Labour increases majority on Plymouth City Council

Jonathan Morris - BBC News
·2 min read
Plymouth
Labour increased their majority on the council [BBC]

Labour remains in control of Plymouth City Council with an increased majority following Thursday's local elections.

The party won 15 of the 19 seats up for grabs, having needed only two to hold on to its majority.

Two Independents won seats, with one Green in Plympton Chaddlewood and a single Conservative in Eggbuckland.

Council leader, Labour councillor Tudor Evans, said: "The people have spoken and they were very clear about what they wanted."

Plymouth
The Conservatives took one seat [BBC]

Mr Evans said he was "delighted with this kind of result", but it came with "a lot of responsibility".

"We've done 18 gains in Plymouth in two years, for Plymouth Labour that's an incredible performance and tonight was the worst election for the Conservatives in Plymouth's history," he said.

"That has got to be a red letter day and more importantly, a big warning to Rishi Sunak that his time is up."

Analysis: Martyn Oates, Political Editor, BBC South West

The declarations board at the Plymouth City Council count is almost entirely red.

It's been a very good night for Labour and their focus here, given they already control the city council and already have one of the city's MPs, is very much on the north of the city.

That's the constituency of Conservative MP and Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer, one of Labour's target seats here in the South West.

In the event they gobbled up wards across Mr Mercer's constituency and they will feel that that augurs very well for the likelihood of them taking his seat come the general election.

Local election 2024 results in maps and charts

Conservative councillor Rebecca Smith, Shadow Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning, Homes and Communities, said: "We're having great conversations with voters on the doors and they do still want to vote Conservative.

"They're just naturally a bit cheesed off because we've had a tough few years, we've all faced a pandemic, the challenges of the war in Ukraine, but ultimately, we don't want to go back to square one and that is the message that they've been giving me on the doors."

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