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Local election results 2022: Tories suffer heavy losses in London but Labour stalls across UK - latest news

Labour figures celebrate victory at the Wandsworth Council count - Hannah Mckay/Reuters
Labour figures celebrate victory at the Wandsworth Council count - Hannah Mckay/Reuters

Boris Johnson and the Tories have suffered heavy losses at the local elections in London while Labour appears to have struggled to make progress outside the capital.

Labour has won Wandsworth Council, which had been held by the Tories since 1978, as well as Westminster Council, which had been Conservative since it was created in 1964. Labour has also won a majority in Barnet.

Despite the losses in London, the Conservatives appear to be performing better than expected elsewhere in the country while Labour has failed to gain ground.

Sir John Curtice, the polling expert, said that Labour support has increased in London but the party is actually "down slightly" outside the capital when compared to local election results in 2018.

Labour has claimed the results are a "turning point" for the party but Sir Keir Starmer is likely to face internal pressure from his MPs if he fails to deliver anything less than a major step forward.

Meanwhile, Mr Johnson is facing a backlash from some local Tory leaders who said the "partygate" scandal and other national issues like the cost of living crisis had been raised by voters on the doorstep.

​​Follow the latest updates below.


09:30 AM

Tories turned leaflets green in Wandsworth but could not avoid the spectre of 'partygate'

Daniel Capurro, The Telegraph's senior reporter, was at the count in Wandsworth overnight and witnessed Labour's victory. He writes:

It was an election in which the Conservatives did all they could to distance themselves from Westminster.

Leaflets were printed in green not blue and candidates appeared on the ballot as "local Conservatives". Yet in the end, none of it was not enough.

Wandsworth Council was once Margaret Thatcher’s "favourite council", its leafy south London streets in Battersea and Putney emblematic of a kind of urban, wealthy Conservative voter that now appears to be on the endangered species list.

A detailed breakdown of voting patterns will have to wait, but this appears to have been yet more evidence of the Tories’ shrinking relevance in the capital.

You can read the piece in full here.


09:25 AM

How things stand at at 10.25am

This is how the local election results look as of 10.25am:

  • Tories: Lost 131 seats. Have won 515 in total.

  • Labour: Gained 87 seats. Have won 1,162 in total.

  • Lib Dems: Gained 42 seats. Have won 242 in total.

  • Green Party: Gained 22 seats. Have won 39 in total.

The numbers above are based on declarations from 73 of 200 councils. You can read the results in full here.


09:17 AM

'We will be able to make the case'

Counting of votes has begun in Northern Ireland to decide on the make-up of the Stormont Assembly, with Sinn Fein vying with the DUP to become the largest party.

Oliver Dowden, the chairman of the Conservative Party, said he is confident the Government can “make the case” for Northern Ireland remaining in the UK if Sinn Fein is victorious.

He said: “Let’s wait and see what the results are from Northern Ireland. If there is a sustained majority of nationalist opinion in favour of a united Ireland, that would have to be put forward in a referendum. That’s beyond the power of the United Kingdom Government. We would have to allow that to happen were it the case”.

He added: “Of course we would honour the provisions of the Good Friday Agreement if that was required, but I’m confident that we will be able to make the case for Northern Ireland remaining in the United Kingdom should that arise, but I don’t think we’re at that stage”.


09:09 AM

Labour gains primarily in London


09:07 AM

Sir John Curtice: Boris Johnson is 'electorally mortal'

Sir John Curtice, the polling expert, said the local election results show Boris Johnson is "electorally mortal".

Sir John was asked during an interview on BBC Radio 4's Today programme if he would agree with the statement that the results are "bad for the Tories, not good enough for Labour”.

He said: “I think that is absolutely right because the Conservatives have seen a fairly substantial drop in their vote, not disastrous, but of the kind of order we were expecting from the opinion polls, down four points as compared with 2018, six points as compared with last year.

“The reason of course why we get interested in this is that hitherto until a few months ago the Conservatives were always ahead of Labour but now it seems Boris Johnson as leader of the Conservative Party is electorally mortal like every other Conservative leader.”


08:57 AM

Sir John Curtice: Labour popularity in London has reached new zenith

Sir John Curtice, the polling expert, said Labour's popularity in London has reached a new "zenith".

