Labour’s strategy ‘won’t last’ into a general election, says Cabinet minister

The Labour Party’s “ming vase” strategy will not last into the general election, a Cabinet minister has claimed after a day of heavy local election losses for the Conservatives and broad gains for the opposition.

The Tories lost more than 300 seats and Labour have gained 200, with 98 out of 107 councils having declared their results.

Meanwhile, the Tories were crushed by Labour in the Blackpool South by-election. The Conservatives lost the seat and only narrowly held off Reform UK to finish in second place.

But in a major silver lining for Rishi Sunak, Ben Houchen was re-elected as the Conservative Mayor of the Tees Valley, securing his third term in office as he defeated his Labour and Liberal Democrat challengers in all five of the local authority areas which make up the Tees Valley.

Admitting it had been a “difficult” day for his party, Mel Stride, the Work and Pensions Secretary, insisted the general election, widely expected to be held in the second half of the year, would be a different story.

Mr Stride told Sky’s Politics Hub: “As we approach that general election quite rightly it’s going to be framed as the Conservatives versus Keir Starmer, Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer, who’s going to get the keys to No 10 and govern the country?

“And I think at the point people are going to expect more of Labour in terms of telling us what they actually stand for. We’ve had this ming vase strategy, where Keir Starmer has carried this ming vase, trying to protect his poll lead across this slippery floor for fear of dropping it.

“That won’t last, it won’t wash into a general election. So I think we’re going to see a very different dynamic going forward. But I do accept that of course these results have been difficult and it pains me that so many great Conservative communities who’ve stood up for their communities are no longer representing those communities.”

It was not all good news for Labour as it found itself losing a number of councillors amid a backlash from Muslim voters over its handling of the Israel-Gaza conflict.

This included two losses in Rochdale to George Galloway’s Workers Party of Britain in a potential foretaste of what could be a major challenge for Sir Keir in dozens of seats at the general election.

Meanwhile, any prospect of a Tory plot to oust Mr Sunak appeared to have fizzled out as of Friday night, with not a single Conservative MP calling for his removal.

Dame Andrea Jenkyns, an arch-critic of the Prime Minister who demanded his resignation last autumn, urged her party to unite, while Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg, a former business secretary, insisted Mr Sunak should lead the party into the next national poll and no good could come of a change of leader.

The results of two key mayoral races will be announced on Saturday, with Labour mayor Sadiq Khan and Tory incumbent Andy Street both seeking third terms in London and the West Midlands respectively.

You can follow the latest updates below and join the conversation in the comments section here. 

10:11 PM BST

Our live coverage has ended for today - we’ll be back tomorrow

That’s all for today.

We’re ending our live coverage here for today. We’ll be bringing you live updates again tomorrow from 7am.

10:03 PM BST

Tories lose Dorset

Liberal Democrats took Dorset from the Conservatives after gaining 15 seats.

The party now has 42 of the 82 seats on the council, with Conservatives on 30 after losing 13.

There are four independents, four Greens and two Labour councillors.

Dorset is the first Lib Dem council gain from the Conservatives of this election.

09:26 PM BST

Sunak: Tories have everything to fight for

Rishi Sunak has said the Conservatives have “everything to fight for” as key mayoral contests offered the party a glimmer of hope.

Writing for The Telegraph, the Prime Minister issued a rallying cry after Labour and Tory sources said Conservative Andy Street would win in the West Midlands and predicted that Sadiq Khan’s race to be re-elected in London would be closer than expected.

The Tories suffered a bruising set of results in local elections across England on Friday, with the party predicted to lose as many as half of its councillors up for re-election once all results had been declared.

Read the full report from Ben Riley Smith, The Telegraph’s Political Editor and Nick Gutteridge, Chief Political Correspondent

09:12 PM BST

Lib Dem council leader loses seat in Elmbridge

In Elmbridge, Lib Dem council leader Bruce McDonald lost his Claygate seat to Independent Mary Marshall. She secured 39.9 per cent of the ward vote, with 1,020 votes against his 858 votes (33.5 per cent).

The Surrey-based council remains in no overall control, but elsewhere in the borough there were three Lib Dem gains. The Conservatives lost three seats and the Residents’ group lost one.

The new council line-up is Lib Dem 23; Residents 15; Conservative nine; Independent one.

09:12 PM BST

Labour gain nine PCC posts from Tories

Labour have gained nine police and crime commissioner (PCC) posts from the Conservatives, as well as holding five, with another 10 to be declared over the weekend.

Labour now hold 14 PCCs and the Conservatives 12, with Plaid Cymru retaining Dyfed-Powys.

Sir Keir Starmer’s party gained from the Conservatives Avon & Somerset, Bedfordshire, Cleveland, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Lancashire, Norfolk, Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire.

09:06 PM BST

‘No doubt Labour lost votes as a result of its stance on Gaza’

Labour MP Clive Betts said there was “no doubt at all about it” the party had lost votes as a result of its stance on Gaza.

The Sheffield South East MP added: “In my constituency people tell me that very clearly, and in one of the wards which was one of our safest wards, an independent candidate got elected fighting solely on the issue of Gaza, he didn’t fight on anything else, that was all his leaflets were about.

“So people voted on the basis that they were unhappy with Labour, and unhappy with our stance on Gaza.

“A lot of that was mistaken, on the belief that we hadn’t changed our position on Gaza from a few months ago, but once people take a view that we have got it wrong, it is very difficult to change their minds.”

08:50 PM BST

Liberal Democrats gain control of Dorset Council from the Conservatives

Liberal Democrat Leader Ed Davey said: “The Liberal Democrats are back in the West Country. This is a historic result.

“After our stunning parliamentary by-election wins in Tiverton & Honiton and Somerton & Frome, and our fantastic local election victories in the last two years in Somerset and Devon, and now Dorset, the Liberal Democrats are truly on the up in the West Country.”

08:41 PM BST

Boris Johnson statement on Ben Houchen

08:06 PM BST

Labour and Liberal Democrats fail to gain control in Dudley and Wokingham

Labour did enough to switch Dudley council from Conservative control to no overall control but fell short of winning a majority itself by three seats.

Meanwhile the Liberal Democrats failed to take overall control of Wokingham in Berkshire, which had been one of their key local election targets, after only gaining one seat.

The Tories lost three seats, leaving them with 19 councillors while Labour gained three, meaning they now have eight.

And Epping Forest council in Essex stopped counting this evening because of the “volume of votes”, planning to continue tomorrow morning.

08:03 PM BST

Green Party largest on Bristol City Council

The Green Party fell two seats short of an overall majority on Bristol City Council but returned 34 out of 60 councillors.

Labour was left with 21 seats, the Liberal Democrats eight and the Conservatives seven.

The Greens won all 14 of the seats in the wards that make up the Bristol Central parliamentary constituency which is currently held by Thangam Debbonaire, the shadow culture secretary.

07:43 PM BST

Cooper: Susan Hall has run ‘damaging, divisive’ campaign

Asked about Wes Streeting’s criticism of Susan Hall, Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, told Sky: “I think we’ve seen from the Conservatives in London, from Susan Hall, really a very divisive campaign that is damaging. What we need is to be able to pull London together and we also need to be able to pull the whole country together.

