- Written by Paul Seddon
- political reporter
image source, Getty Images
Almost all results are in for parliamentary elections across England, the last big test of public opinion before the general election.
Only one council out of 107 has yet to declare, and four out of 10 local leadership contests.
Key takeaways from the results so far include:
Workers’ march continues
Labor won more than 180 seats and took control of eight councils, including Milton Keynes and Nuneaton, traditional general election flagships.
In key constituencies identified by the BBC, vote share increased by 3% compared to 2021, when most seats were last contested.
However, because the characteristics of independent voters are more pronounced in local votes, this result is only partially useful in elucidating the national image.
Scotland and Northern Ireland also held no elections, while in Wales only the police and crime commissioners were elected.
The best result was probably the Blackpool South by-election, held in parallel with the local election, where it won by a 26% margin over the Conservatives.
Conservative party in decline
It was a bad night for Rishi Sunak, with his party losing more than 470 MPs, just under half of the seats it was defending.
In total, only 508 MPs returned in these elections, fewer than the 520 seats won by the Liberal Democrats.
The Conservatives gained control of 10 councils, including Basildon in Essex, which gained symbolic status for the Conservatives under Margaret Thatcher when they won in working-class areas that traditionally voted Labour. I lost my rights.
But despite the dismal results, there are signs that critics within the prime minister’s ranks are refraining from challenging his leadership.
Mr Sunak is clinging on to the Tees Valley, where incumbent Conservative Ben Houchen won a third term as local mayor, proof that the Conservatives still have a chance in the general election.
He also hopes fellow Conservative incumbent Andy Street will survive the West Midlands mayoral election.
Mayors’ Red Dawn
Labor has continued its success in this area in recent years, winning three newly created local mayoral roles.
The victory in York and North Yorkshire was also a PR coup for the party, as the region includes Rishi Sunak’s constituency.
The BBC also predicts that Labor’s Sadiq Khan will win a third term in the London mayoral election, although official results are expected later.
Gaza stance influences Labor vote
Labor suffered heavy losses in wards with large Muslim voters, showing that its stance on the Israel-Gaza war is influencing votes in these areas.
In the 58 council wards analyzed by the BBC, where more than one in five residents identify as Muslim, Labor’s vote share was 21% higher than in 2021, when the majority of seats were last contested. Diminished.
However, there is also evidence that the biggest declines in support were primarily confined to wards where the party’s support was already very strong.
George Galloway’s pro-Palestinian British Labor Party won four seats – two in Rochdale, one in Calderdale and one in Manchester – where it ousted Rusfer Rahman, Labor deputy leader.
image source, Getty Images
Greens and Liberal Democrats benefit
It was a good night for smaller parties, with the Liberal Democrats and Greens winning parliamentary seats in areas they targeted in the general election.
The Liberal Democrats have so far gained 105 MPs, with wins in Tunbridge Wells and Dorset.
They failed to capture their target areas of West Oxfordshire and Wokingham.
The party increased its vote share in areas with large Muslim populations and areas with large student populations.
Mixed bag for renovation UK
Nigel Farage and Richard Tice’s party won 16.9% of the vote in Blackpool South, finishing third, just 117 votes behind the Conservative candidate.
This was the best result ever for a Westminster by-election, but it fell short of the 28.9% it won in Peterborough in 2019 under the name of the former Brexit Party.
The vote share suggests that around two-thirds of Conservative votes may have gone to Labor, while around one-third went to the Reform Party, with the Conservatives Election strategists may be concerned about this.
However, the party has so far only won two seats in Havant, near Portsmouth.
But assessing the party’s performance here is more difficult. This is because there are only a little over 326 candidates running in 316 wards, which is a very small number.
image source, Getty Images
Voter ID dispute
Boris Johnson hit the headlines after he was refused entry to his local polling station because he forgot his voter card.
Former prime ministers, whose government introduced the rules, have since been able to vote after returning home with the proper documents.
Writing in the Daily Mail, Mr Johnson said he tried to use a copy of Prospect magazine as identification, but was turned away by local election officials.
The government also confirmed that it intends to add veterans cards to the list of acceptable forms of identification after some ex-servicemen were rejected at polling stations.
Meanwhile, Conservative MP Tom Hunt said he lost his passport due to mobility issues and had to arrange an emergency proxy vote.