He told the BBC: “The message the Labour Party wanted to get across last night was to demonstrate unambiguously that they are making progress and in London they have made a bit more progress.

“On a sample of wards we have been collecting… Labour’s vote is about a point up on where it was in 2018 so they can rightly claim, and given that in 2018 Labour had already done very well, they can claim to have reached a new zenith of popularity in the capital.

“The trouble is outside of London, Labour’s share of the vote was actually down slightly. Actually in terms of seats won and lost, while it has made net gains in London, it has actually made a slight net loss outside of London. So outside of London it is a rather different story. And of course Labour can’t win Westminster Parliament by simply winning Westminster Council.”


08:50 AM

Sir John Curtice: No one can be sure Labour are on path to power

Sir Keir Starmer claimed this morning that the Labour Party is "back on track" to win the next general election (see the post below at 08.47).

Sir John Curtice, the polling expert, is less convinced.

Asked why Labour may not be on a route to power, Sir John told the BBC: "They are certainly not doing well enough at these local elections for anybody to be sure that they are going to do so.”


08:45 AM

Sir John Curtice: Westminster win a 'bigger deal' than Wandsworth

Sir John Curtice, the polling expert, said Labour's win in Westminster is a 'bigger deal' than its victory in Wandsworth.

He told the BBC: “Westminster is a bigger deal because Wandsworth did look like a highly vulnerable council given that we were expecting at least a couple of points swing from Conservative to Labour and that frankly always looked like enough for Wandsworth to go and the same was true of Barnet.

“Westminster, however, looked rather safer for the Conservatives. Winning Westminster looked as though it would be a particularly good result for Labour.”

Sir John said the shift in Westminster is "part of a much longer story” which has seen London's politics change over a 20 year period.

He added: “Westminster will turn from being an icon of Thatcherism to an icon of London’s Labour domination.”


08:32 AM

Labour claims cost of living has been 'key issue'

Shabana Mahmood, Labour’s national campaign co-ordinator, said her party made gains in the local elections because it had offered an alternative on how to remedy the cost of living crisis.

She told LBC Radio: “I think it is the cost-of-living crisis that is the key issue facing every household in the country – that is the issue on which the Conservative Party and Boris Johnson in particular have failed to offer anything to the voters of this country.

“And I think the Labour Party has had a solid showing in the results that we’ve seen coming in so far in these local elections because we’ve had an alternative to offer.”


08:30 AM

Labour insists it is making progress

Shabana Mahmood, Labour’s national campaign coordinator, told Sky News that overall the results are a "bit of a mixed picture".

But she insisted the party is making progress. She said: "Overall what the trend is showing us is we are making progress in the sorts of areas that we need to win back, the parliamentary constituencies that we need to take off the Tories if we are to win the next general election.

"What these results show us is on the popular vote we would be winning back some key parliamentary seats that are necessary for the Labour Party to form a government."

She added: "We are going for a majority Labour government... and these results put us on a good strong course to do that."


08:02 AM

Vote counting begins in Northern Ireland

Vote counting gets underway at the Titanic Exhibition Centre in Belfast, Northern Ireland - Kelvin Boyes/Press Eye

Vote counting is now underway in Northern Ireland for the Stormont assembly elections.

We are expecting results to be announced throughout the afternoon but we may have to wait until Saturday for a final result.


07:57 AM

Oliver Dowden: 'I’ve never purchased a tin of baked beans in my entire life'

Oliver Dowden, the chairman of the Conservative Party, has faced a grilling this morning on the cost of living crisis as he discussed the local election results.

He was quizzed during an interview on LBC Radio about the price of supermarket own-brand food products after his Cabinet colleague George Eustice suggested earlier this week that people should consider buying "value" brands to make their money go further.

Mr Dowden said: “I’m afraid I rarely get the opportunity to go to the shops, given my extensive duties as chairman of the Conservative Party, but when I pop down to my local Tesco’s, of course I buy own-brand products.

“I wouldn’t know the price of a tin of baked beans – I’ll tell you why, I have never liked baked beans. I’ve never purchased a tin of baked beans in my entire life.”


07:49 AM

Tory MP: PM has 'difficult questions' to answer

Conservative MP David Simmonds said Boris Johnson has some “difficult questions” to answer after the party’s losses in the local elections.