“We’ve been really clear about the way in which the Conservatives have campaigned in London being divisive and being damaging.

“What we need to do is bring the capital together and I think Sadiq Khan has been doing that.”

07:42 PM BST

Yvette Cooper: We have to ‘listen and reflect’ on Gaza backlash

Asked how she would respond to the issue of Gaza costing Labour support, Yvette Cooper told Sky’s Politics Hub: “We do recognise that Gaza obviously have been a factor in some cases.

“Undoubtedly many people feel really strongly about this, and rightly, because tens of thousands of people have been killed, including the majority of them women and children. We desperately need an immediate ceasefire, we need the hostages released and we need the urgent humanitarian aid.

“I think we have to recognise the strength of feeling on this issue and I think we always take the view in the Labour Party that we need to earn every vote. And therefore we always have to listen and reflect when we lose votes in any area, we always have to listen.”

Challenged on whether her party would change its position, Ms Cooper responded: “We’re desperately worried about the risks of a new Rafah offensive, we’re desperately hoping for a success in the negotiations to get the immediate ceasefire in place.

“But there is also this broader issue about the need to get a broader peace process on track which involves a two-state solution that has to include the recognition of a Palestinian state... There’s a broader debate about what happens in the Middle East and the desperate action that is needed. It is going to continue and we will continue to be part of that debate. We will also need to reflect on all parts of the country in terms of the political situation. The Labour Party will keep working to try to earn every single vote.”

07:39 PM BST

Yvette Cooper: Labour will keep working for every single vote

Yvette Cooper, the shadow home secretary, said Labour had seen “really strong” results nationwide.

Ms Cooper told Sky’s Politics Hub: “What it really shows is the country just needs a general election now. That was the real message of the elections we’ve had so far.”

Asked about projections Labour may not get a majority, she replied: “Obviously you’re right that local elections don’t translate completely to national elections, often you get smaller parties doing better in local elections in smaller wards and so on.

“But in the end when it comes to a general election it is a choice between a Conservative government and a Labour government. Not a single view has been cast in that general election yet and that’s why our view is we will keep working for every single vote. You have heard Keir Starmer talking about no complacency but it runs deeper than that, we really believe we have got to earn every vote in a general election.”

07:34 PM BST

Mel Stride: If you’re voting Reform, you’re going to get Labour

Mel Stride, the Work and Pensions Secretary told Sky’s Politics Hub the local election results had been “difficult”.

“As we approach that general election quite rightly it’s going to be framed as the Conservatives versus Keir Starmer, Rishi Sunak, Keir Starmer, who’s going to get the keys to No 10 and govern the country?

“And I think at the point people are going to expect more of Labour in terms of telling us what they actually stand for. We’ve had this ming vase strategy, where Keir Starmer has carried this ming vase, trying to protect his poll lead across this slippery floor for fear of dropping it.

“That won’t last, it won’t wash into a general election. So I think we’re going to see a very different dynamic going forward. But I do accept that of course these results have been difficult and it pains me that so many great Conservative communities who’ve stood up for their communities are no longer representing those communities.”

On the rise of Reform, he said: “We’ve got to address the issues that Reform voters are quite rightly vexed by and immigration is one of them, and I’ve spoken a little bit about that. But equally it is just simply the case that under our electoral system, if you’re voting Reform I’m afraid you’re going to help the Labour Party.

“My appeal would be come the general election that people thinking that way are bearing in mind that it’s a simple election. If you’re voting Reform, you’re going to get Labour.”

07:29 PM BST

Mel Stride: The Government needs to communicate better

Speaking on Sky’s Politics Hub, Mel Stride said: “I’m not putting any gloss on this. At the end of the day it’s been a tough set of results and we’ve got to pick ourselves up and do the right things to make sure we’re in the right shape for the general election.

“Because the poll that’s really going to matter is the general election and that is a very different kind of contest.

“What we’ve got to do as a party is we’ve got to start outward-facing and we’ve got to start talking and communicating effectively about the things that we’re doing, our record, so getting down inflation from 11 to three per cent, getting real wages increasing in each of the last five months, cutting people’s tax, a third off National Insurance for employees is a huge tax cut worth £900 for an average earner per year.

“We’re looking at migration, we’ve got our Rwanda Bill through, and contrasting that with where Labour is at the moment... They’re effectively prepared to look for some soft amnesty-style arrangements. We’ve got to get into taking those arguments and battles for Labour. It’s going to be easier closer to the election because what Labour will then have to do is then start explaining what their policies are, and again in many areas like mine, welfare, I have no idea what Labour believe when it comes to welfare.”

07:26 PM BST

Mel Stride: General election will be different

Mel Stride, the Work and Pensions Secretary, insisted the general election “will be different”.

He told Sky’s Politics Hub: “They’ve been difficult there’s no doubt about that but within that there’s a couple of points I would make. In 2021 when we last had these local elections of course that was a high watermark, we had the bounce from the Covid vaccine rollout, so that’s a pretty high watermark for us to compare to.

“And I think amongst the results a couple of things have been encouraging. One of those clearly is the Tees Valley result... It’s clearly an area that Labour must win if they are to get the keys to No 10, right at the heart of the Red Wall. And the other result is Harlow... [Sir Keir Starmer] made it very clear Harlow is the kind of council that they had to win and of course that didn’t happen.

“So I think mixed of course and a lot still to do but the general election will be something different.”

07:21 PM BST

Tory members want Farage in charge, poll suggests

Conservative Party members believe their best possible leader would be Nigel Farage, a poll of 537 Tory members by Find Out Now has found.

The survey, conducted for Labour Together between April 12 and 17, found 27 per cent of respondents want the former Ukip leader at the helm.

Penny Mordaunt, the Leader of the Commons, came second on 23 per cent, with Rishi Sunak in third on 19 per cent.

But more Tory members (49 per cent) said Mr Sunak should remain in Downing Street for the next general election than resign (38 per cent).

07:15 PM BST

Liberal Democrats gain control of Tunbridge Wells

The Liberal Democrats have gained control of Tunbridge Wells borough council.

A Liberal Democrat source said: “The disgusted of Tunbridge Wells have spoken.”

07:08 PM BST

It would be ‘wild and woolly’ to depose Sunak, says Rees-Mogg

It would be “wild and woolly” to get rid of Rishi Sunak, Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg has said amid signs that the prospect of a mooted Tory rebellion against the Prime Minister has fizzled out.

Sir Jacob, a former business secretary, noted the Tory Party had registered its worst results in local elections since 2013 and were on a par with 1995.

“I actually think these results are a good reason for carrying on supporting Rishi Sunak,” he told Times Radio. “I thought the Houchen result was of fundamental importance in that. Why do I think that? Because I think it will help people be rational.

”I think getting rid of Rishi Sunak at this point would be a wild and woolly thing to do, that we are a few months from an election, we need to go into an election backing the leader of the party. I don’t actually think that a different leader would have done particularly better in these results.”

06:59 PM BST

West Midlands mayoral contest could still go either way

Despite what initially appeared to be a remarkably early concession from the Labour camp, both parties in with a chance of winning the West Midlands mayoral race are now suggesting it could go either way.

