are fed up with your division, with your chaos, with your failure.
“Fourteen years, and I am sorry, I don’t care which political party you support, if you leave your country in a worse state then when you found it 14 years later you do not deserve to be in Government for a moment longer.”
Source: independent.co.uk