The MP for Ruislip, Northwood and Pinner said voters were unhappy about the disclosures over lockdown parties in Downing Street and Whitehall.

He told the BBC: “It was a pretty clear message on the doorstep. Clearly the Prime Minister has got some difficult questions to answer.

“Overwhelmingly the message that I heard on the doorsteps was people were broadly positive about the Government’s policies but they are not happy about what they have been hearing about partygate.

“He said, ‘I will take full responsibility for these election results’, and I think he needs to confront that question now.”


07:47 AM

Sir Keir Starmer: Labour 'back on track' for general election

Sir Keir Starmer has claimed the Labour Party is now "back on track" to win the next general election.

Speaking in Barnet after Labour won control of the local council, Sir Keir said the local election results are a "massive turning point" for the party.

He said: "This is a massive turning point for the Labour Party. From the depths of 2019 we are back on track now for the general election, showing what the change that we have done, the hard change we have done in the last two years, what a difference it has made."


07:40 AM

Sir Ed Davey: 'This isn't a one off. This is a real trend'

Sir Ed Davey, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, has hailed the party's "historic gains" at the local elections in what he described as "Tory heartlands".

Told that some support for the Lib Dems could be because of a protest vote against the Tories, Sir Ed told Sky News: "No because this is a real trend now. Last year we took Chesham and Amersham in true Blue Buckingham, a parliamentary by election, then we took North Shropshire... and we have had several years now of really good local election results.

"This isn't a one off. This is a real trend."


07:32 AM

Official: Labour win Barnet

The result in Barnet is now official, with Labour gaining control from the Tories.

Labour has 41 seats to 22 for the Tories.


07:27 AM

Sir Keir Starmer celebrates in Barnet

Sir Keir Starmer was welcomed by a cheering crowd of supporters as he arrived in Barnet this morning.

The Labour leader shouted the names of councils the party had gained overnight in the local elections, including Barnet, Wandsworth and Westminster, with each one being applauded.

Sir Keir said the results “sent a message to the Prime Minister that Britain deserves better” as he thanked the Labour team in Barnet for its efforts.

Keir Starmer speaks to supporters outside StoneX Stadium in Barnet, London - Jonathan Brady/PA
Keir Starmer speaks to supporters outside StoneX Stadium in Barnet, London - Jonathan Brady/PA

07:27 AM

Key results so far:

  • Westminster: Had been run by the Tories since its creation in 1964. Now controlled by Labour.
  • Wandsworth: In Tory hands since 1978 but now controlled by Labour.
  • Cumberland: Labour has won a comfortable majority in the newly-created authority of Cumberland, which covers the former districts of Allerdale, Carlisle and Copeland in Cumbria – all areas currently represented by Conservative MPs.
  • Nuneaton & Bedworth: Labour saw its majority disappear in 2018 and the party lost more councillors in 2021, with the Conservatives taking overall control.

  • Hull: The Liberal Democrats have gained a wafer-thin majority in Hull, dislodging Labour who had run the council since 2011.

  • Southampton: A top Labour target and the party has won control back from the Conservatives with a majority of four seats.


06:56 AM

Sir John Curtice: Labour support 'down slightly' outside of London

Sir John Curtice, the polling expert, said that while Labour support has increased in London, the party is actually "down slightly" outside of the capital.

Asked if Labour had done not quite as well as the party would have hoped, Sir John told the BBC: “I think that has to be said. The Labour Party has been wanting to argue throughout the night that these local election results clearly demonstrate evidence of progress.

“Now, in London that is true. It looks as though Labour’s vote is up by about a point as compared with 2018 and they did pretty well in London in 2018 and London will now be even more clearly very much a one party Labour fiefdom.

“But outside of London as compared with 2018 when the seats were last contested, it looks as though Labour’s vote is actually down slightly.”

Sir John said outside of London for Labour "wasn’t quite the degree of progress that they might have anticipated”.


06:49 AM

Sir John Curtice: Tories have 'suffered a loss'

Sir John Curtice, the polling expert, said the Tories have "suffered a loss" at the local elections but the party's results have been largely in line with what was expected.

