Election results 'disappointing' for Sunak as Starmer hails them as 'clear message' for change
Rishi Sunak expressed his disappointment after the Tories suffered heavy losses, while Labour enjoyed a series of gains, ITV News' political team has the latest
Rishi Sunak said voters "will stick with us" despite a "disappointing" series of heavy local election losses, as Sir Keir Starmer hailed Labour's wins as a "clear message" the country wants change.
Counting is still underway across the country but the picture is already dismal for the Tories, who could be on track to lose as many as 500 seats in what could be their worst showing in 40 years, warn electoral analysts.
The Conservatives have lost more than half of the seats they have been defending, while Labour has made significant wins, including crucially, the new mayoralty in York and North Yorkshire in the prime minister's own backyard.
The polls are considered the last major test of voter intention before millions of Britons cast their ballots in the general election, which is expected to take place later this year.
Heavy Tory losses have reignited speculation that growing discontent within the party could lead rebel MPs to attempt to oust the prime minister, but Mr Sunak today insisted he's "focused completely on the job at hand" and later added: "Come a general election [the public] are going to stick with us because they don't want to be taken for granted."
ITV News Deputy Political Editor Anushka Asthana breaks down the results so far
Follow the results in your local area:
Out of the 107 councils where votes were held on Thursday, 102 have declared so far.
Some 371 out of 515 Tory councillors lost their seats as the party lost control of 10 councils.
Labour won control of eight councils as it gained 204 seats, while the Liberal Democrats gained 92 seats and the Greens 58.
The Lib Dems have taken Dorset council off of the Conservatives after picking up 15 seats, it represents the first Liberal Democrat council gain of this election.
In the final result of the night, the Conservatives lost control of Gloucester council.
Further results are expected to come in over the weekend including key mayoral contests in London and the West Midlands.
Sir Keir hailed an historic and “seismic win” for Labour in the Blackpool South by-election, where the party secured a 26.33% swing, and said a "message has been sent directly to the prime minister" that says "we are fed up with your decline, your chaos, you division and we want change."
In a boost to the Conservatives on an otherwise bleak weekend, they have held onto key battleground, Tees Valley, in the mayoral contest - but with a hugely reduced majority than previously enjoyed in 2021.
Mayor Ben Houchen, who said he "forgot" his Tory blue rosette and denied distancing himself from the Conservatives, said he could "absolutely" work with Sir Keir if he were to become prime minister - a general election outcome experts are saying appears increasingly likely.
Meanwhile, Reform UK made gains with its leader Richard Tice claiming the party is emerging as "the real opposition to Labour".
'It's too early to absolutely say a majority victory at the general election is nailed on for Labour' - ITV News' Election Analyst Colin Rallings, Political Editor Robert Peston and Presenter Lucrezia Millarini discuss the results
Key results at a glance:
Tees Valley
Conservative peer Ben Houchen was re-elected as Tees Valley mayor for a third term - but with a reduced majority.
Tees Valley has been seen as a key battleground in the contest. The traditionally red-wall area swung blue in 2017 when Lord Houchen took to office. He won by a landslide in the 2021, taking over 70% of the vote.
Today he won a total of 81,930 votes across the Tees Valley, while Labour candidate Chris McEwan - his nearest rival - polled 63,141 votes, putting him at a majority of 18,789.
Lord Houchen secured 81,930 votes, or 53.6% of the total, against 63,141 (41.3%) for Mr McEwan and 7,679 (5%) for Liberal Democrat Simon Thorley.
Although the mayor secured a comfortable majority of 12.3%, this is considerably lower than the 45.5% majority he won over Labour in 2021.
In a victory speech on Friday, Lord Houchen said his re-election was “the greatest honour anyone could give me” and said he would work with anyone “to get what I need”, including Labour leader Sir Keir if he became prime minister.
Hartlepool
Three years ago, Labour lost the Hartlepool parliamentary by-election to the Conservatives - an event that reportedly led Sir Keir to consider resigning as party leader.
But this year Hartlepool gave Labour cause for celebration, with the party winning control of the council for the first time since 2019 thanks to a net gain of seven seats, while the Tories lost six.
