Canterbury Conservative councillor says he 'won't win' ahead of ballots being counted
A Conservative councillor in Kent has admitted defeat to Labour before the ballot papers have been counted.
Cllr Neil Baker, who represented Tankerton Ward in Canterbury, posted a 'goodbye' on Facebook - where he thanked those who had supported him during the 12 years he worked in the Tory administration.
On the social media site Mr Baker predicted that his rival, Simon Warley, who represents the Labour Party will win.
He wrote: "The Canterbury City Council election count takes place later this morning. The short version is that I won't win...
"While elections are not an exact science, it has been clear for months - if not years - that Labour will win in Tankerton Ward today and Simon Warley will shortly be the new councillor.
"I wish him all the best and, having served with him when he was councillor for Westgate Ward in Canterbury from 2017-2019, I know his experience will serve Tankerton well amid a sea of brand new councillors.
"On that note, when the dust settled the new city council will have Labour as the largest party but without a majority. That will almost certainly mean a Labour-Lib Dem coalition arrangement.
"I wish all the best to those elected and, as ever, to everyone involved in the ever-frustrating beast that is local government."
Labour expects to have its best local election results since 1997, with an equivalent vote share lead of at least 8% over the Tories, which could result in a majority Labour government if repeated at a Westminster contest.
Meanwhile Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, insisted it was "hard to draw firm conclusions" from the initial results after speaking to staff at Conservative Campaign Headquarters in centralLondon on Friday morning.
He told broadcasters he was "not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards the Labour Party or excitement for its agenda" despite the Opposition gains.
"It's always disappointing to lose hardworking Conservative councillors, they're friends, they're colleagues, and I'm so grateful to them for everything they've done," he added.
"But in terms of the results, it's still early. We've just had a quarter of the results in but what I am going to carry on doing is delivering on the people's priorities."