ishi Sunak’s Tories were on course for heavy losses in the Prime Minister’s first electoral test as Labour and the Liberal Democrats both made gains in elections across England.
The contests were the first to be fought under new rules requiring voters to carry photographic ID, and the elections watchdog said “regrettably” some people were turned away from polling stations as a result.
Labour gained control of Plymouth, where the Tories had run a minority administration – a result branded “terrible” by Government minister and local MP Johnny Mercer – then did the same in Stoke-on-Trent, another general election battleground.
In Hertsmere, where Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden is MP, the Tories lost control of the council, with 13 councillors voted out while Labour gained seven and the Lib Dems six.
Tamworth, Brentford, North West Leicestershire and East Lindsey also fell from Tory administrations to no overall control.
Labour replaced the Tories as the largest party in Hartlepool and Worcester.
The Liberal Democrats appeared confident in Windsor and Maidenhead, which would be a shock defeat for the Tories.
Senior Conservatives have sought to present the setbacks as a mid-term “blip”, but with the prospect of a general election in 2024 there will be concerns that they have suffered losses in the north, south and the Midlands.
They have sought to manage expectations by pointing to forecasts which suggest they could lose more than 1,000 seats if things go badly.
The Tories will seek to portray any defeat below that scale as better than expected – although the loss of hundreds of councillors will not help morale within the Conservative ranks.
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said the party had experienced a “bit of a blip” following the turmoil in No 10 which saw Boris Johnson and Liz Truss ousted before Mr Sunak took office.
He attempted to present the expected losses as mid-term blues for the Tories, telling Sky News: “The British people are a very sensible group of folk and they understand what’s important.
“Occasionally they like to give political parties a bit of a reminder of who the politicians serve. Certainly when you get into being mid-term in a government you get quite a bit of that.”
Veterans Minister Mr Mercer told the BBC the Plymouth result was due to local factors and insisted that the Prime Minister was “the sort of strong leader this country needs at this time”.
The council’s decision to fell dozens of trees in the city centre contributed to the loss of Tory support.
Mr Mercer said: “I think, locally, it has been very difficult. The Conservative Group here has been through a very difficult time. We have seen that reflected on the doors, in the campaign and we have seen that reflected in the results tonight but you know, we take it on the chin.”
In Tamworth – the seat of scandal-hit former Tory whip Chris Pincher – Labour made seven gains, pushing it from Conservative into no overall control.
I have knocked on countless doors in recent weeks and heard real anger and frustration from voters who are sick and tired of being taken for granted by this Conservative government. Tonight their voices will be heard
But in Hull, Labour’s attempts to regain the council from the Liberal Democrats failed, with Sir Ed Davey’s party tightening its grip on the authority.
With full results from 45 out of the 230 councils where elections were being held:
– The Tories lost control of five councils and suffered a net loss of 102 councillors.
– Labour had gained control of one council and put on 84 councillors.
– The Liberal Democrats had a net gain of 30 councillors.
– Labour’s Chris Cooke won the battle to become mayor of Middlesbrough, defeating the independent incumbent Andy Preston with a swing of almost 20%, a result the party said was “beyond our expectations” and “exactly the kind of progress we needed to make in Teesside”.
Labour claimed that, based on the aggregate vote, the party would have won the Westminster constituencies of Hartlepool, Stevenage, Dudley South, Ipswich, West Bromwich East, Great Grimsby and Aldershot, which has been held by the Tories since its creation as a seat in 1918.
A Labour source said: “Tory MPs will be very worried. This is supposed to be Rishi Sunak’s political honeymoon, but on these results they would have lost a bunch of seats — including one they’ve held for over 100 years.”
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “I have knocked on countless doors in recent weeks and heard real anger and frustration from voters who are sick and tired of being taken for granted by this Conservative government.”
The elections were branded a “dark day for British democracy” by campaigners opposed to the introduction of photo ID, who claimed thousands of people had been denied their right to vote.
But Mr Heaton-Harris insisted the policy was a “thoroughly good thing” even though the elections watchdog said some people had been turned away from polling stations.
An Electoral Commission spokesman said: “We already know from our research that the ID requirement posed a greater challenge for some groups in society, and that some people were regrettably unable to vote today as a result.
“It will be essential to understand the extent of this impact, and the reasons behind it, before a final view can be taken on how the policy has worked in practice and what can be learned for future elections.”
Tom Brake of Unlock Democracy, who is leading a coalition of groups opposed to the policy including the Electoral Reform Society, Fair Vote UK and Open Britain, said: “Today has been a dark day for British democracy.
“Reports from all over the country confirm our very worst fears of the impact of the disastrous policy which has been made worse by the shambolic way it has been introduced.”
The Association of Electoral Administrators’ chief executive Peter Stanyon said there had been “many anecdotal reports” of people being unable to vote but “it is still too early to gauge how introducing voter ID has gone”.
More than 8,000 council seats were up for election on Thursday across 230 local authorities, while mayors were being chosen in Bedford, Leicester, Mansfield and Middlesbrough.
The last time the same council seats were contested was in May 2019, when the Tories performed poorly under Theresa May as she struggled with Brexit and Labour under Jeremy Corbyn also suffered.
The Conservatives lost more than 1,300 council seats and majority political control of 44 councils, meaning they had less to lose on Thursday than they might have done.
About a quarter of the votes were being counted overnight, with the rest counted during the day on Friday.