Britain’s ruling Conservative Party has suffered a resounding defeat in local elections, a further sign that it is likely to be removed from power in the upcoming general election.
With almost all council results in, the Conservatives have lost 450 seats while the opposition Labor Party gained 170, as counting of a number of other parliamentary and mayoral elections was underway on Saturday, most notably those for mayors of London and Manchester and Liverpool.
With the results of 102 of 107 local elections, the Conservatives lost about half of those who defended them, thereby losing control of 10 local elections.
Its rival Labor Party won 170 council seats, giving it control of eight councils, while also winning three newly created mayoral seats, including one in Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s northern England constituency.
Labor also won a by-election for the Blackpool South parliamentary seat, sparked by the resignation of scandal-plagued Conservative MP Scott Benton.
Labor leader Keir Starmer said the emphatic victories across the country were a clear signal to the Prime Minister to hold a nationwide vote.
“Blackpool South voters have sent a direct message to Rishi Sunak: make way, let’s have a general election,” Starmer said.
Sunak, whose Tories trail Labor by around 20 points in the polls, must order a general election to be held by January 28 next year at the latest.
Voters in Blackpool South have sent a direct message to Rishi Sunak: make way, let’s have a general election.
Only Labor can win back the future of Britain. pic.twitter.com/M1ZBKsins0
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) May 3, 2024
Where did Labor win?
Labor performed well in areas that voted for Britain to leave the European Union, such as Hartlepool in the north-east of England and Thurrock in the south-east of England. Labor also took control of Rushmoor, a green and heavily military council in the south of England, where it had never won.
In addition to their council victories, Labor won mayoral seats in the York and North Yorkshire areas, as well as the North East and East Midlands.
“Let’s end the decline,” Starmer told his supporters in the East Midlands on Saturday.
Conservative mayor Ben Houchen was re-elected in Tees Valley, a rare success, albeit with a greatly reduced majority.
There will be six more mayoral races this weekend, including one for London.
“We are probably looking at one of the worst, if not the worst, performance for the Conservatives in local elections in the last 40 years,” John Curtice, professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde, told BBC Radio.
Backlash over Gaza
While Labor performed strongly overall, its candidates in some areas with large Muslim populations, such as Blackburn and Oldham in north-west England, appear to have suffered from the party leadership’s stance on Israel’s war on Gaza, including an initial refusal to support such a war demand a ceasefire.
In areas with more than 10 percent of Muslim populations, Labor’s vote share fell by an average of 11 percent, according to the BBC.
The Labor Party of George Galloway, who was re-elected to parliament in March with a pro-Palestinian message, won four seats.
What will happen in the general election?
Sunak admitted the results were “disappointing” but remained positive about his party’s chances in the general election.
“If there is a general election, [voters] “We will stick with ourselves,” Sunak said on Friday as he celebrated the Conservative victory in Tees Valley.
Sunak, who has failed to boost the party’s popularity since succeeding Liz Truss in October 2022, had previously said he planned to call a general election in the second half of 2024.
Should this contest be similar to the local elections, Labor would be expected to win around 34 percent of the vote, with the Conservatives nine points behind, according to the BBC.
Sunak admitted in the Daily Telegraph on Saturday that the election results showed “voters are frustrated” but added that “we Conservatives have everything to fight for.”