A “Labour source” quoted by BBC Midlands on Friday, before a single vote had been counted, predicted that the party’s candidate, Richard Parker, would lose out to Tory incumbent Andy Street.

But the message, which seemed to blame Hamas for the defeat, was quickly disowned by a Labour spokesman, who said it had “not come from anyone who is speaking on behalf of the party”. Now it looks like we’re back to square one, with both sides giving the impression it’ll be very close.

A loss for Mr Street would be a huge blow to Rishi Sunak after he managed to cling on in Tees Valley, and could spark fresh murmurings about his ability to lead the Tories into the next election. On the other hand, a win would provide a rare silver lining to offset what has otherwise been a rather dreary set of results.

The fact that the Conservatives kept hold of Walsall council might augur well for Mr Street, but it doesn’t offer any guarantees. After a long wait, the count gets underway tomorrow.

I’ll be in Birmingham city centre guiding you through it - so make sure to tune in for live coverage on what is sure to be a crunch day for the embattled Tory leader.

06:56 PM BST

Cooper: ‘We clearly recognise’ Gaza is an issue

Yvette Cooper has said Labour’s leadership “clearly recognise” its response to the Israel-Gaza conflict has been an issue in some areas.

The shadow home secretary told Times Radio: “There are some areas where this is an issue, we clearly recognise that.

“Obviously there have been some areas where we know that there have been some independent candidates campaigning very strongly on the issue of Gaza, which people do feel very strongly about.

“Look, it is an issue in some areas and that does recognise, I think, the fact that tens of thousands of people have been killed. It’s just devastating what’s happening. It’s why we do need an immediate ceasefire.”

06:47 PM BST

Labour in racism row after source blames Hamas for predicted mayoral loss

Labour is embroiled in an internal racism row after a party source appeared to blame Hamas supporters for a predicted loss in the West Midlands mayoral election.

MPs reacted angrily after a quote from an insider appeared, saying a Tory victory would be thanks to “the Middle East, not West Midlands”.

Backbenchers decried the remarks for conflating Muslim voters with Hamas, with the central Labour party later distancing itself from the “racist” comment.

The row erupted after a Labour source in the West Midlands predicted that Richard Parker, the party’s candidate, would lose to Andy Street, the Tory incumbent.

“It’s the Middle East, not West Midlands that will have won Street the mayoralty. Once again, Hamas are the real villains,” the source told BBC Midlands Today.

Nick Gutteridge, our Chief Political Correspondent, has the full story here

06:30 PM BST

Tories have now lost more than 250 councillors

The Conservatives have now lost more than 250 councillors as Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party make gains across the country.

As of 6:30pm the Tories have lost 255 seats, leaving them on a total of 313, while Labour has picked up 168, giving them 844 councillors overall.

The Liberal Democrats are on 304 seats, up by 39, and the Greens 83, up by 32.

06:17 PM BST

Tories lose all remaining seats in Cheltenham

The Tories have lost all five of their seats on Cheltenham Council as the Liberal Democrats strengthened their grip on the local authority.

Sir Ed Davey’s party now has 36 councillors in Cheltenham, with three Green Party representatives and an independent.

It suggests Alex Chalk, the Justice Secretary, could be vulnerable at the next general election. Mr Chalk was re-elected with a majority of just 981 in 2019, when the Tories put in a far stronger performance nationally than they are expected to later in the year.

05:54 PM BST

Projected London mayoral turnout of 40 per cent

The turnout for the London mayoral election is on track to be 40 per cent, according to data for 28 out of the 32 boroughs.

This would be down two percentage points on the 2021 contest between Sadiq Khan, the incumbent Labour mayor, and his unsuccessful challenger Shaun Bailey.

It would also mark the lowest turnout since Boris Johnson secured re-election in 2012.

Here is how the four mayoral races we have results for so far unfolded:

05:42 PM BST

Reform might be about to wipe out the Tories

The overnight election results have been every bit as disappointing for the Conservatives as they might have feared, Britain’s foremost polling guru Professor Sir John Curtice writes for The Telegraph.

The party is so far losing one in two of the seats they have been trying to defend. When all the results are in, it is at risk of suffering the catastrophic 500 losses of council seats that some analysts had predicted.

The party’s vote fell by 32.1 points in Blackpool South, making it the party’s third worst ever performance in a parliamentary by-election. With 16.9 per cent of the vote, its best performance yet, Reform appears to have done much of the damage.

Moreover, in the local elections the Conservative vote fell most heavily in those wards where Reform fielded a candidate. The only silver lining for Tory HQ was that Reform only contested one in six of the wards where there was an election on Thursday. A full slate would have been even more devastating.

Read Sir John’s full analysis here

05:27 PM BST

Single Tube ticket rises to £6.70 under Sadiq Khan – double the price of contactless

The price of a cash ticket for a single Tube journey in central London has risen by 37pc under Sadiq Khan’s leadership, more than double the cost of commuting by card, writes our senior money writer Fran Ivens.

In 2016, when Mr Khan was first elected Mayor of London, a single journey cash ticket – meaning a paper ticket bought by cash or card – cost £4.90 in central London, but today the cost is £6.70.

When paying with a contactless card or oyster card, the same zone one journey costs £2.80 at peak time and £2.70 off peak .

Prices for both contactless and card travel have been rising steadily over the past decade but in 2022 Mr Khan put in place a blanket price for all cash single tickets at £6.70 for all of London. It means that those paying by cash now pay double the amount paid by card users in the centre of the capital for a single journey both on and off peak.

Read the full story here

05:25 PM BST

Labour would fall short of overall majority, suggests Sky News projection

A national vote share estimate by Sky News suggests Labour would be the largest party at the next general election on the strength of today’s results while falling short of an overall majority.

But the projection does not take into account the decline in popularity of the SNP in Scotland.

Sky’s projection is as follows:

• Labour 294 seats (+93)

• Conservatives 242 seats (-130)

• Liberal Democrats 38 seats (+30)

• Others 66 seats (+7)

05:11 PM BST

Liberal Democrats: We need a general election now

Sir Ed Davey was flanked by dinosaurs wearing blue Conservative Party rosettes in Winchester, where the Liberal Democrats increased their control of the city council.

Speaking to supporters, Sir Ed said: “These results show what we all know, we need a general election now.

“No matter how long Rishi Sunak stays squatting in Downing Street, the Liberal Democrat general election campaign starts today to make this Conservative government history.

“From Cheltenham to Hull and here in Hampshire, people are choosing the Liberal Democrats to make that change happen, to be their strong local champions, work tirelessly for their communities and deliver the fair deal people deserve.”

05:00 PM BST

New Labour mayor: Today we finally begin taking power from Westminster

Kim McGuinness, the new North East Mayor, writes:

04:58 PM BST

Sir Keir Starmer: This is a very good day for Labour

04:58 PM BST

Sir Keir Starmer: This is vindication and a historic victory

Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, said Rishi Sunak’s own constituency had turned its back on the Prime Minister as he celebrated the York and North Yorkshire mayoral victory.

“York and North Yorkshire, and we stand at an amazing moment in history, to have a Labour victory here... This is a very, very special moment, David, to become the mayor here.

“Through the villages and the towns of North Yorkshire, people have voted for change, they voted for Labour, a changed Labour Party able to earn the trust and respect of voters in York and North Yorkshire, right in the Prime Minister’s constituency.