He told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme: “The truth is the Conservatives have suffered more or less the kind of support that we might have anticipated given the evidence of the opinion polls, they are down by about four points in the sample of wards where we have been collecting the detailed voting figures overnight, and down by as much as six points as compared with last year.

“So don’t let anybody run away with the idea that the Conservatives haven’t suffered a loss. They have done. Indeed they have now lost 120 seats and indeed the news has just come through that not only have they lost Wandsworth and Barnet in London but they have now also lost Westminster which was perhaps a council theft would have hoped to hang onto.”

He added: “The other thing that I think perhaps some Conservative MPs will worry about is that the party also seems to have lost ground quite heavily in the south of England. Its results have been rather better the further north we have gone. But of course lots of Tory MPs have their seats in the south of England.”


06:42 AM

Local Tory leader: PM 'bears a lot of the responsibility' for losses

John Mallinson, the Conservative leader of Carlisle City Council, said Boris Johnson “bears a lot of the responsibility” for the “very poor” results suffered by the Tories.

Mr Mallinson told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I don’t think any one person is responsible for everything, but he does seem to be attracting a lot of unrest and ill feeling at the moment."

Asked if that feeling will carry on until the next general election, the councillor said: “I think if things remain the same it will, I think we’ll pay for it”.

He said Boris Johnson would be a “poor option” to lead the Conservatives into the next general election.


06:34 AM

Oliver Dowden says Tories should 'stick with' Boris Johnson as PM

Oliver Dowden, the chairman of the Conservative Party, has insisted Boris Johnson should remain as Prime Minister regardless of the local election results.

He told Sky News: "They demonstrate that whilst there have been difficult results they are consistent with what you would expect with us from mid-term.

"Labour are certainly not on the path to power and I believe that Boris Johnson does have the leadership skills, in particular the energy and the dynamism, that we need during this difficult period of time.

"So no, I don't think we should remove Boris Johnson as our prime minister. I think we should stick with him. I think he has got the skills we need to lead us into the next election."


06:25 AM

Oliver Dowden defends Boris Johnson

Oliver Dowden, the Tory chairman, was told during an interview on Sky News that some local Tory leaders have called for Boris Johnson to be replaced after the Conservatives suffered local election losses.

Mr Dowden defended the Prime Minister and said: "Actually I think that what you see in the Prime Minister is somebody who gets things done, a changemaker, and whether that is in relation to the vaccine programme... or what he has been doing in Ukraine, we need that kind of bold leadership."


06:17 AM

Oliver Dowden plays down loss of Wandsworth Council

Oliver Dowden, the chairman of the Conservative Party, was asked specifically about losing Wandsworth Council.

He told Sky News: "We only won that by about 200 votes last time around, it was an unexpected hold, there is a general momentum across London which you have seen here and you saw actually in the last 20 years of elections in Wandsworth of us doing less well."

Mr Dowden said the Tories have faced "challenging headlines for the past few months" but he suggested that is to be expected given the party has been in power nationally for 12 years.

He said the party has recorded some "challenging results but we have made progress in lots of places".


06:12 AM

Oliver Dowden: Tories have had 'difficult results' in London

Oliver Dowden, the chairman of the Conservative Party, told Sky News the Tories have "had some difficult results" in London after losing Wandsworth and Westminster councils.

But Mr Dowden said that the picture is different outside the capital and "if you look across the country we have made gains in places like Hartlepool, we have made them in Thurrock, we have made them in Nuneaton".

He said: "Given that we are mid-term I think it really doesn't show that Labour have the momentum to form the next government but inevitably mid-term we are going to have challenges like this."


06:07 AM

Tories say Labour has 'gone backwards' outside of London

A Tory source told Politico that while it has been a "difficult night" for the Conservatives in London, Labour has "gone backwards" outside of the capital.

The source said: “Outside London, this is now looking like a bad night for Labour across the rest of the country. They have gone backwards in places like Sunderland, Tyneside, Hartlepool, Nuneaton, Sandwell and Amber Valley, showing they are seriously underperforming in former Labour heartlands which they need to regain.”


06:02 AM

Labour celebrates after Westminster gain

Labour Party candidates and supporters celebrate after the Labour gain of Westminster City Council - Henry Nicholls/Reuters

05:59 AM

Official Westminster result


05:53 AM

Tory MP says support 'holding up pretty well' outside London

Robert Jenrick, the Tory former Cabinet minister, told Sky News the local election results in London should not be viewed through a national lens.

