Election results 2021: Conservatives continue gains in Englandon May 8, 2021 at 11:44 pm

The Conservatives have consolidated their position in the English local elections, following significant gains on Friday.

The party picked up more local authorities on Saturday, taking their total gains so far to 12, with Labour down six.

Labour has also lost the battleground West Midlands mayoral race to the Conservatives.

But Labour’s Sadiq Khan was re-elected as London mayor.

The party also beat the Tories to win the West of England mayor election, and Labour’s Andy Burnham was re-elected mayor of Greater Manchester in a landslide victory.

One of the 13 English mayoral races is still to declare a winner.

A handful out of the 143 council areas where votes have been held are also still to declare results.

The results are set to continue coming in over the weekend, with counting centres working to a slower timetable due to Covid restrictions.

The elections, held on Thursday, are the biggest test of public opinion since the 2019 general election and the first electoral test for Sir Keir Starmer since he became Labour leader last year.

BBC analysis estimated the Conservatives would have won a 36% vote share in a nationwide general election, if those who voted in England’s local elections behaved in the same way.

The projection, based on detailed data from 1,000 key wards, estimated a 29% share for Labour, 17% for the Liberal Democrats, and 18% for other parties.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, whose party has lost a few council seats, said it was “moving forwards and making progress”. The party held Cheltenham and Eastleigh on Saturday.

The Green Party has picked up seats with 68 new councillors, with the party’s one MP, Caroline Lucas, saying it felt like a “green spring is happening”.

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The Conservatives picked up control of several councils, including Southampton, Cornwall, Nottinghamshire and Basildon, as well as winning Harlow from Labour.

The party also celebrated winning the Hartlepool parliamentary by-election on Friday, taking a Westminster seat which Labour had held since its creation in 1974.

And it managed to keep the Tees Valley mayoralty – in an area once considered a Labour stronghold – with Ben Houchen increasing his share of the vote to 73%.

Labour lost control of councils including Sheffield, Plymouth and Durham to no overall control – although it retained areas including Liverpool, Manchester, Hastings and Exeter.

It is the first time Labour has lost control of Durham County Council in a century.

On Saturday, Environment Secretary George Eustice said Labour had been punished in Leave-voting areas by “wrangling” over Brexit in recent years.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he added that the Conservatives had also reaped the benefit from the successful roll-out of Covid vaccines.

Labour’s shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said Labour needed to be “humble” in the face of disappointing results, and would be carrying out a “root and branch” review of its policies.

Also speaking on Today, he added that party leader Sir Keir had “done the right thing” by pledging “constructive opposition” to the government at a time of national crisis.

But he added this “clearly has been a restriction on Keir being able to set out his own vision” to voters in England.

He said that in Wales, where Labour is set to stay in power, the party had found it easier to set out a “credible, radical policy offer” to voters.

Results are still yet to be declared from 14 out of 35 police and crime commissioners (PPC) elected in England.

Some of these results were expected on Saturday, although later counting means many will not come in until Sunday or Monday.

In results from Saturday, the Conservatives retained PPC positions in Essex, Lincolnshire and Suffolk.

On Friday, the Conservatives gained Cleveland and Derbyshire PCCs from Labour, and took Dorset and Avon and Somerset from independents.