“I think we’re in his constituency now, celebrating this victory... We can turn our backs on 14 years of decline and usher in national renewal. It’s vindication and it’s a special message because here in York and Yorkshire, the vote is for change, to turn our back and turn the page. People are fed up with a failed Government, they’re fed up with the mess, the chaos, the division, the sewage, the infrastructure...

“We’ve had a positive case, a positive campaign here, and I’m very proud to stand here as leader of the Labour Party to celebrate this historic victory and it is a historic victory. These are places where we would not normally have a Labour Party success, and we’ve been able to have a Labour Party success and persuade people to vote for us. Thank you for putting your trust in Labour, we will not let you down. We have heard your message of change and we will deliver for you a better Britain.”

04:54 PM BST

Rachel Reeves: There are no no-go areas for Labour

Speaking at Northallerton Town FC, Rachel Reeves, Labour’s shadow chancellor, told party activists: “This morning the Prime Minister was here, he’s now scarpered and Keir Starmer is here in the Prime Minister’s constituency with the first ever Mayor for York and North Yorkshire - a Labour mayor for York and North Yorkshire, David Skaith.

“The voters have sent a clear message today, even in the Prime Minister’s backyard, that it is time for change. And under Keir’s leadership there are no no-go areas for Labour anymore. It’s time though now for a general election so voters can make that voice heard right across the country. Labour are ready to serve, ready to lead, ready to rebuild Britain under Keir’s leadership.”

04:51 PM BST

Claire Ward becomes first Mayor of the East Midlands

Labour’s Claire Ward has become the first ever leader of the East Midlands Combined Authority.

She saw off a challenge from Ben Bradley, a Tory MP who represents Mansfield in the Commons.

04:49 PM BST

Richard Tice: We’re delighted with Blackpool South performance

Richard Tice, the leader of Reform UK, has hailed his party coming a close third in the Blackpool South by-election.

“It would have been great of course [to come second] but nevertheless we’re delighted with 17 per cent, it’s above our national polling average, it’s our best by-election result,” he told the BBC.

“And what it shows actually with great local candidates more and more people are hearing about Reform and they like they message they hear.”

Mr Tice said it was “patently unfair” Reform had failed to pick up any council seats and it showed the need for electoral reform.

“As more people hear about Reform we’re becoming the real opposition to the Labour Party in the north, in the Midlands, in Wales. We’re on the way up and it’s quite clear that the Tories are on the way down.”

04:46 PM BST

John Curtice: Reasons for all parties to ask ‘couldn’t we have done better?’

Britain’s foremost polling guru told the BBC its projected national vote share shows very little difference from last year’s local elections.

“We were saying for much of the last 12, 18 hours that probably we were looking at an outcome pretty similar to last year and it is indeed pretty similar to last year.

“The lead of Labour over the Conservatives matches the lead of last year, and to that extent it is at least consistent with the message of the polls, that the lead hasn’t really changed, although in both cases it looks as though just about both the Conservatives and the Labour Party are doing a little bit worse than they last time, not least because of some of those strong performances by the Greens, the independents and Reform where they stood.

“There’s reasons for all parties to ask themselves ‘couldn’t we have done better?’ But equally also, still leaving Labour in pole position.”

04:36 PM BST

‘We will not be silenced’, shout Green candidate supporters

Supporters of a victorious Green party candidate unfurled a Palestinian flag at the Leeds City Council count and shouted “we will not be silenced”, writes Daniel Martin, our Deputy Political Editor.

The candidate Mothin Ali won the Gipton and Harehills seat with 3,070 votes, defeating Arif Hussain of Labour, who received 2,323 votes.

One of the supporters shouted “Allahu Akbar”, before the Palestinian flag was taken down. A spokesman for Leeds Council said the event had not disrupted the count.

04:34 PM BST

Watch Rishi Sunak react to Ben Houchen Tees Valley victory

04:31 PM BST

Breaking: The BBC’s national projected vote share

• Labour: 34 per cent

• Conservative: 25 per cent

• Other: 24 per cent

• Lib Dem: 17 per cent

04:24 PM BST

Council leader: Tories ‘never should have got rid of Boris’

The Conservatives “should never have got rid of Boris Johnson in the first place”, a Tory council leader has said after his party lost the local authority to no overall control.

Andrew Baggott, leader of Basildon council, told the BBC: “One of the main things behind the result having spoken to people in the last few weeks is a real immense dissatisfaction with what they see as parliamentarians trying to outscore each other, trying to score political points...

“We’ve got Rishi Sunak who was unelected, we had Liz Truss who was effectively unelected. We should never have got rid of Boris in the first place, this is what Essex man is saying, and what we want to do is actually see a leader who’s showing some leadership who’s been elected by us.”

Mel Stride, the Work and Pensions Secretary, responded: “We could reprise all that about Boris Johnson and in the end there wasn’t a government to be held together, so that was what happened in that situation. The reality now is we have a Prime Minister who is very effectively focused on the priorities of the British people.”

Mr Baggott said: “There is an immense dissatisfaction with what they see as parliamentarians not being very parliamentarian and putting their own interests above the country... They want to see a Prime Minister who shows leadership abilities and who actually has the courage of his convictions and will follow through on what he says he’s going to deliver. And that’s not what they’re seeing and that’s why they got rid of us.”

04:15 PM BST

Former minister: Sunak is out of the woods

A former minister who has been critical of Rishi Sunak believes there is now “little to no chance” of the Prime Minister facing a leadership challenge before the next election.

While they said it had “clearly” been a “really difficult” night for the party, the Tory backbencher argued the results were “certainly no worse” than last May, with some “bright spots” - such as Ben Houchen’s victory in Tees Valley.

Asked if Mr Sunak might now be out of the woods, the MP told The Telegraph: “I think yes.”

They added that they believe there is “little to no chance” of a leadership challenge before the next national vote.

04:10 PM BST

Tories lose Brentwood to no overall control

The Conservatives have lost control of Brentwood council as its boundaries changed for this year’s local elections.

The Tory majority evaporated after the party lost two seats, one each to Labour and the Liberal Democrats, leaving them with 19 representatives to the Liberal Democrats’ 17.

A further three Labour councillors rounded out the total of 39.

03:58 PM BST

Labour gains control of Nuneaton from the Tories

Labour has gained control of Nuneaton and Bedworth from the Conservatives, a win in Warwickshire for the opposition party which sources point out is a parliamentary battleground.

Labour has gained 15 seats, the Conservatives have lost 14 and the Greens have also lost a seat.

03:51 PM BST

Labour frontbencher: Khan versus Hall race will be closer than expected

Steve Reed, the shadow environment secretary, said the London mayoral race between Sadiq Khan and Susan Hall would be “closer” than most pundits expect.

“It’s quite a big ask to go for your third term of London. Ken Livingstone didn’t pull it off, that’s when he lost to Boris Johnson,” he told the BBC’s Politics Live.

“The votes are cast and we’ll see, won’t we, when they get counted. But I was on the doorsteps in my constituency which is in London yesterday and there seemed to be plenty of support for Sadiq.

“I think myself it’ll be closer than some of the polls have made it seem. But the messages that were coming back on the doorstep is that people like the free school lunches.”