He said: "I wouldn't extrapolate too much into this to the broader political picture. In Wandsworth there were only 200 votes separating Labour and Conservatives the last time these elections were fought and unfortunately all three of the local parliamentary constituencies are Labour ones. So it is not in that sense so surprising that the council would eventually go Labour."

Mr Jenrick said the Tories had seen "surprisingly strong, certainly respectable" performances in the Midlands and the north of England.

On Boris Johnson's role in the elections, Mr Jenrick said: "You see that the gains that he won in the 2019 election are holding up pretty well despite all of the pressures and the usual and understandable way in which voters like to challenge a sitting government when it is mid term."


05:46 AM

Labour leader in Barnet says gains are result of Tory woes

Labour believes it is on course to take control of Barnet Council in north London.

But Barry Rawlings, the leader of the Labour group on the authority, said the party's gains are less of a reflection on enthusiasm for his party and more a reflection of disillusionment with the Tories.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “I’ll be honest, it’s not us being wonderful.

“I think a lot of Conservatives haven’t voted this time, I think they feel alienated from No 10 and that they are, I don’t know, they’ve been disappointed with Boris Johnson and so not voting and I think that’s made a difference as well.”


05:41 AM

Lib Dems hail 'progress all over the country'

Daisy Cooper, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: "This is a great night for the Liberal Democrats. We’re making progress all over the country - building on our historic by-election victories last year. We have already taken seats off the Conservatives in Blue Wall areas like Cheadle, and taken control of Hull Council from Labour.

“From Colchester to Hull, from Wimbledon to Gosport, more and more communities are choosing Liberal Democrats to be their local champions and fight for a fair deal for them.

“People across the UK are fed up with being ignored and taken for granted by Boris Johnson and the Conservatives.

“It’s clear that, in many parts of the country, it is the Liberal Democrats who can defeat the Conservatives and get Boris Johnson out of Downing Street.”


05:30 AM

Official: Labour takes control of Westminster

Labour has taken control of Westminster City Council in London for the first time since its creation in 1964.


05:21 AM

Tory MP: 'Clarion bell should ring in No 10' after losses

Stephen Hammond, the Tory MP for Wimbledon, said the cost of living crisis and rising inflation were raised "time after time on the doorstep" in the run up to yesterday's elections.

But he said "partygate" was also a factor. He said Tory losses should prompt a "clarion bell" to ring out in Downing Street.

He told the BBC: "It is also clear that I am afraid that the 'partygate' factor has been a large influence on the voting.

"There was a lot of analysis done prior to these elections saying 'watch for problems for the Conservative Party in these elections because of low turnout'.

"Actually what you have seen in a number of my wards tonight is high turnout and unfortunately it is angry Tories turning out at voting away from where they would normally do so and thought ought to be a clarion bell ringing very loudly in No 10 Downing Street."


05:09 AM

Wandsworth Tory leader: National issues were raised on doorstep

Ravi Govindia, the outgoing Tory leader of Wandsworth Council, was asked by Sky News if he blamed Boris Johnson for the party losing control of the local authority.

He said: “No, I don’t, I blame ourselves. We fought the most exceptional campaign this year and we obviously could have worked harder.

“We failed to do that. Obviously at all times the issue of what is happening at the national level does come up on the doorstep and we were always able to bring the debate down to the local issues.”


04:55 AM

Local Tory leader: PM must take a 'take a good, strong look in the mirror'

A Conservative local leader has called for Boris Johnson to “take a good, strong look in the mirror” after the party suffered council losses in his area.

Leader of Portsmouth City Council Conservative group Simon Bosher told the BBC: “I have to say the results have been extremely disappointing, not totally unexpected I have to say. We have actually lost some very good working community councillors this evening.

“Personally I think those in power in Westminster really do need to take a good, hard look in the mirror because it is the rank and file grassroots members they rely on that are actually losing their seats tonight and it is pretty disappointing across the board.”

