Labour says it is “on track” to win the next general election as it celebrates local council gains at the expense of the Tories.
Sir Keir Starmer’s party seized control of a number of key local election battlegrounds in England on a bruising day for Rishi Sunak’s Government – though the picture in the North East was somewhat of a mixed bag. With Labour already dominant in the five Tyne and Wear councils where voters went to the polls, much attention here was on fights in the Tees Valley to judge whether their national poll lead would translate into substantial gains at the ballot box.
In Darlington, Labour overtook the Conservatives to become the largest party – but fell short of winning control of the council. The party also came in one seat shy of a majority in Hartlepool, where one key ward went in the Tories’ favour by just two votes, but celebrated ousting Middlesbrough’s independent mayor and winning a council majority there too.
