Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria vote in his Holborn and St Pancras constituency, north London in the local and London Mayoral election.
Rishi Sunak is facing mounting Tory unrest today after a disastrous election night saw the party put to the sword in the Blackpool South by-election - and suffering a bloodbath on councils.
As English councils started to declare, Labour also claimed a 'truly historic result' to take Rushmoor - the home of the British Army - from the Tories and end nearly a quarter-of-a century of Conservative control. Labour also suffered woes of their own in Oldham, where the party lost overall control after independents picked up seats in an apparent backlash over the Gaza war.
Tory candidate David Jones won 3,218 votes, which was only 117 votes ahead of third-placed Reform UK He added: 'The message to Rishi Sunak is clear. It's time for change, it's time for a general election.' A party spokesman said: 'This was a tough fight and David Jones was an excellent candidate who campaigned hard for every single vote.
Labour are boasting of being 'on track' for power at Westminster after making gains in key council contests. Tory deputy chair Angela Richardson told the BBC: 'The result was not unexpected. I think, given the circumstances that caused the by-election in the first place, it was always going to be difficult for the Conservatives.'
'We are probably looking at certainly one of the worst, if not the worst, Conservative performances in local government elections for the last 40 years.' The results from the 107 local authorities in England who held elections on Thursday could yet decide Mr Sunak's 's political fate. Veteran Tory aide Tim Montgomerie, who has been highly critical of Mr Sunak, told the BBC: 'Personally I think the results are so bad... I just don't think he is connected with the voters.Reform UK leader Richard Tice was bullish about the result in Blackpool, where the party came within a whisker of second place
Labour still has a majority here, but only just: the new council will have 28 Labour councillors, 15 Independents and 11 Greens.The Reform Party had a full or near-full slate of candidates in only a handful of councils holding elections this year and Sunderland was one of a few places where it fought every seat.
It gave Sir Keir's party a majority on the council as the Tories ceded control after 24 years in charge. In another eye-catching victory for Labour, the party won control of Thurrock after starting the night as the second biggest party behind the Tories. A party spokesperson said: 'Winning back Hartlepool council is a groundbreaking moment after the disappointing results we saw here in 2021.
As well as the council elections, voting also took place on Thursday in 11 mayoral contests and 37 police and crime commissioner elections. Mr Tice added: 'We are very excited. This is a very good day for Reform UK. It's also a good day for democracy, actually, because the Great British people have got a serious alternative to consider when they want to go and vote.'
Peterborough remained under no overall control, but Labour became the biggest party after gaining five seats while the Conservatives lost 11.Monster Raving Loony Party leader and candidate Howling Laud Hope arrives for the count in the Blackpool South by-election In London, Labour mayor Sadiq Khan is expected to win an historic third term in City Hall despite a challenge by Tory rival Susan Hall over ULEZ and crime rates.
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey also sought to pile the pressure on Mr Sunak, saying: 'Up and down the country, so many lifelong Conservative voters backed the Liberal Democrats today'. The survey of 2,010 British voters, conducted between April 30 and May 1, also showed the Tories only three percentage points ahead of Reform on 15 per cent.
Other politicians gave a glimpse into their family lives, with Mr Houchen carrying his baby into a polling station in Tees Valley. Sir John Curtice told an Institute for Government event this week the Tories were emphasising the two mayoral battles 'because they think they might manage to win the contest and therefore they'll be able to cover whatever disasters happen elsewhere'.'Equally, conversely here in London, Sadiq Khan will not do as well as the Labour Party would do in a general election because Sadiq has a negative personal vote.
The Liberal Democrats, who have focused campaigning efforts in traditional Conservative areas, said polling day would be a moment for Mr Sunak to 'face the music'. She told MPs on Thursday: 'I too have read that I'm to be installed rather like a new boiler into No10 next week. She told Sky News: 'I think there's a lot of noise being made by people who want to get attention but the PM has the full backing of the Cabinet, he has my full backing.'
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