Asked if he meant the Prime Minister when he referred to those in power, Mr Bosher added: “I think Boris does need to take a good, strong look in the mirror as well because I think he needs to look at those people that we have lost tonight… because those are people that are actually bearing the brunt on the doorstep of behaviour of what’s been going on in Westminster.”


04:48 AM

Labour calling victory in Westminster

Labour sources say they believe they have won control of Westminster Council.

If confirmed that will be a huge moment - the Tories losing Wandsworth, Barnet and Westminster in one night would have been seen as a worst case scenario for the Conservatives.


04:45 AM

Labour claims election results are a 'turning point'

Shabana Mahmood, Labour’s national campaign coordinator, said: "This is a turning point for the Labour Party.

“After the disastrous results of 2019, these early results are showing the progress we have made thanks to Keir’s leadership.

"Labour is making headway in England, Scotland and Wales, taking over key Conservative councils and winning in vital Parliamentary battlegrounds across the country.

“Voters have put their trust in the change Keir Starmer's Labour represents."


04:43 AM

Tories concede defeat in Barnet

The Conservative leader of Barnet Council in north London, Daniel Thomas, said his party has lost control of the authority, where they had 36 of the 63 seats going into Thursday’s election.

Labour sources said they are "confident" they will now secure the authority.

Mr Thomas said a Labour victory is a "warning shot from Conservative supporters".

He said: “I think this is a warning shot from Conservative supporters and I think our loss today is not only due to the fact that I have just mentioned but also a fair number of Conservative voters who just didn’t go out to vote, stayed at home.”

He added: “Clearly if Labour are to get a majority in Parliament they need to win Barnet. They won the council, if they win our parliamentary constituencies as well, then it doesn’t bode well for us to form a Government in future general elections.”


04:36 AM

Bristol votes to scrap elected mayor system

Voters in Bristol have decided to scrap their elected mayor system in a referendum on the way the city is run.

In a vote on Thursday, 56,113 voted to return to a committee system which will see councillors making decisions, while 38,439 backed continuing with an elected mayor, on a turnout of 28.6 per cent.

The referendum result is likely to be ratified at an extraordinary meeting of the full council on May 24, and Labour’s Marvin Rees will continue as Bristol’s mayor until May 2024, when the new system will start.

The elected mayor system has been in place in the city since 2012.


04:33 AM

Tories lose control of West Oxfordshire

The Conservatives have lost control of West Oxfordshire, where the party had held 27 of the 49 seats, after the Liberal Democrats made a series of gains.

The authority is now in no overall control.

It is a significant blow for the Tories - the local authority covers the Witney parliamentary constituency which was previously represented by David Cameron.


04:30 AM

Good morning

Good morning - this is Jack Maidment, The Telegraph's Politics Live Blog Editor.

I am now taking over from my excellent colleague Josh White and will be providing updates throughout the day.

If you are just waking up, this is how things stand at the moment:

Results are now officially in from 53 councils and the Tories have lost 55 seats, Labour has gained 21, the Lib Dems are up 31 and the Greens have gained 19.

The big news overnight is that the Conservative Party has lost control of Wandsworth Council to Labour - a local authority the party has held since 1978.

Labour has also gained control of Southampton from the Tories amid growing speculation that the latter could also lose Westminster which it has held since its creation in 1964.


04:16 AM

Labour wins Southampton

Labour has gained control of Southampton from the Conservatives, who previously held 25 of the 48 seats.

Labour won 13 of the seats being contested, to finish the night with 26, with Conservatives on 21, and Liberal Democrats on one.


03:51 AM

Tories fear defeat in Westminster too

The Conservatives are increasingly pessimistic about the situation in Westminster, a council they have run since its creation in 1964.

"We will lose it," a senior Tory source has told the Press Association.

With results in from 53 councils, the Conservatives have so far lost 55 seats.


03:37 AM

Wandsworth called for Labour

It might have been on the cards, but this is still a big result.

Labour have won Wandsworth council from the Tories, winning a council they have not run since 1974.

Labour have so far won 32 seats, with the Tories trailing on 22, while one seat has been called for an independent.


03:28 AM

Tory MP admits defeat in Southampton

The Conservative MP for Southampton Itchen has conceded that his party will lose control of Southampton council to Labour.

"We can't now numerically save it", Royston Smith told the BBC.

