The Conservatives suffered a “tough night” at the hands of voters in parts of England Boris Johnson has admitted, as a series of flagship councils fell amid public anger over partygate and the cost of living.
But while Labour took control of three Tory-led councils in London in the local elections the party struggled to make a similar impact in other areas of the country.
There was cause for joy for the Liberal Democrats who made significant gains, winning more than 175 new council seats.
Among the key Tory councils to fall was Wandsworth in London – reputedly Margaret Thatcher’s favourite – as well as Westminster, Tory since it was created in 1964.
Mr Johnson insisted that across the country the picture was mixed. But with most councils in England declared the Conservatives had lost more than 300 seats, Labour had gained 50 and the Lib Dems more than 190
The results led to warnings from Conservative MPs that a leadership challenge against Mr Johnson, whose behaviour during the partygate scandal was a major issue on the doorsteps, was inevitable.
While the party could point to gaining Harrow council in London, it lost Castle Point, Gosport, Huntingdonshire, Maidstone, West Oxfordshire and Worcester.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer declared the results as a major “turning point” for his party.
As well as in London, his party took councils including Cumberland, Kirklees, Rossendale, Southampton, and Worthing.
The Lib Dems, meanwhile, won control of councils in Somerset, Westmorland and Furness and Kingston-upon-Hull.
The Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey predicted his party would take “Blue Wall” constituencies from Tory MPs at the next general election, as he declared the party was “winning across the country again”.
The term ‘blue wall’ signifies Tory held seats mainly in the south of England and is a riff on the ‘red wall’ of seats further north that the Conservatives won from Labour at the last general election.
Tory MPs are increasing worried about the security of ‘blue wall’ seats and a resurgence in support for the Lib Dems across the south and south west, following a disastrous showing for Sir Ed’s party in 2019.
North of the border the Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross, who saw his party slip from second to third place behind the SNP and Labour, said he was in “absolutely no doubt” that voters were sending a message to the government over partygate. The SNP topped the poll in Scotland, while former leader Alex Salmond’s Alba party failed to secure any council seats.
The Conservative leader in Wales, Andrew RT Davies, also blamed the “national picture” for undermining a Welsh Conservative brand, which has been resurgent in recent years, with voters.
In Northern Ireland Sinn Fein look on course to create history as the first nationalist party to top the polls and win the right to nominate a first minister. Opposition from the unionist DUP, however, looks set to plunge Northern Irish politics into a stalemate, potentially lasting many months, yet again.
