The polls for more than 8,000 council seats on 230 councils, and four mayors, across England have closed. The first results are now coming in, with more expected throughout the morning and into Friday evening. The vote is the first big test of Rishi Sunak’s electoral popularity since he became prime minister. Some people were unable to cast their vote due to new rules requiring voters to show photo ID, the Electoral Commission has confirmed. The first gain of a council went to Labour, who took control in Plymouth, where no party previously had a majority. In Brentwood, Essex, the Tories lost two seats to the Lib Dems, meaning the party no longer has a majority in the council chamber. Among other early results, Labour retained Sefton and Exeter, while the Tories held on to Basildon and Redditch.
The last time these seats were up for election in 2019, the Conservative Party had its worst results in a generation in its traditional heartlands. Results will continue to be declared throughout Friday, including the four mayoral contests in Bedford, Leicester, Mansfield and Middlesbrough. The final result is forecast to be declared at around 20:00 BST, although this could be later depending on factors such as recounts. Elections are not taking place in London, Scotland or Wales. Northern Ireland will go to the polls in local elections on 18 May.
The Electoral Commission, which oversees elections in the UK, said Thursday’s election had been “well run” overall but the impact of new voter ID rules needed to be evaluated. “Some people were regrettably unable to vote today as a result” of the new rules, an Electoral Commission spokesman said. The Electoral Reform Society, which opposed the change, said there had been “countless examples” of would-be voters being turned away from polling station because of the new rules. The BBC has not been able to verify the number of voters turned away because of the new rules. But figures for this are expected to emerge in the coming days.
Discussing the result in Plymouth with the BBC, local Tory MP Johnny Mercer said it had been “a terrible night”. “But we take it on the chin and we keep going forward,” he said. “There’s really important stuff happening on a national level and we need to redouble our efforts and make sure we continue to work hard for the people here in Plymouth.” Labour’s shadow work and pensions secretary Jonathan Ashworth said he was “very, very pleased” with the result. “We hold one of the parliamentary seats… and we’re targeting the other parliamentary seat in Plymouth,” he said. “Taking that council is a very significant result for us”.
Electoral Test:
Most of the seats up for election were last contested in 2019, a tumultuous time for the two leading parties. The Conservatives lost a total of 1,330 seats in mostly traditionally Tory-supporting areas. Labour lost 84 seats – just over 4% of its councillors in those areas.
The main beneficiaries were the Liberal Democrats and independent candidates. Ahead of Thursday’s vote, the Conservative Party sought to manage expectations, with party chairman Greg Hands suggesting his party could lose 1,000 council seats. Labour has enjoyed a significant lead in the opinion polls but has also been downplaying expectations, saying it expected to gain around 400 seats.
Lib Dem and Green Targets:
The Liberal Democrats were hoping to build on their success in 2019, targeting rural and suburban seats held by the Tories. Daisy Cooper, the party’s deputy leader, said she had “heard real anger and frustration from voters”. The Green Party had said it was confident it could build on success in 2019, when it gained 194 seats, by winning over both Labour and Conservative voters. The party is hoping to win outright control of its first council in Mid Suffolk. Most of the councils up for election in England are district councils, responsible for services including bin collections, parks, public housing and planning applications.
The rest of the councils being elected are a mixture of metropolitan and unitary councils – single local authorities that deal with all local services. Council elections in Northern Ireland have been moved back to Thursday 18 May because of the Coronation of King Charles III on Saturday.
