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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Politics
Lizzy Buchan

Local elections: 6 key results you may have missed overnight as Tories suffer losses

Boris Johnson is facing grassroots anger after the Tories suffered local election upsets in London and losses across England.

Results have been coming in overnight after millions of voters went to the polls on Thursday in a critical set of local elections.

Dozens of Tory councillors have lost their seats, leading to outspoken criticism from local leaders, who pointed the finger of blame at Boris Johnson for some disappointing results.

Labour has made modest gains but Keir Starmer will be bolstered by some major victories in London, Southampton and Cumberland in the North West.

The Liberal Democrats and the Greens have both had good nights so far, with the Lib Dems taking Hull from Labour.

It's still early, with plenty of councils in England still to declare. Results have not started to come through yet from Scotland or Wales.

Boris Johnson has been coming under fire from his own party (UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SER)

Here's what you may have missed overnight.

Labour take Tory crown jewels in London

Labour has seized a trio of true blue councils after the Tories suffered heavy losses in London.

Keir Starmer's party declared victory in Wandsworth - once dubbed Margaret Thatcher's favourite council - which has been Conservative since 1978.

Labour also won Westminster from the Tories for the first time since its creation in 1964.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Labour party MP Dr. Rosena Allin-Khan react to the counting during local elections at Wandsworth (REUTERS)
Counting is taking place in local elections across the country (REUTERS)

The Conservative leader of Barnet council Daniel Thomas conceded victory in the early hours of Friday, before the result was officially confirmed.

Mr Thomas said: "I think this is a warning shot from Conservative supporters and I think our loss today is not only due to the fact that I have just mentioned but also a fair number of Conservative voters who just didn't go out to vote, stayed at home."

The result in Barnet is a success for Keir Starmer. Labour suffered in the area - which has a large Jewish population - following the rows over anti-Semitism allegations during Jeremy Corbyn's leadership.

Lib Dems seize Hull from Labour

The Liberal Democrats took Hull city council after a decade of Labour rule.

This election has been a two-way scrap between the parties as Labour was defending a majority of just one on the council.

Hull was one of the few councils the Lib Dems thought they had a decent shot at flipping in these elections.

Conservatives lose Southampton

Labour gained control of Southampton from the Conservatives, who had been in charge for only a year.

Labour boosted its share of seats 26, with Conservatives on 21, and Liberal Democrats on one.

Boris Johnson casts his vote at a polling station in London (Getty Images)

Tory MP Royston Smith said when people are upset they "take it out on the first election they come to".

"We've only been back in Southampton a year, after taking 7 seats off of Labour last year, and people can understand why.

"Now, it has swung back the other way. This is not unusual, just very disappointing."

Labour wins over the 'Workington man'

Labour has won control of the newly created council in Cumberland, in a big boost to Keir Starmer.

The party now has a convincing majority, with 30 councillors compared to 7 Tories, 4 Lib Dems, 3 independent and 2 greens.

The result is significant as the Conservatives have three MPs in the area - Carlisle, Copeland and Workington.

Pollsters coined the term “Workington man” to describe the voters who helped the Tories to break down Labour’s Red Wall at the 2019 election.

A Labour source says: "Workington man has voted Labour."

Labour hold Sunderland

Labour held onto Sunderland amid fears it risked losing control of a council it has run since 1973.

The Tories and the Lib Dems had been hoping to make gains here and tip the local authority into no overall control.

But while the Lib Dems took one seat off Labour and one off the Tories tonight, Labour remains comfortably in control.

(Getty Images)

Both Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak hit the campaign trail in Sunderland - but it didn’t tip the balance in the Conservatives favour.

However Labour's vote share was down by 3%. At this stage in the electoral cycle - and against the backdrop of Partygate and the cost of living crisis - Labour bosses would have hoped to fare better.

Hartlepool under no overall control

Battleground council Hartlepool remained under no overall control in a disappointment to Labour and the Tories.

The Tories gained two seats from independent councillors, while Labour held its ground.

The parliamentary constituency turned Tory last year in a shock by-election, which meant a victory here would have been highly symbolic for both parties.

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