Speaking on the same programme, Howard Cox, the Reform UK candidate for the London mayoralty, has predicted Mr Khan will secure a historic third term while suggesting the Conservatives had not done enough to oppose him.

“For eight years in opposition the Tories have allowed him to get away with ruining the capital.”

03:43 PM BST

What Reform’s by-election success means for troubled Tories

If one party has been keeping the Conservatives awake at night over the past few months, it is Reform.

Pipping the Lib Dems to third place in the polls at roughly 12 per cent, they appear to be a major thorn in the Government’s side as the general election looms.

In the Blackpool South by-election on Thursday, the insurgent party originally founded by Nigel Farage as the Brexit Party, posted its best ever by-election result.

Reform took 16.8 per cent of the vote and came just 117 votes behind the second-placed Tory candidate.

However, not a single Reform candidate has so far been carried across the line to win a council seat.

Ollie Corfe has this analysis

03:33 PM BST

No Tory safe seats any more, warns Kwarteng

Kwasi Kwarteng warned there was no such thing as a safe Tory seat any more as the Conservative Party suffered a bruising set of local election results.

Mr Kwarteng, the former chancellor, told LBC this morning that “all of our seats are under threat, there’s no such thing really as a safe Tory seat anymore”.

The senior Tory MP said he was not in favour of replacing Rishi Sunak as Tory leader but some of his colleagues “might well think actually, we might as well roll the dice with a new leader”.

Dame Andrea Jenkyns, a former education minister, called for the Prime Minister to be be “bold” and “radical” as she insisted he must “wake up” before the Conservatives lose the next general election.

She called for a “major cabinet reshuffle” that would bring in Tories from the Right of the party into government.

03:27 PM BST

Councillor who quit Labour over Gaza holds her seat

In Walsall, Naheed Zohra Gultasib has held her seat in the Pleck ward. Gultasib was one of six Walsall Labour councillors who quit the party in November over Sir Keir Starmer’s refusal to back a ceasefire in Gaza.

“This is for Gaza, this is for Palestine,” Gultasib says in her victory speech, to cheers and chants, as well as murmurs of discontent. “You showed [Labour] that they cannot take your vote for granted.” She is one of a dozen or so members of the new Independent Group here today. Several have won, all have led their speeches with Gaza, and all are wearing Palestine flag lapels.

“We did the right thing, the Labour Party supports genocide, so whatever happens, we can walk away with our heads held high,” the group’s leader, Councillor Aftab Nawaz, who was previously the Labour council leader in the area, told The Telegraph. He predicted that the same issue has caused a collapse in Muslim support for Labour, and will ensure victory for Andy Street in the mayoral race tomorrow.

“It’s the BAME vote in the inner city that’s been let down, and don’t discount the [George] Galloway factor, he’s highlighted it,” he says. With a couple more wards to declare, it is one subplot in a set of results that has been surprisingly uneventful.

03:13 PM BST

The state of play as things stand

We’re at the halfway mark with 54 out of 107 councils having declared their results.

So far the Conservatives are on 153 seats, having lost 155, and Labour is on 485 seats, having gained 94.

The Liberal Democrats have gained 26 seats and the Green Parties 17, leaving them on 170 and 42 respectively.

03:08 PM BST

The scale of Labour’s triumph in ‘Sunak’s backyard’

Labour has beaten the Conservatives in the York and North Yorkshire mayoral race:

02:58 PM BST

Galloway’s party snatches two council seats from Labour in Rochdale

George Galloway’s Workers Party has snatched two council seats from Labour in Rochdale, an area with a substantial Muslim vote.

It follows the MP’s own historic victory in the constituency earlier this year, having campaigned predominantly on Gaza.

Minaam Ellahi was elected to the Milkstone and Deeplish ward with 1,812 votes to Labour’s 713, while Farooq Ahmed won in Central Rochdale with 2,016 votes to Labour’s 1,541.

They are the first council seats the party has won in an election - taking its total to three. It picked up the other through a Labour defection last week.

Mr Galloway stormed to victory on a pro-Palestinian ticket in Rochdale in February, making him the Workers Party’s first MP. The council wins will be hailed by the party as a vote of confidence as it aims to scupper Labour’s chances in dozens of seats in protest at its stance on Gaza.

02:53 PM BST

Sunak: We’re building a brighter future for Teesside and Britain

Rishi Sunak told Tory activists in Tees Valley: “I’ve got a message for the Labour Party too because they know that they have to win here for them to win a general election.

“They assumed that Tees Valley would just stroll back to them but it didn’t. It didn’t. People knew that they couldn’t be taken for granted, they knew it was Ben and the Conservatives that delivered for them and they stuck with you in this election.

“And I know that come with the general election they’re going to stick with us because they don’t want to be taken for granted. They know that it’s you and the Conservatives that are building a brighter future for Teesside and a brighter future for Britain.”

02:51 PM BST

Rishi Sunak hits out at Labour’s ‘mud-slinging’

Rishi Sunak told jubilant Tory activities “it’s absolutely great to be here with your re-elected Mayor of Teesside”.

“As Ben said the Labour Party threw absolutely everything at this election. Keir Starmer came here twice, Rachel Reeves came here three times but even they couldn’t dislodge Ben and the fantastic Conservative team.

“And they also threw a lot of mud, it needs to be said, in this election because they were angry that Ben has delivered more in this region for seven years than the Labour Party managed in 30 years.”

02:49 PM BST

Lord Houchen: I couldn’t have done it without you, Rishi

Tory incumbent Lord Houchen hailed a “fantastic result” as he said he was “humbled” to win a third term as Tees Valley Mayor.

“There’s a huge weight of responsibility that comes with that as well.

“We’ve had the Labour Party camped here as well, the shadow cabinet has basically funded the tourism industry here for the last two weeks because they thought they had it and they were nowhere near in the end.

“I absolutely promise to repay you. But at the same time it’s also about this man next to me. Because I could have not delivered the things I’ve delivered in this region without you, Prime Minister.”

02:46 PM BST

Karl Marx wins Stockport seat for Labour

A councillor called Karl Marx has been elected for the Labour Party in Stockport, writes Genevieve Holl-Allen.

The politician, whose full name is Karl Peter Marx Wardlaw, has been chosen to represent the area of Brinnington and Stockport Central overnight in the local elections.

Cllr Wardlaw, who appears to share at least some of his name with the philosopher and architect of communism, won a landslide victory with 1,069 votes, 61 per cent of the vote share.

He is among the dozens of successful Labour local candidates overnight across the country, though Stockport council remained in no overall control – with the Liberal Democrats securing the most seats.

You can read the full story here

02:33 PM BST

Labour wins in ‘Rishi Sunak’s backyard’

Labour have won yet another mayoral race, with the party proving triumphant in the York and North Yorkshire contest, writes Genevieve Holl-Allen.

David Skaith beat the Conservatives’ Keane Duncan in what Labour said was a victory for the party in “Rishi Sunak’s backyard” because the Prime Minister’s constituency of Richmond is located within the new York and North Yorkshire combined authority.

A Labour spokesman said: “This is a truly historic result in York and North Yorkshire. Keir Starmer’s Labour party is now winning in Rishi Sunak’s backyard.

