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Rishi Sunak suffered a terrible first day of council election results with the prime minister now nervously waiting on the result from the West Midlands and London mayoral contests.
In the capital, all eyes are on Sadiq Khan who is running an “extremely close” race with Tory candidate Susan Hall.
In local election results, of the 107 councils that held elections on Thursday, 102 had declared their full results on Friday night with the Conservatives losing more than 400 councillors, as the party lost control of 10 councils.
Election expert Sir John Curtice suggested the final outcome could be the party’s worst performance for 40 years.
Yet despite the disappointing results, plans of a coup have failed to materialise with one senior MP telling the Independent: “I think it is over. Rishi will lead us into the next election.”
A win for Tory Andy Street as mayor in the West Midlands could also help stop a leadership plot from rebel MPs.
State of play as of 8:10am
Total no of councils - Lab 48 +8 | Lib Dem: 12 + 2| Con: 5 -10 | Ind & Others: 1 | Greens: 0 | NOC: 36 (-1)
Councillors - Lab 1,026 (+173) | Lib Dem: 505 (+101) | Con: 479 (-448) | Ind & Others: 224 +92 | Green: 159 (+65)
Voter turnout higher in Conservative voting London areas than Labour constituencies
Voter turnout at the 2024 London Mayoral Election was higher in Conservative voting areas than Labour constituencies.
The overall voter turnout this year was 40.5% – down 1.5% from the turnout in 2021. In areas where the Tories have previously won, the turnout is up 6,500 votes.
In areas where the Labour party has won, the turnout is down some 42,000 votes.
A small swing is required for Sadiq Khan to lose.
The local elections are a triumph for Keir Starmer’s embrace of Blairism
Ben Houchen’s win as mayor of Tees Valley is notable not because the Tories are doing better than expected, but because his personal popularity is sufficient to withstand the national anti-Tory tide.
So let us give Keir Starmer the credit that is due for what are, overall, very good results for Labour. The Labour leader has been a lucky general, but we ought to recognise his skill in maximising his good fortune.
Read the full article from John Rentoul here:
Sunak has ‘very little to show’ after local election defeats
Local election results so far demonstrate Rishi Sunak has “very little to show” for his efforts to recover the Conservative brand following Liz Truss’s premiership, Sir John Curtice said.
The election expert told the BBC: “There is nothing in these results to suggest contrary to the opinion polls that the Conservatives are actually beginning to narrow the gap on Labour, and that so far at least, Rishi Sunak’s project which has tried to recover from the disaster – from the Conservatives’ point of view – of the Liz Truss fiscal event, that project has still got very little to show for it.
“That in a sense is the big takeaway.
“Now the Conservatives, as when all parties do badly in elections, they always want you to focus on the exception rather than the rule, and Tees Valley and probably the West Midlands are the exceptions not the rule.”
Why is Rishi shying away from a battle with Big Tech?
Eyebrows were raised. This was the prime minister, elected leader of the country, displaying fawning admiration for a US businessman. Of course, Musk was the world’s richest man at the time, in November 2023, and the tech multibillionaire was in the vanguard of global innovation. But even so, would others in Sunak’s position have behaved in the same way?
Read the full article here:
Why is Rishi shying away from a battle with Big Tech?
While the EU and US take action to stop digital behemoths cornering key markets, the UK is busy watering down vital new laws that would allow us to do the same, writes Chris Blackhurst. Will MPs show they have the stomach to protect consumers?
Whatever happened to the post-election Tory bloodbath?
It seems the hardline critics have repeated their Grand Old Duke of York act. They talk a good game, but then the great rebellion never materialises. This time it matters, because it was their last chance of ousting Sunak before the general election.
Read the full article from Andrew Grice here:
Whatever happened to the post-election Tory bloodbath?
If the Conservatives put in a poor showing at the local elections, we were promised that the knives would be out for Rishi Sunak. But it would take the resignation of a cabinet minister – and a few other factors – to kickstart a leadership challenge now, says Andrew Grice
Boris Johnson 'thanks' villagers for refusing to let him vote without ID
Boris Johnson has thanked three villagers who turned the former prime minister away from a polling station on Thursday for attempting to vote without a valid ID.
Writing for the Daily Mail, Mr Johnson said he attempted to use a copy of Prospect magazine as a form of identification, but was turned away by local electorate officials.
Mr Johnson wrote: “I want to pay a particular tribute to the three villagers who on Thursday rightly turned me away when I appeared in the polling station with nothing to prove my identity except the sleeve of my copy of Prospect magazine, on which my name and address had been printed.
“I showed it to them and they looked very dubious... within minutes I was back with my driving licence and voted Tory.”
The requirement to provide photo ID was introduced by Mr Johnson during his time in Downing Street as part of the Elections Act 2022.
Plot to topple Sunak called off despite dire election results
Conservative MPs considering a move to topple Mr Sunak were holding their counsel until all the results were in, as a rumoured plot to remove the prime minister appears to have died down.
Speaking to The Independent, one former cabinet minister said they “cannot comment until I know what has happened in the West Midlands and London”.
Dame Andrea Jenkyns, a Boris Johnson supporter, already has her letter in to 1922 Committee chairman Sir Graham Brady asking for a vote but said: “MPs are just too paralysed to do anything.”
However, another senior MP who has been involved with plotters said: “I think it is over. Rishi will lead us into the next election. The results were bad but no worse than already accounted for.”
What results to look out for today?
So far 102 of 107 councils in England have declared the results, with four due today and one tomorrow.
Results for Epping Forest, North Tyneside, Stroud, and Warrington will be announced before today evening.
The results of seven of the 11 mayoral contests (London, West Midlands, Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, Liverpool City Region, South Yorkshire and Salford) will also be declared today.
Of the results for the 37 police and crime commissioner elections across England and Wales, eight will be declared today and two will be announced tomorrow.
Fourteen London constituencies will also be announced, along with the London-wide top-up list that will elect another 11 assembly members.
ICYMI: Rishi Sunak on the rack as ‘seismic’ local election results threaten Tory wipeout
Rishi Sunak’s position as leader of the Tories and Prime Minister is in the balance as voters delivered a damning verdict on his government in the crucial local elections yesterday.
With a general election just months away, Conservative MPs are privately discussing whether to force a vote of no confidence in their leader as the dire poll predictions appear to have been born out at the ballot box this week.
Full report:
London Mayoral Election 2024: When will the winner be announced?
Londoners went to the polls on Thursday, 2 May to elect a mayor and 25 London Assembly members.
The ballot boxes were moved from more than 3,600 polling stations across the capital, staffed by around 12,000 people, to 14 counting centres in the city overnight.
Full report:
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2024-05-04 08:28:37Z
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