Tory chairman mocked for having ‘midas touch’ for opposition at local elections

Greg Hands accused of having negative impact in ‘blue wall’ south, while Rishi Sunak under fire over ‘major mistake’

Conservative chairman Greg Hands was accused of having a “midas touch” for opposition parties after figures showed his party was hammered in many of the places he visited during the local election campaign.

The Tories lost more than 1,000 seats while Labour picked up more than 500 – leading Sir Keir Starmer to claim his party is on course for a majority victory at next year’s general election.

The Liberal Democrats, who saw their best local election results in more than a decade, said they gained 208 council seats in “blue wall” areas in the south of England visited by Mr Hands.