“The Prime Minister’s own constituents have taken a look at the two parties and chosen Labour.”

Mr Skaith thanked his staff and family in his victory speech, adding: “I think we’ve got a great opportunity to bring York and North Yorkshire to grow and really grow as one collectively.

“I think the message is clear from York and North Yorkshire and across the country that we want change. I believe in the Labour Party and under Keir Starmer we have huge potential for this and I hope this continues.”

02:27 PM BST

Labour’s Kim McGuinness becomes North East mayor

Labour’s Kim McGuinness has staved off independent challenger Jamie Driscoll to win the North East mayoralty by 185,051 votes (41 per cent) to 126,652 (28 per cent).

Mr Driscoll, who was on the Labour Left and has been a staunch critic of Sir Keir Starmer, said it had been an “astonishing campaign” and noted Labour was projected to win more than 60 per cent of the vote in the region at the next general election.

“The fact that we got 126,652 votes here, with no Westminster party machine behind us, shows something is happening in the North East. This was a people powered campaign and it doesn’t die with just one election result,” he wrote on X.

“Tens of thousands of people voted for a different type of politics. There is a huge appetite for pragmatic transformative policies that reduce inequality and treat people with respect. We are building a movement and we’re staying right here.”

02:24 PM BST

Sandi Toksvig’s party wins first ever borough councillor

Stacy Hart won a seat on Basingstoke and Deane Council to give the Women’s Equality Party (WEP) its first ever borough councillor.

The WEP had previously won seats on town and parish councils.

However, this is their most important triumph in the nine years since the party was founded by broadcaster Sandi Toksvig and journalist Catherine Mayer.

02:16 PM BST

Breaking: Labour wins North East mayoralty

Labour’s Kim McGuinness has beaten Jamie Driscoll, an independent candidate and former Labour regional mayor, to become the new Mayor of the North East.

02:08 PM BST

It’s game on, not game over, says Tory chairman

Richard Holden, the Tory Party chairman, insisted “it’s game on” and not “game over”.

He told the Sun’s Never Mind the Ballots: “It’s been really tough but it’s not game over, I think it’s game on.

“Let’s see until all the ballots are counted exactly what the results end up being.

“We’re coming off very good results in 2021, we gained seats after 11 years in power including in places like Durham. You know, it’s not been a good night for the Conservatives but we’ve still got some big results to go and some big challenges for Labour as part of that.”

Asked if he was worried about lower turnout, Mr Holden replied: “That does worry me a lot and it also worries me that people are voting for Reform which is just another way of letting Keir Starmer into Downing Street. That’s one of the reasons we’re pushing so hard on our policies like the Rwanda plan.”

02:00 PM BST

Labour declares Milton Keynes victory

Labour has declared victory in Milton Keynes, which has been under no overall control since 2006.

Last time the party had majority control of the council was in 2000.

Labour has also gained Hyndburn from no overall control.

01:53 PM BST

Analysis: Are the Tory rebels giving up?

There has been a group of Tory rebels, made up of a few disgruntled MPs and their advisers, who have for months been arguing that after the local elections was the moment of danger for Rishi Sunak, writes The Telegraph’s Political Editor Ben Riley-Smith.

01:51 PM BST

‘Isolated, backs to the wall... bring on the general election’

Johnny Mercer, the veterans’ affairs minister, has admitted “this looks bad for me” at the general election after Labour gained 10 councillors in Plymouth, while the Tories lost 13.

“Not a good night. Congratulations to all those who stood, and in particular to those who won,” Mr Mercer wrote in a now-deleted post on X, formerly Twitter.

“This looks bad for me. Trouble is, it’s also my favourite scenario. Isolated, backs to the wall. Bring on the general election.”

01:45 PM BST

Lord Houchen holds on, with a reduced majority

While Lord Houchen has been re-elected in Tees Valley with 53.6 per cent of the vote, his victory is a far cry from the 72.8 per cent he enjoyed in 2021 at the height of Boris Johnson’s post-vaccine rollout popularity:

01:41 PM BST

Lord Cameron: Tories can still win the general election

Lord Cameron insisted the Conservatives can still win the next general election despite their poor local showing.

Speaking from Ukraine, the Foreign Secretary told Sky: “With local elections when you’re in government, you often find they’re tough results. But what matters is have a plan, stick to the plan, deliver the plan.

“And as I showed in 2015 you can have bad local election results and go on and win a general election.

“Ultimately a general election is a choice and we’re putting the clearest possible choice in front of the British people - a man with a plan who’s growing the economy and protecting our country, versus a bunch of people who have no plan whatsoever.”

01:38 PM BST

Breaking: Labour claims victory in the East Midlands

Labour has claimed victory in the first ever East Midlands mayoral contest.

Claire Ward is on track to beat Ben Bradley, the Conservative MP for Mansfield who is standing as his party’s candidate, and lead the new East Midlands Combined Authority.

A Labour source called the East Midlands “the beating heart of the general election battleground”.

01:36 PM BST

Muslim vote collapse is a major warning sign for Starmer

Amid all the talk of a “seismic” victory for Labour, a closer inspection of the election results so far may leave Sir Keir Starmer with a nagging doubt at the back of his mind, writes Gordon Rayner, The Telegraph’s Associate Editor.

Gordon Rayner: Why Gaza could still drag Labour down

01:33 PM BST

Why Walsall could be a rare Tory bright spot

Results are underway at the Walsall Civic Centre, where the Conservatives are looking remarkably cheery and Labour a little dour. Every Tory I speak to seems to have been told to say that “in Walsall, we buck the national trend”, and the first declaration, a very comfortable hold for Cllr Garry Perry in the ward of Pelsall, backed that up.

“From what I’m hearing, we’re holding our vote in Walsall, but we tend to throw up an anomaly against the national. We don’t play politics, and more importantly, we aren’t afraid to stand up to national policy and go against it if we don’t agree. The residents respect you for that, and a lot of politicians could learn from it,” Cllr Perry tells me.

It’s a line we might hear a lot tomorrow, if Andy Street wins: that distancing yourself from the government, and speaking out against Westminster when necessary, is a winning ploy.

“Correct, you’ve got to put your community first. Too many people play politics and that’s what consumes their work. Based on what I’ve seen here, and it’s just a snapshot, [Street] will do it,” Cllr Perry says.

The Tories, then, are bullish. “These close results really worry me…” Cllr Mike Bird, the Conservative leader of Walsall Council, quipped as that huge first win (Labour with 510 votes, the Conservatives with 1,801) was announced. He got a laugh. It was that rarest of sounds today: happy Tories.

01:32 PM BST

Sealed with a kiss

01:27 PM BST

Labour campaign coordinator: Gaza is a factor, there’s no point denying it

Pat McFadden, Labour’s national campaign coordinator, told Sky News: “I am the first to say there is still work to do and winning a majority at a general election is not an easy thing to do but that is what we are going to be fighting for whenever the Prime Minister calls the election.”

Asked if Labour’s stance on Gaza was proving to be a problem, Mr McFadden replied: “I think it is a factor in some parts of the country. I think there’s no point in denying that and I understand why people feel strongly about this.

