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ITV News political correspondent Carl Dinen reports on the difficult set of results for the Conservative Party in the local elections in England, which marked Labor gains but were mixed across the country
Boris Johnson has been blamed by the grassroots Tories for the heavy losses in local elections, with the Liberals, Labor and Greens making gains after early results were announced.
Labor hailed the 2022 local elections as a “turning point” for the party, after taking from local conservatives local authorities it has not controlled for decades – and dozens of results yet to be announced.
Prime Minister Johnson acknowledged it was a “difficult night” for the Conservatives after Sir Keira Starmer’s party took control of Westminster City Council for the first time since its inception in 1964 and the Wendsworth Council for the first time in 44 years.
Labor also won a majority in the new Cumberland Council, with Tory leader Carlisle Council calling for Prime Minister Johnson to resign over the result there and across the country.
The party’s leader, Sir Keir, said the results had “sent a message to the Prime Minister that Britain deserves better”, thanking the Barnett Labor team for its efforts to take the advice from the Tories.
“This is a big turning point for us,” he said, “from the depths of 2019 in these general elections, again on the road, victory in the north. Cumberland! Southampton! We have changed Labor and now we are seeing results. “
But as Sir Cair celebrated the election results, Durham police revealed they had launched an investigation into whether the Labor leader had broken the coronavirus rules last year.
Mr Johnson said local council voters had sent a “message” to ministers to focus on issues that mattered to them, such as the cost of living crisis.
The prime minister told television that he was “absolutely determined” to help people through Covid’s “economic aftermath” with “every gram of compassion and ingenuity.”
He added: “We’ve had a hard night in some parts of the country, but in other parts of the country you can still see the Conservatives moving forward and making some remarkable profits in places that haven’t voted for Conservatives in a long time, if ever. ”
ITV News Deputy Political Editor Anushka Astana breaks some of the key results in England and Wales
Elections for a new Stormont meeting have also been held in Northern Ireland, but the results are still far from being announced after the count began this morning.
Wales and Scotland have not declared all their results, and all local authorities in these decentralized nations are in need.
But Scotland’s first minister, Nicholas Sturgeon, welcomed the “seismic” result for the SNP in Glasgow, where it was declared the largest party in the Glasgow City Council election, with 37 seats against Labor’s 36.
Our correspondents in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have the latest election results – and explain their importance
The SNP also said it had a “strong result” in Edinburgh, as it emerged as the largest local government party with 19 seats.
Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross said Johnson “cannot ignore the message sent by voters on Thursday after the Tories fought in the nation’s council elections.
Conservatives lost key seats and saw their turnout double-digit in a number of areas.
What is the picture in the country? Explore our coverage from all over the UK:
The Tories have blamed Boris Johnson for poor election performance
Senior Tory Sir Roger Gale was sarcastic at the Prime Minister when he spoke to ITV News, saying Mr Johnson was “holding on to his fingertips”.
The North Thanet MP said there could be a no-confidence vote against the prime minister, revealing that 30 to 40 no-confidence letters had been filed against him, just 15 less than the number needed to trigger a vote of leadership.
Sir Roger suggested that Mr Johnson might try to provoke a vote of no confidence in himself “in order to do so” free of dust and out of the way “, but said it would be a” high risk strategy “. .
John Malinson, the former Tory leader of the Carlisle Council, who will see his governing council be replaced by the Cumberland Council, said: tell the truth. ”
Asked by the BBC if he thought conservatives should oust the prime minister, Malinson said: “That would be my preference, yes.”
Wendsworth Tori also seems to be blaming Mr Johnson for losing control of the council.
Which leader has the biggest reason to celebrate after the results of the council elections? ITV News political editor Robert Peston reports
Ravi Govindia, the leader of the Wendsworth Tories, told the BBC: “Let’s not be shy about it, of course, national problems were part of the dilemma that people face.”
Tory Senior Lord Barwell, who was Theresa May’s chief of staff, said the results of the local election were “catastrophic” in London and should be a “warning signal”.
He said on Twitter: “Wendsworth and Westminster were leading councils. We held them during Blair’s honeymoon. We kept them during austerity. We kept them with Theresa May.
“Their loss should be a wake-up call for the Conservative Party.
Labor members were rejoicing in Wandsworth after declaring victory, and MP Rosena Alin-Khan said the party had “written history”.
The Tories also lost control of Southampton City Council after just one year in power, with Labor taking control.
In Portsmouth, where the Tories lost four seats, Simon Bosher, the leader of the Conservative group, said Mr Johnson should “look good and strong in the mirror” because “these are people who actually carry the burden of the threshold of behavior. what’s going on in Westminster. “
Electoral progress is slow in cities without which Labor cannot win, according to ITV News political correspondent Daniel Hewitt
Before the final results were announced at Barnett – which Labor appears to have won from the Tories – Conservative leader Daniel Thomas conceded defeat, saying the loss was a “warning blow” from his party’s supporters.
“Clearly, if Labor wants to get a majority in parliament, they have to win Barnett,” he said.
“They won the council, if they win our parliamentary constituencies, then it does not bode well for us to form a government in future general elections.”
The Tories are believed to have been punished for the cost of living crisis and the party scandal, with traditional Conservatives choosing to stay at home instead of supporting Labor.
Who really won the local elections?
Many results are yet to be declared in key councils, but the early picture looks as if Labor has been a huge success in London, but not so much in the rest of the country.
The Tories have indeed made gains in key battlefields such as Nuniton, which they held – and Hartlepool, which Labor would like to regain after losing its parliamentary seat in the 2021 by-elections.
But the Conservative Party lost well over 100 seats, while the Liberal Democrats have so far won the most seats by more than 50, while Labor is just under 40.
The Green Party also did well, given that it is not one of the big parties, holding more than 20 seats so far, including its first place in Coventry.
The Liberal Democrats also took control of Hull City Council from Labor, a disappointing result for Mr Starmer.
The party has focused on further attacks on the Tories’ heart – the Blue Wall in southern England – following the recent success of the Westminster midterm elections in North Shropshire and Chesham and Amersham.
He won in Richmond, where the Tories won only one seat on the newly redesigned council – and appear to be winning in both Wokingham and Somerset.
Party leader Sir Ed Davy celebrated his party’s “big gains” in the local elections, sparking a “shock wave across our country that could see this conservative government collapse.”
He said earlier: “I am optimistic that, thanks to their hard work, the Liberal Democrats will win positions in areas beyond the Blue Wall, where voters are tired of being taken for granted by conservatives.”
Although Labor has made significant progress since the 2019 general election, critics say the party did not win much more than local polls in 2018, when then-leader Jeremy Corbyn was accused of poor performance.
Tory Party Chairman Oliver Dowden told ITV News that his party had not performed well in London, but insisted it had been relatively successful in other parts of England, given that governments are usually punished by by-elections. .
“We had a difficult set of results in London, but in fact, if you look at the whole country … we actually made a profit,” he said.
He insisted Labor was “not on the path to government” and believed the Tories would still triumph in the next general election.
MP Shabana Mahmoud, coordinator of the national Labor campaign, said: “Following the disastrous results of 2019, these early results show the progress we have made thanks to the leadership of Keir.”
She added: “Voters have trusted the change, which is the work of Keira Starmer.”
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Greens co-chair Adrian Ramsey said the local election results showed the party was already a “reliable alternative to the establishment parties”.
He added: “The Green Party has already made a breakthrough in three consecutive elections and we expect this trajectory to continue as people increasingly vote for candidates who listen, work hard on local issues and are serious about the climate emergency.” .
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