Sir Keir Starmer is celebrating wins in key battlegrounds in the local elections as an indication Labour is on course to win the next general election, but Rishi Sunak remains defiant despite heavy losses.
The prime minister is under pressure as the results being declared showed both Labour and the Lib Dems seizing control of Tory councils across England.
The Labour leader said the “fantastic” results combined with a hoped-for recovery in Scotland would give him a majority in Westminster after a national poll.
With 229 results in out of 230, the Conservatives had lost 960 seats, with Labour gaining 635, the Lib Dems 416 and the Greens 200. The Conservatives had lost control of 48 councils.
Sir Keir’s party was projected to have won a nine-point lead over the Conservatives if all of Britain had gone to the polls.
Mr Sunak conceded the results were “disappointing” but said he was “not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards the Labour Party or excitement for its agenda”.
The elections watchdog said “regrettably” some people were turned away from polling stations as a result of new rules requiring voters to carry photographic ID.