“Thousands of innocent people have been killed, people want it to stop, they want to do something about it. And if there’s a case in parts of the country where we’ve lost support on that issue, then we will work hard to regain it. But it is a factor, there’s no point in me denying that.

“Overall we’re still doing really well and when all the votes are counted in a couple of days’ time I’m sure that picture will be maintained but this is a factor in some parts of the country.”

01:19 PM BST

Lord Houchen’s success shows voters want to stick with Tories, says Sunak

Lord Houchen’s success in the Tees Valley mayoral election shows voters want to stick with the Conservatives’ plan, Rishi Sunak has claimed.

The Prime Minister wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Huge congratulations to my friend Ben Houchen. Tees Valley want us to stick with the plan that’s working... Excited for Ben to keep delivering more jobs and opportunities for local people.”

01:10 PM BST

Lord Houchen: 2021 was a very different time

Lord Houchen downplayed his reduced majority at yesterday’s Tees Valley mayoral election versus his landslide victory in 2021.

“I think 2021 was a very different time, it was post-Covid, there was the Hartlepool by-election, we had Boris Johnson running on a high, so there was huge national factors involved and we’re in a different place right now.

“Like I say I’m just pleased to get over the line, I’m pleased that people have backed me. We’ve seen the Labour Party struggling to get their vote out. We’ve had Keir Starmer up twice, we’ve had Rachel Reeves up at least half a dozen times, we’ve had Yvette Cooper, we’ve had most of the shadow cabinet up.

“They’ve thrown the kitchen sink at this and they failed. And I’m pleased that people saw through that and they voted for me for a local vision to deliver for local people.”

01:02 PM BST

Lord Houchen: People know I’m a Conservative

Lord Houchen said he was not wearing a blue Conservative rosette because “I didn’t have one and I forgot it”.

He told Sky News: “I’ve got my blue socks on and my blue tie on and we’ve had Rishi up during the election. So the idea we’re trying to pretend I am not Conservative, I mean people know around here I’m a Conservative.

“But thankfully what they’ve seen today is that people also know that I’m a Teessider and I’ll put Teesside first, I’ll put local people first and I’ll do what’s best for the local area.

“We did rumble around in some bags and we were hoping to find one [a blue rosette] but we couldn’t find one. We were too focused on the result. What people have elected me for is to double down on what we’ve already started, more investment, more jobs, more infrastructure.

“We’ve set out a very, very positive plan for Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool over the next four years and now it’s incumbent on me to deliver it. So I’m hopefully going to deliver a couple of days off to recuperate... [I’m] hugely humbled, really, really pleased to be able to get through this, absolutely thankful to be re-elected for a third time but again, as of tomorrow, the work starts all over again.”

12:59 PM BST

Lord Houchen: Rishi’s a huge supporter of Teesside

Asked if he was worried about the outcome of the Tees Valley mayoral race, Lord Houchen, who has secured a third term as Tory incumbent, told Sky News: “I’m always worried, if you’re standing for re-election you want people to back you and you want people to vote for you.

“So I would never dream of taking the public that I represent for granted and I’ve worked extremely hard over the last few months, it’s been a very, very tiring time and I’m just delighted to be re-elected and to represent my home, my community and keep making things better for our local area for the next four years.”

Challenged on whether his success was down to himself or Rishi Sunak, he replied: “Well Rishi’s been a huge supporter of Teesside over the last few years. Just look at the things we’ve been able to deliver, bringing the Treasury to Darlington, which we wouldn’t have been able to deliver without him, bringing the freeport as well, the UK’s first and largest freeport, with his support for devolution in Teesside as well...

“He’s absolutely done a huge amount and we wouldn’t have been able to deliver all of these things if it wasn’t for him. So absolutely it’s a shared effort but again I’ll work with anybody who wants to help me deliver for local people and Rishi has helped me do just that.”

Lord Houchen said he had already worked with multiple Labour council leaders and that he would “absolutely” be prepared to work with Sir Keir Starmer if the opposition leader became prime minister.

12:54 PM BST

Good afternoon

Dominic Penna here, The Telegraph’s Political Correspondent, guiding you through the rest of the day.

12:48 PM BST

No mention of Sunak in Houchen victory speech

Ben Houchen didn’t appear to make any reference to Rishi Sunak during his victory speech in Stockton-on-Tees this afternoon.

12:45 PM BST

Re-elected Tees Valley Mayor thanks his family

Ben Houchen thanked his wife Rachel and his newborn baby Hannah.

He said: “I also want to give a very personal thanks to my wife Rachel and my new baby Hannah who absolutely I could not do this without.

“This has been a very difficult few months, it has been a really hard campaign, there has been a lot of spotlight on this election which brings a level of intensity.

“But having Rachel as an absolute rock by my side, I absolutely could not do it without her.”

12:40 PM BST

Ben Houchen delivers victory speech

Ben Houchen said securing a third term as the Mayor of the Tees Valley was the “greatest honour that anybody could ever give me”.

Delivering his victory speech in Stockton-on-Tees, Lord Houchen said: “I am absolutely humbled by everybody that voted for me. Teesside is a place where I was born, I grew up, other than a very short sabbatical to Newcastle for four years and then I came straight back, it is a place where I am going to be for the rest of my life.

“And to be re-elected for a third term in my home, in my community, is absolutely the greatest honour that anybody could ever give me.”

12:37 PM BST

Ben Houchen formally declared winner of Tees Valley mayor contest

Ben Houchen has been formally declared the winner of the Tees Valley mayor contest.

The Tory incumbent received 81,930 votes in total, with Labour’s Chris McEwan getting 63,141 and the Liberal Democrat’s Simon Thorley getting 7,679.

12:33 PM BST

Labour retain control of Blackburn

Labour have retained control of Blackburn with Darwen, but lost four seats, while the Conservatives lost two and independents were up four.

The new council is Labour 29, independents 13 and Conservatives nine.

12:32 PM BST

Labour retain Swindon

Labour retained Swindon in the first council result of the afternoon, gaining nine seats as the Conservatives lost eight and an independent one.

The new council is Labour 41, Conservative 15, Liberal Democrat one.

12:23 PM BST

Ben Houchen re-elected as Tees Valley Mayor

Ben Houchen has won the fifth of five local authority areas which comprise the Tees Valley mayoral region.

In Stockton, the Tory incumbent secured 28,351 votes while Chris McEwan for Labour got 19,631 and Simon Thorley of the Liberal Democtrats got 1,849.

Lord Houchen has won all five of the local authority areas which means he has been re-elected as mayor.

The result will be confirmed shortly.

12:16 PM BST

Tory local election losses top 100

Tory losses in the local elections are now into three figures.

At the latest update, the Conservative Party has lost 104 seats while Labour has gained 67.

12:15 PM BST

Ben Houchen wins more votes than opponents in Darlington

Tory Ben Houchen has won the fourth of five local authorities to vote in the Tees Valley Mayoral election.

In Darlington, he polled 14,233 ahead of 10,014 for Labour’s Chris McEwan and 1,849 for Simon Thorley of the Liberal Democrats.

Lord Houchen has already won more votes in Hartlepool, Redcar and Middlesbrough, with just Stockton still to be announced.