Mr Smith called on the Prime Minister and the Chancellor to tackle the cost of living crisis.


03:21 AM

Wandsworth is the Tories' 'jewel in the crown'

Labour is confident of winning Wandsworth from the Tories.

A Labour source told the Press Association: "Boris Johnson losing Wandsworth is monumental. This was the Tories' jewel in the crown.

"Voters in Wandsworth have put their trust in the change Keir Starmer's Labour represents."

Early indications are that Labour will take the council, one the Tories have held for 44 years.

A Tory supporter prepares for the worst in Wandsworth - REUTERS
A Tory supporter prepares for the worst in Wandsworth - REUTERS

02:51 AM

Johnson can't be trusted, says Tory council leader

A Conservative council leader has said the Prime Minister should be moved on after his party suffered a mass defeat in a local election.

Conservative leader of Carlisle City Council John Mallinson told the BBC that he had "lost some very good colleagues" in the Cumberland local election, and had found it "difficult to drag the debate back to local issues" while campaigning because of partygate and the cost-of-living crisis.

Mr Mallinson said: "I don't think it was helping to get comments from people like George Eustice talking about people using value brands to ease their shopping bills. That just seems to have come over very patronising."

He added: "I think it is not just partygate, there is the integrity issue. Basically I just don't feel people any longer have the confidence that the Prime Minister can be relied upon to tell the truth."

Asked if he thought Conservative MPs should oust the Prime Minister, Mr Mallinson said: "That would be my preference, yes."


02:19 AM

'Tory moral collapse' helps Lib Dems win Kingston-upon-Hull

Liberal Democrat peer Baroness Kramer said she was "obviously delighted" her party had taken control of Hull council.

Lady Kramer told Sky News the party had had "high hopes in Hull".

She said: "It is a community that in a sense has been taken for granted frankly by both Labour and Conservatives."

The Lib Dem peer said that "big significant local issues" like the number of GPs locally came up on the doorstep, as well as the cost of living and partygate.

"It is not just partygate, it is everything it stands for, this sort of whole sense of a Government in moral collapse," Lady Kramer said.


02:14 AM

The glamour of local politics

Counters in wards across the UK are the backbone of our democracy and nothing captures the glamour of British politics quite like photographs of counting centres on election night.

This is Lindley Hall in Westminster. Give these poor things a cup of tea and a chocolate digestive.

A member of the counting staff lies her head down on a table during the counting process at the Westminster City Council local elections, at Lindley Hall in Westminster, London - REUTERS
A member of the counting staff lies her head down on a table during the counting process at the Westminster City Council local elections, at Lindley Hall in Westminster, London - REUTERS
An election monitor wearing the rosette of the Conservative party blows a bubble gum during the counting process at the Westminster City Council local elections, at Lindley Hall in Westminster - REUTERS
An election monitor wearing the rosette of the Conservative party blows a bubble gum during the counting process at the Westminster City Council local elections, at Lindley Hall in Westminster - REUTERS
Counting staff rest during the counting process at the Westminster City Council local elections - REUTERS
Counting staff rest during the counting process at the Westminster City Council local elections - REUTERS
Attendees talk to each other during the counting process at the Westminster City Council local elections, at Lindley Hall in Westminster - REUTERS
Attendees talk to each other during the counting process at the Westminster City Council local elections, at Lindley Hall in Westminster - REUTERS

01:56 AM

Lib Dems are the early winners

The Liberal Democrats will take control of Kingston upon Hull city council, after winning 29 seats out of the 57 available, with three more results to come. The Conservatives lost their single seat on the council.

The Lib Dems have so won 28 seats, a gain of 10 on the last vote. Early indications are that Ed Davey's party could be the biggest beneficiaries of the Tory backlash.


01:25 AM

After 15 rounds, no big punches

Results are now in for 15 councils with no party yet securing a big win.

There have so far been no changes in control. The Tories have lost 14 seats, with 91, and Labour are down four, at 82. The Liberal Democrats have gained 10, the Greens three, independents one and ratepayers and residents four.

You can search for results in your area using our handy postcode tool:


01:19 AM

The latest results


01:17 AM

Tories keep hold of Basildon

The Tories have held overall control of Basildon council and took the seat of the leader of the authority's Labour group despite the partygate scandal "dominating some of the conversations" on the campaign trail.

