The votes are still being counted and in London we will not know the result of the mayoral election until Saturday. But one thing is clear: this is shaping up to be as bad a night for the Conservatives as the polls predicted.
Labour secured a 26.3 per cent swing in Blackpool South, the third largest from the Tories to the party at a by-election since the Second World War. And this was no outlier — Sir Keir Starmer has now achieved six by-election swings greater than 20 percentage points in the past 12 months. Labour also took control of a range of councils, including Thurrock, Rushmoor and Hartlepool — the latter being the scene of Sir Keir’s nadir when Labour lost the 2021 parliamentary by-election.