12:13 PM BST

Sunak ‘focused completely on the job at hand’ amid Tory election losses

Rishi Sunak said he was “focused completely on the job at hand” after he was asked if he believed he needed to convince the Conservative Party that he could do better at a general election than at the local elections.

He told broadcasters: “As I said, Keir Starmer was in Harlow on Wednesday saying that was a place he needed to win in order to win the next general election. That hasn’t happened.

“We still haven’t got the result from places like Tees Valley, the mayoralty results, which again is a key battleground.

“I am focused completely on the job at hand. That is delivering for people across the country.”

12:06 PM BST

Sunak: Results are ‘disappointing’ but ‘lots of results to come’

Rishi Sunak said there were still “lots of results to come” as he responded to Tory losses in the local elections.

The Prime Minister told broadcasters: “Obviously it is disappointing to lose good hardworking Conservative councillors and I am grateful to them for all their service in local government, keeping council tax low and delivering services for local people.

“But we have still got lots of results to come as well and there are also things that I would point to. Harlow for example where Keir Starmer held a rally just on Wednesday saying that was a place that he had to win to be on track to win a general election, that hasn’t happened and indeed we are still waiting for the result in the Tees Valley mayoralty just near to hear which is obviously a very important test as well.”

12:02 PM BST

As things stand at noon

The Tories have lost 96 seats so far while Labour have gained 58.

The Liberal Democrats and the Greens have also made gains, with the former up by 12 and the latter up by 14.

There is a long way to go: Only 35 out of 107 councils have declared results so far.

11:57 AM BST

Sunak a ‘great friend to Teesside’, says Ben Houchen

Ben Houchen denied that he had shied away from campaigning as a Conservative or mentioning Rishi Sunak in his campaign literature during the Tees Valley mayoral contest.

He told Sky News: “We absolutely don’t shy away from that at all, and Rishi’s been up during the campaign and we have always said Rishi’s been a great friend to the people of Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool.”

He added that the Prime Minister had been “a huge champion for this area”.

11:52 AM BST

Ben Houchen declines to declare victory before formal result is announced

Ben Houchen declined to declare victory in the Tees Valley mayoral election despite Labour conceding defeat.

He told Sky News: “I would never take anything for granted and we are going to see over the next hour how the results turn out.”

11:48 AM BST

Ben Houchen: ‘What will be, will be’

Here at Thornaby Pavilion, Ben Houchen is on course to win the Tees Valley mayor race, with Labour having conceded defeat. Turnout is 30.8 per cent.

I spoke to Baron Houchen, who is here with his wife Rachel and their three-month old baby.

“She,” he said of baby Hannah, “has been the easiest thing in our life.” He said he was up till 3am and is understandably tired, but is not nervous. “I got myself to a place this morning where I want to come into the count and know we’ve done whatever we possibly can.”

The Prime Minister rang him on Thursday night and they had a “brief conversation.”

Labour’s candidate, Chris McEwan, has arrived at the count, the Lib Dem’s Simon Thorley is milling around, too. We should expect a result by 12.30pm, possible as early as midday.

“What will be, will be,” said Baron Houchen.

11:46 AM BST

Ben Houchen beats Labour in Middlesbrough

Ben Houchen polled more votes than Labour in Middlesbrough, the third of five local authorities to be announced in the Tees Valley mayoral election.

He polled 13,285 over Labour’s Chris McEwan who had 12,749 and 1,390 for Liberal Democrat Simon Thorley.

In Hartlepool, the sitting mayor polled 10,074 compared with 8,732 for Mr McEwan and 972 for Mr Thorley.

In Redcar, he polled 15,987 against 12,015 for Mr McEwan and 1,639 for Mr Thorley.

11:45 AM BST

Labour concede defeat in Tees Valley mayor contest

A Labour source conceded the Tees Valley mayoral election but said Tory incumbent Ben Houchen had won with a significantly reduced majority compared with 2021.

Lord Houchen had run as a “pseudo-independent” and he had distanced himself from Rishi Sunak, the Labour source claimed.

11:45 AM BST

Leadsom warns ousting Sunak would be ‘very big mistake’

Dame Andrea Leadsom said it would be a “very big mistake” to oust Rishi Sunak and replace him with somebody else.

The health minister said she could understand voters’ frustrations but insisted the “seeds of recovery” have been planted.

Asked about the prospect of replacing Mr Sunak, she told Sky News: “Personally I think that would be a very big mistake. We are seeing the seeds of recovery. Also, for many who I know chose to vote Reform in these elections, again, I totally understand that, people have felt frustrated with the hangover from the Covid pandemic and from the energy crisis and the cost of living crisis, that have been global phenomena.

“So it is totally understandable that people have reacted badly against the Conservatives. However, what we need to do is keep on with what we are doing.”

11:19 AM BST

Nadine Dorries: It would be ‘madness’ to replace Sunak now

Ousting Rishi Sunak now would be “madness”, Nadine Dorries has said, as she urged the Prime Minister to conduct a reshuffle in the wake of the local election results.

The former Cabinet minister told the BBC that removing Mr Sunak “would make no difference whatsoever” to the Tories’ fortunes, but that he did need “well-established” faces around him.

The ex-MP for Mid Bedfordshire and staunch Boris Johnson ally told ITV’s Good Morning Britain: “I think my colleagues, my former colleagues, if they did try to move Rishi Sunak, it would be madness because it would make no difference whatsoever.

“It would actually send the message that we are just not trusted with Government because I think that would be our fifth prime minister in a term, so it would be insane to do that.”

She added: “What Rishi needs to do is, he has a Cabinet of people that nobody actually knows or recognises or knows who they are. I think he needs to get the people around him… those who are out doing the messaging, I think he needs familiar, trusted, well-established faces around him.”

11:19 AM BST

Telegraph readers weigh in on Tory losses and Labour gains

The broad narrative of the local elections so far is one of Tory losses and Labour gains.

The results have prompted questions about the direction of the Conservative Party and Rishi Sunak’s future.

Telegraph readers have been discussing the results in the comments section of today’s live blog. Here is a selection of their contributions:

11:18 AM BST

Comment: Reform might be about to wipe out the Tories

The overnight election results have been every bit as disappointing for the Conservatives as they might have feared, writes Professor Sir John Curtice. 

The party is so far losing one in two of the seats they have been trying to defend. When all the results are in, it is at risk of suffering the catastrophic 500 losses of council seats that some analysts had predicted.

The party’s vote fell by 32.1 points in Blackpool South, making it the party’s third worst ever performance in a parliamentary by-election. With 16.9 per cent of the vote, its best performance yet, Reform appears to have done much of the damage.

You can read Sir John’s piece for The Telegraph in full here. 

11:18 AM BST

Sunak’s future at risk as Tories face worst local election results in 30 years

This was always going to be a grim morning for the Tories, the only question being whether it would be so bad that Rishi Sunak’s MPs might decide to call time on his premiership, writes Gordon Rayner, The Telegraph’s associate editor.

With a rising tide of Labour gains threatening to submerge Mr Sunak, he will be clinging for dear life to the few positive results in the hope they will be a life raft for his career.

There is still a reluctance from most Tory MPs to change leader before the election, but the timing of the election could be determined by these results.

You can read Gordon’s analysis piece in full here. 

See our local election 2024 results live coverage from Friday morning

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