York and North Yorkshire
Labour’s David Skaith won the York and North Yorkshire mayoral election, which includes Prime Minister Sunak’s Richmond constituency – with a majority of almost 15,000 over the Conservatives.
Labour hailed a “truly historic” result, with a spokesperson saying: “Keir Starmer's Labour party is now winning in Rishi Sunak’s backyard. The Prime Minister’s own constituents have taken a look at the two parties and chosen Labour.”
North East
Labour’s Kim McGuinness has won the North East mayoralty, defeating former Labour-turned-independent Jamie Driscoll.
Ms McGuinness won the new mayoral election with a majority of 58,399 over independent Mr Driscoll.
She polled 185,051 votes (41.27%), ahead of Mr Driscoll, the former Labour North of Tyne mayor, who was blocked from standing for the new post by the party, with 126,652 votes.
Conservative Guy Renner-Thompson was third on 52,446, with Reform UK on 41,147, the Lib Dems on 25,485 and the Greens on 17,631.
East Midlands
Labour's Claire Ward has won the East Midlands mayoral election, becoming the region's first elected mayor.
A party source said Ms Ward “comfortably” defeated Conservative MP Ben Bradley, who is also leader of Nottinghamshire County Council.
The source described the East Midlands as "the beating heart of the general election battleground".
Harlow
The Conservatives held off gains from Labour to retain overall control in the Essex council of Harlow, which the prime minister pointed to as a good win. Sir Keir's party ended up with 16 seats, just one behind the Tories.
Thurrock
Labour secured a key victory in Thurrock, Essex, making a net gain of eight seats - enough for a clear majority.
The authority was one of Labour's top targets and is in an area of the country that will be a key Conservative-Labour battleground at the next general election.
South Tyneside
Labour faced a less cheery picture in South Tyneside, where the party suffered a net loss of 10 seats.
Independent and Green candidates gained nine and two seats respectively, while the Tories lost their only councillor. The results leave Labour still with a majority, but only just.
Rushmoor
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.
A Labour Party spokeswoman described the Rushmoor result as "truly historic", saying: "A Labour gain for Rushmoor is a result Rishi Sunak cannot ignore."
Conservatives, meanwhile, blamed their defeat on the Reform Party.
Have you heard our new podcast Talking Politics? Every week Tom, Robert and Anushka dig into the biggest issues dominating the political agenda…
Adur
Labour gained Adur in West Sussex from the Conservatives after gaining eight seats – marking the first time the party has controlled the council.
The Conservatives lost seven seats, and independents one, leaving the new council as Labour 17, Conservatives eight, Green two and independents two.
Redditch
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.
Sunderland
Labour retained a comfortable majority in Sunderland, where, despite not winning a seat, the Reform Party also beat the Conservatives into third place in 16 of the 25 seats up for grabs.
Conservative Cabinet minister Chris Heaton-Harris told the BBC the results in Sunderland showed "if you vote Reform, you get Labour".
Winchester
The Liberal Democrats retained control of Winchester, after winning eight of the first 10 seats to be declared.
Blackpool South
Elsewhere, Labour won the Blackpool South parliamentary by-election, with its candidate - Chris Webb - securing a majority of more than 7,500 votes.
Labour secured a huge 26.3% swing from the Conservatives as Reform UK recorded its highest vote share in a Westminster contest.
The contest there was triggered by the resignation of former Tory MP Scott Benton, following a lobbying scandal.
Mr Webb used his victory speech to urge the prime minister to do the "decent thing" and "call a general election".
Sir Keir, meanwhile, hailed the results as a "seismic win" for Labour, adding they represented an "overwhelming vote for change".
Workers Party of Britain's first wins
The Workers Party of Britain (WPB) won its first two council seats in Rochdale, where George Galloway won a by-election in March.
However, Labour overwhelmingly held on to Rochdale Borough Council despite efforts by Mr Galloway to "wipe them off".
Labour retained control of the council with 44 seats, after losing two to the WPB, with the Conservatives on nine, Lib Dems on three and two independents.
In Manchester, Labour deputy leader of the council Luthfur Rahman lost his seat to Shahbaz Sarwar.
The party claimed the seat in the Longsight ward with 2,444 votes to Labour’s 2,259 votes.
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know…