Starmer says time for Sunak to face nation as Tories hammered in by-election and council races
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has renewed his demand for Rishi Sunak to go to the polls after the prime minister suffered a by-election drubbing and bruising council losses across England.
While admitting it had been a "tough night", Tory bosses have sought to play down the grim early results and calm rumblings among MPs insisting Mr Sunak was "the right man" to lead the party.
Sky News elections analyst Professor Michael Thrasher has warned the Conservatives could be on course for one of their worst-ever performances.
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The results as they come in
Buoyed by council gains in key battleground areas like Hartlepool, Rushmoor in Hampshire, Redditch in the West Midlands and Thurrock in Essex, Sir Keir declared the "seismic win" for Labour in the Blackpool South by-election "a direct message to the prime minister".
Highlighting the swing of 26.33% from the Tories in the Lancashire seat, the opposition leader told Sky News: "There's no denying the mood of the country now is for change. And I think it's for the prime minister to allow the country to express that change now in a general election."
Speaking to Sky News, Conservative Party chairman Richard Holden said it had been a "tough night", but insisted that "when we're facing those tough challenges we've got the right man for the job".
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On the potential threat of Conservative MPs choosing to oust Mr Sunak, Mr Holden added: "Parliamentary colleagues need to look at this and see… and wait through the weekend as well."
Mr Holden sought to highlight local issues at play, insisting the Blackpool South by-election took place in "particularly difficult" circumstances following the resignation of former Tory MP Scott Benton after a lobbying scandal.
Key results include:
- Labour won Rushmoor in Hampshire for the first time
- The party also claimed the council in general election bellwether Redditch
- Labour won Hartlepool council, regaining ground after a Westminster by-election disaster there in 2021
- Labour also won Thurrock, one of its top targets
- The Tories clung on by a single seat in Harlow, Essex - a council targeted by Sir Keir on the eve of polling
- Conservatives lost control of North East Lincolnshire
- Labour replace the Tories as the largest party on Peterborough Council
- Labour lost control in Oldham, which has a large Muslim population, amid anger over Labour's stance on Gaza
- In Cumbria, a Labour police and crime commissioner was elected, at the expense of the Tories
- Labour also beat the Conservatives in the police and crime commissioner race in Avon and Somerset
One glimmer of light for the Tories amid the gloom was retaining the Tees Valley mayoralty in the face of a concerted opposition challenge.
While conceding defeat, a Labour source said incumbent Ben Houchen, had won with a significantly reduced majority compared with 2021.
They also argued the Conservative peer had distanced himself from Mr Sunak, running his campaign as a "pseudo-independent".
But speaking to Sky News, Lord Houchen denied he had shied away from campaigning as a Tory or mentioning Mr Sunak in his campaign literature during the Tees Valley mayoral contest.
He told Sky News: "We absolutely don't shy away from that at all, and Rishi's been up during the campaign and we have always said Rishi's been a great friend to the people of Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool."
He added that the Prime Minister had been "a huge champion for this area".
In Redcar, Lord Houchen polled 15,987 votes against 12,015 for Labour candidate Chris McEwan and 1,639 for Liberal Democrat Simon Thorley.
The sitting mayor polled 10,074 in Hartlepool compared with 8,732 for Mr McEwan and 972 for Mr Thorley.
In Middlesbrough, the Tory polled 13,285 over Mr McEwan, who had 12,749 and 1,390 for Mr Thorley.