he Tories lost control of a series of councils across England in Rishi Sunak’s first electoral test as Prime Minister, with Labour claiming the results suggest Sir Keir Starmer will replace him in Downing Street next year.
There was a royal blow for Mr Sunak on the eve of the King’s coronation as the Liberal Democrats seized control of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.
It was not the only area in London’s commuter belt where the Tories lost out. Labour also gained Medway and will run the Kent council for the first time since 1998.
In Hertsmere, where Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden is MP, the Conservatives lost overall control of the town hall, with 13 councillors voted out while Labour gained seven and the Lib Dems six.
Around a quarter of the local authority seats up for election counted results overnight.
Shortly after 7am, the Tories had lost more than 200 councillors, putting them on course for a grim overall result for their party.
Speaking to journalists outside Conservative Campaign Headquarters in London on Friday morning, Mr Sunak said: “It’s always disappointing to lose hard-working Conservative councillors, they’re friends, they’re colleagues and I’m so grateful to them for everything they’ve done.
“In terms of the results, it’s still early, but what I am going to carry on doing is delivering on the people’s priorities – halving inflation, growing the economy, reducing debt, cutting waiting lists and stopping the boats.”
He added the party were “making progress in key electoral battlegrounds like Peterborough, Bassetlaw, Sandwell.”
Shabana Mahmood, Labour’s national campaign co-ordinator, claimed the early results showed her party were “on course for a majority” at the next general election, expected next Autumn.
“We have spent the whole campaign talking about Labour’s plan to tackle the Tory cost of living crisis which is the number one issue for voters,” she said.
“Rishi Sunak can’t talk about it because the Tories crashed the economy and they don’t know how to fix it.
“These results have been a disaster for Rishi Sunak as voters punish him for the Tories’ failure.”
Sir Ed Davey’s Liberal Democrats also made gains as the early results came in and warned the “worst is yet to come for the Conservatives in Blue Wall” seat as Surrey, Hertfordshire and Sussex all began counting on Friday.
“Key Blue Wall ward results now show us performing way above expectations and on track to oust Conservative MPs at the next general election,” a party spokesman said.
Labour gained control of Plymouth, where the Tories had run a minority administration – a result branded “terrible” by Government minister and local MP Johnny Mercer.
Veterans Minister Mr Mercer said the result was due to local factors, such as unpopular tree felling in the area, and insisted that the Prime Minister was “the sort of strong leader this country needs at this time”.
The Labour party also won control in Stoke-on-Trent, another general election battleground.
Tamworth, Brentford, North West Leicestershire and East Lindsey fell from Tory administrations to no overall control.
West Lindsey remained under no overall control but the Lib Dems replaced the Tories as the largest party.
In Boston, the Tories lost 10 councillors in the Lincolnshire town they had run as a minority, with independents now taking the majority of seats.
Labour replaced the Tories as the largest party in Hartlepool and Worcester.
It came as the elections were branded a “dark day for British democracy” by campaigners opposed to the introduction of photo ID, who claimed thousands of people had been denied their right to vote.
The contests were the first to be fought under new rules requiring voters to carry photographic ID, and the elections watchdog said some people were turned away from polling stations.
An Electoral Commission spokesman said: “We already know from our research that the ID requirement posed a greater challenge for some groups in society, and that some people were regrettably unable to vote today as a result.
“It will be essential to understand the extent of this impact, and the reasons behind it, before a final view can be taken on how the policy has worked in practice and what can be learned for future elections.”
The Association of Electoral Administrators’ chief executive Peter Stanyon said there had been “many anecdotal reports” of people being unable to vote but “it is still too early to gauge how introducing voter ID has gone”.
