The Conservative Party faced some tough early losses as counts got underway in England overnight. Boris Johnson is facing a backlash from local party leaders after losing three key London authorities.
Sir Keir Starmer’s Labour Party has strengthened its grip on the capital, taking the totemic Tory authority in Wandsworth, winning Westminster for the first time since its creation in 1964 and clinching victory in Barnet.
The loss of Wandsworth will be a significant blow because of its symbolic status in London. It turned blue in 1978, a year before Margaret Thatcher’s election as prime minister and was reputedly her favourite council, noted for its low taxes. London Mayor Sadiq Khan said that “history has been made” with the victory. Meanwhile, Labour’s success in Barnet, which has a large Jewish population, will be seen as a sign the party has turned the corner on the anti-Semitism rows which dogged Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership.
