Local elections 2023 – live: Labour set to form next government, says Starmer, as Tory losses mount

Conservatives lose control of 48 councils but Rishi Sunak plays down results

Rishi Sunak 'disappointed' as Tories lose control of seven councils in the local elections

Sir Keir Starmer is celebrating wins in key battlegrounds in the local elections as an indication Labour is on course to win the next general election, but Rishi Sunak remains defiant despite heavy losses.

The prime minister is under pressure as the results being declared showed both Labour and the Lib Dems seizing control of Tory councils across England.

The Labour leader said the “fantastic” results combined with a hoped-for recovery in Scotland would give him a majority in Westminster after a national poll.

With 229 results in out of 230, the Conservatives had lost 960 seats, with Labour gaining 635, the Lib Dems 416 and the Greens 200. The Conservatives had lost control of 48 councils.

Sir Keir’s party was projected to have won a nine-point lead over the Conservatives if all of Britain had gone to the polls.

Mr Sunak conceded the results were “disappointing” but said he was “not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards the Labour Party or excitement for its agenda”.

The elections watchdog said “regrettably” some people were turned away from polling stations as a result of new rules requiring voters to carry photographic ID.

Key Points

• Disappointing to lose ‘hard-working’ colleagues - Sunak
• Starmer - Labour ‘blew doors off’ with Medway win
• Davey hails Lib Dem gains
• ‘Terrible’ night for Tories as Labour and Lib Dems make sweeping gains
• Voters ‘turned away for not having correct ID'
• Results coming in for local authority and mayoral contests across England

[5 May 2023 19:20 · Jane Dalton]

Opinion: Tory right plots life after a Sunak defeat

In broad terms, hard-right Tories hope Labour will flounder for one term, allowing a new radical Conservative party to return to government and complete their hard Brexit, writes Sean O’Grady:

[5 May 2023 18:45 · Jane Dalton]

Far-right groups fail to win any seats

Far-right groups have been resoundingly rejected once again in the local elections, our home affairs editor Lizzie Dearden writes.

Groups including Britain First and the British Democrats carefully targeted councils where they thought they could make the most impact, but failed to win a single seat.

Small-boat crossings in the English Channel and “illegal” immigration had been a key topic in local campaigns, while they also tried to exploit concerns over NHS waiting times, housing and the cost of living crisis.

Britain First leader Paul Golding came last in the ward he contested in Dartford, Kent, with under 5 per cent of the vote.

All seven other Britain First candidates were unsuccessful in areas including Greater Manchester, Essex, Hampshire and Devon.

Their leaflets had promised to “tackle radical Islam”, “stop immigration” and “put British people first”.

Meanwhile, the British Democrats - a small party consisting mostly of former British National Party officials - failed in having any of its candidates elected.

The losers included Julian Leppert, a sitting councillor in Epping Forest who was ousted by the Conservatives and previously said he wanted Epping to be a “whites-only” town.

White nationalist group Patriotic Alternative fielded no candidates itself but supported two independents who lost elections in Cannock Chase, Staffordshire.

It also backed Robin Tilbrook, of the English Democrats, who came last in an Epping Forest ward with only 34 votes.

Ukip, which swung to the far right following infighting in 2018, has so far won no seats and lost 22 previous incumbents.

The once-influential party was recently backed by the leader of defunct far-right party For Britain, Anne Marie Waters.

As the election results were being announced on Friday afternoon, Ukip’s official Twitter account claimed the UK was “going downhill fast”, citing “wokeness everywhere” and a “fake climate emergency”.

Georgie Laming, director of campaigns at the counter-extremism group Hope Not Hate, said the far right had failed to make gains, “despite throwing everything that they had at their targets”.

“Although they’ve not made any electoral progress, far-right parties still do damage wherever they stand as they spread their hateful politics whilst leafleting and door-knocking in communities across the country,” she added.