Conservative councillors now occupy 25 of the 42 seats, the same number as they did following the May 2021 elections.

Jack Ferguson, the leader of Basildon Council's Labour group, lost his Pitsea North West ward seat to Conservative candidate Sam Gascoyne by 20 votes.


01:03 AM

Labour confident in Wandsworth

Labour has claimed a pair of wards in Wandsworth, raising the party's hopes that they can take control of the Tory council.

Speaking to Sky News as the result for Wandsworth's Wandle ward was announced, shadow health minister Rosena Allin-Khan said: "That echoes exactly what we were hearing on the doorsteps today and throughout the whole campaign, that people are absolutely fed up of 44 years of Tory governance in Wandsworth, and they are fed up Boris Johnson's lies and deceit and it is time for change."

Labour's Dr Rosena Allin-Khan - REUTERS
Labour's Dr Rosena Allin-Khan - REUTERS
British Labour party supporters react to the announcements of wins during local elections - REUTERS
British Labour party supporters react to the announcements of wins during local elections - REUTERS

12:40 AM

Tories cling on in Hartlepool

The Conservatives remain the largest party in Hartlepool after no party earned a majority on the council.

The Tories won the council last year, finishing ahead of independents and Labour.

Sir Keir Starmer's party, which ran the council from 2010 until it surprisingly lost its majority in 2019, appears to have failed to cut through with voters.


12:29 AM

Labour: We can take Barnet

The leader of the Labour group on Barnet council said the party was confident of taking the council from the Tories.

Barry Rawlings told the BBC: "I've been feeling confident for a while, I think we've had a very good campaign, got good candidates, it feels good on the streets."

The north London borough has a large Jewish community and he said the "stain" of anti-Semitism had been removed from the party under Sir Keir Starmer.

"We've certainly turned a corner on anti-Semitism since Keir's been the leader," he said.


12:18 AM

Disappointment for the Tories in Sunderland

In one of the first results of the evening, the Tories have failed in their bid to pinch Sunderland council from Labour.

Speaking after Labour retained control of the council, Hampstead and Kilburn MP Tulip Siddiq told Sky News: "I am delighted to see the Sunderland result, mostly because speaking to MPs who are connected to Sunderland from the Labour Party ... and local activists, the Conservatives have thrown the kitchen sink at it.

"I mean, the Prime Minister was there. When you are in Government you only send the Prime Minister to seats that you think you can overturn and change. So the Prime Minister was there on Bank Holiday Monday and we still held it."

Boris Johnson and the Chancellor Rishi Sunak both visited Sunderland on the campaign trail.

Sunder council leader Graeme Millier celebrates Labour's victory - GETTY IMAGES
Sunder council leader Graeme Millier celebrates Labour's victory - GETTY IMAGES

12:08 AM

Every result, every vote

Our brilliant results page is now live here - you can follow every result as it comes in and search for local results with your postcode.


11:57 PM

Tories 'will do better away from London'

Policing minister Kit Malthouse has said the Tories face a difficult night but insisted the picture was better for his party outside the capital.

He told the BBC: "The further away you get from London, our sense is that the picture is better for us."

Shadow work and pensions secretary Jonathan Ashworth told the BBC "it looks like we are making progress" and "the Tories are in big trouble".

But he acknowledged there was a mountain to climb for the party following the 2019 general election.

"It's climbable, but my god it's a big mountain because we got an absolute hammering in 2019, the worst result since the 1930s."


11:48 PM

Good morning!

Votes are being counted in the 2022 local elections amid grim forecasts for the Conservative Party.

Boris Johnson's party is bracing for the worst following the partygate scandal and the escalating cost of-living crisis.

Sir Keir Starmer's Labour are predicted to fare rather better, though mediocre results could intensify pressure on Sir Keir if he keeps struggling to convince the electorate that his party are ready to govern.

The biggest story of the night could well be in Northern Ireland, where Sinn Fein are seeking to become the largest party.

All 32 councils in Scotland and all 22 in Wales are also holding elections with results expected later on Friday.

You can follow our live blog for every vote, every seat, and every wobbly photo of a rosy-cheeked retired accountant thumbing slips of paper in a leaky sports hall.