Conservatives face losing more than 800 seats in local election hammering amid Brexit fury: 'It's going to be a difficult night'

Deputy chair admits 'frustrated' voters could use the polls to give the Tories a bloody nose

The Conservatives could lose more than 800 seats in the upcoming local elections amid grassroots fury over Brexit.

Party bosses have admitted they face a “difficult night” at the polls.

Election expert and Tory peer Robert Hayward delivered a gloomy set of predictions for Theresa May, warning that delays to Brexit and her decision to stand down as Tory leader have damaged Conservative chances at the ballot box.

There are 8,374 seats up for grabs in England – the majority of which are Tory-held – at 33 metropolitan councils, 119 district councils, and 30 unitary authorities.

Of those seats, the majority are held by the Conservatives (4,628) while 2,069 belong to Labour councillors and 641 are in the hands of the Liberal Democrats.

Lord Hayward said the Liberal Democrats were most likely to capitalise on the collapse in Tory support, picking up more than 500 seats, while Labour could claw back around 300 from the Conservatives.

In a briefing note, he said: “[Elections experts] Rallings and Thrasher last week predicted Tory losses in the range of 500-1,000. I would fall slightly on the higher side of that at around 800+, of which Labour will probably gain somewhat less than 300 and Lib Dems probably more than 500.

“This would only be an adequate result for Labour and better for the Lib Dems.”

Lord Hayward said a decline in Tory support was “inevitable” as the party is at a “historic high” for a governing party after nine years in power.

He went on: “Since these elections are in essentially the Tory shires and Labour heartlands (where Labour already hold most of the seats), the Lib Dems would expect to be well ahead of Labour in overall gains.

“The key measure for the two main opposition parties is therefore not only how many seats are gained but also the share of the Tory spoils.”

Lord Hayward also argued that turnout is likely to be even lower than normal at local elections due to the “level of disenchantment with the major parties”.

Tory deputy chair Helen Whately told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge on Sunday: “There is no doubt that it is going to be a difficult night for us.

“They come for us at a time in the election cycle where they were always going to be difficult so the seats that are up for election next week were the ones that were last elected in 2015, general election year, so that tends to boost turnout.

“It was also a good general election for us when we won a majority so we were at a high point.”

She admitted that voters were “frustrated” by delays to Brexit and could use the polls to give the Tories a bloody nose.

Ms Whately added: “What I say to them is yes I realise that, I realise how frustrated you are with parliament, actually I’m frustrated too as an MP.

“But these are the local elections, so this is about who you are electing to be your local councillor, who you want to provide your local services.”

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Tory chair Brandon Lewis acknowledged “huge frustration” among grassroots members as he pleaded with them to back the Conservatives rather than Nigel Farage’s insurgent Brexit Party.

“I hope that Conservative members, colleagues, volunteers, activists will come to want to not just vote for, but campaign for Conservatives to get elected, because ultimately Conservative representation is better than any other party,” he said.