Labour has now become the largest party of local government – surpassing the Tories for the first time since 2002 in a historic milestone.
The party was able to overtake the Tories after Rishi Sunak’s party suffered losses across the country, with six switching directly to Labour.
By Friday evening, Labour had won more than 450 seats seats and 19 councils, while the Tories lost over 978 seats and 47 councils.
The Labour wins came in battleground areas the party had been targeting including Medway in Kent and Swindon in the South West – both of which have been run by the Tories for the past 20 years.
In a further boost, the party also won several councils from no overall control including Plymouth, Stoke-on-Trent, Blackpool, Middlesbrough, Broxtowe, High Peak and North East Derbyshire.
Throughout the day, the party continued to count successes in councils including Dover, East Staffordshire and Bracknell Forest, which it snatched from the Conservatives.
Some of its later gains were in Erewash and South Ribble, which it took from the Conservatives – the latter for the first time since 1999.
The results came in stark contrast to the Conservatives, who witnessed a slate of councils fall from their grip and into no overall control – a theme that has dominated the party’s evening.
On Friday evening, it lost a host of councils including Surrey Heath to the Lib Dems. Wealden, Staffordshire Moorlands and Central Bedfordshire all switched to no overall control.
The party also crashed to defeat in East Suffolk, Broadland, and Newark & Sherwood.
Click to subscribe to the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts
The losses were preceded by Tamworth, Brentwood, North West Leicestershire, Hertsmere and East Lindsey, which all fell to no overall control overnight.
That pattern continued into Friday after losses across the country including in South Kesteven, South Gloucestershire, Welwyn Hatfield, Maidstone, Bromsgrove, Cannock Chase, West Devon, North Warwickshire and Tewkesbury.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer celebrated the gains as showing that his party was on course to win a majority at the next general election.
Politics live: ‘Alarm bells’ in Tory HQ as party takes ‘hammering by any standards’
Speaking from Medway, the jubilant Labour leader told supporters: “You didn’t just get it over the line, you blew the doors off.
“We’re having fantastic results across the country.
“Make no mistake, we are on course for a Labour majority at the next general election.”
Sir Keir Starmer celebrated “fantastic” council results
The Liberal Democrats were also celebrating gains throughout the day after they won control of councils in the “Blue Wall” Tory heartlands of Windsor and Maidenhead, Dacorum in Hertfordshire, Stratford-upon-Avon and South Hams.
The party also picked up Mid Devon council which had been in no overall control and South Oxfordshire.
The Green Party’s first major result of the day came when it won its first outright majority in Mid Suffolk, where the council had previously been under no overall control. Overall the party is currently up by more than 150 seats.
Despite the progress enjoyed by Labour in this set of elections, the party still needs to achieve a swing bigger than Sir Tony Blair’s landslide election victory in 1997 to secure a majority at the next election.
Sky News’ election analyst Professor Michael Thrasher said that based on analysis of change in vote share across 1,500 wards, Labour is the most popular party with 36%, with the Conservative share 29%, Lib Dems with 18% and others standing at 17%.
See full local election results here
Assuming a uniform national swing and applying these to the seats decided at the last general election, Labour would be on course to become the largest party at the next election.
It would gain 95 seats – to an improved total of 298 in this projection – the highest number since Labour won the 2005 general election, but 28 short of an overall majority.
And speaking to Sky’s Sophy Ridge after the scale of the Tory losses became clear, Labour shadow attorney general Emily Thornberry said the party was “pretty happy”, but added: “We’ve still got a long way to go.”
She added: “The sort of result that we need will be stupendous. We’ve got a mountain to climb – we know that we do.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Emily Thornberry: “We’re pretty happy.”
“But we have got ourselves into a pretty good basecamp and the view’s alright.”
There was also disappointment for Labour in some areas. In Slough, Labour lost the council to no overall control.
And the party also struggled to replicate its headline successes in the South in some areas of the North East, including Darlington, Stockton and Hartlepool.
Sir Keir’s party did progress in Darlington and Hartlepool, but was unable to take back overall control of either – and in Stockton, the Conservatives took seats to become the biggest group for the first time in many years – although the council remained under no overall control.
Projected national estimated vote share
‘This is not a verdict on Rishi Sunak’
Asked by Sky News’ Sophy Ridge whether the results showed that Rishi Sunak had failed his first test at the ballot box, former Cabinet minister Liam Fox said: “It’s not a great result for us by any means but… this is not a verdict on Rishi Sunak – Rishi Sunak has actually seen the party’s electoral chances improving.”
Despite the early losses, Mr Sunak was defiant as he spoke to reporters outside the Conservative Party headquarters on Friday morning.
He said it is always “disappointing” to lose “hard-working Conservative councillors” but “in terms of the results, it’s still early”.
“We’re making progress in key election battlegrounds like Peterborough, Bassetlaw and Sandwell,” he said.
“I am not detecting any massive groundswell of movement to the Labour Party or excitement about their agenda.”
However, a Labour source said the Conservatives had only won two seats in Sandwell, where it now has 12 seats compared with Labour’s 60, adding: “If that is all the PM and CCHQ can point to as ‘progress’ they are in enormous trouble.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Sunak responds to local election results
Read more: See full elections results as they come in
Labour has shown sound gains when it comes to both seats and vote share in numerous areas, including Thurrock, Rushmoor and Redditch.
‘Hammer blow to Tories’
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey hailed a “historic victory” for the Liberal Democrats’, whom he said had enjoyed its “best result in decades”.
“It’s little wonder Rishi Sunak is running scared of a general election, because he knows the Liberal Democrats are set to take swathes of seats across the Conservative Party’s former heartlands,” he said.
Voters have been deciding who runs services in 230 (out of 317) local authorities in England, with around 8,000 councillors’ seats up for grabs.
Leader of the Liberal Democrats Sir Ed Davey in Windsor
Mayors have also been chosen in Bedford, Leicester, Mansfield and Middlesbrough in what is the biggest round of local elections since 2019.
The seats on offer were last contested in 2019, when Mrs May was weeks away from resigning, and her party lost 1,300 seats.
Labour, led by Jeremy Corbyn at the time, also suffered losses with the Lib Dems, Greens and independents coming off best.
Analysis: Is this a new dawn for Labour?
Here are the benchmarks from Sky News’ elections analyst Professor Michael Thrasher for what would make a good and bad night for the main parties:
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Sky’s election analyst explains his general election projection
Conservatives
• Fewer than 300 losses: This would see the party winning council seats back from Independents, with Labour and the Lib Dems not prospering
• 500 losses: The party could argue “mid-term blues” and will assume Labour could be caught before the general election
• 750 losses: This would indicate a clear swing to Labour, but still less than opinion polls imply
• 1,000 losses: A very bad night, with a third of all seats defended by the Conservatives lost
Labour
• 700 gains: The best local elections for at least a decade. Labour would look on its way to becoming the largest party in Westminster, even if short of a majority
• 450 gains: These results would be better than in 2022, when local elections took place in Greater London
• 250 gains: A disappointing result for Labour in the context of recent opinion polls
• Under 150 gains: A step backwards for Labour
Liberal Democrats
• 150+ gains: Eating into Conservative territory and could put some marginal constituencies in play at the next election
• 50-100 gains: Comfortable enough in their own heartlands but only modest further progress
• Fewer than 50 gains: Fewer than 50 gains: Still struggling to pose a real threat to the Conservatives in the South
Sky News will be bringing you full coverage both on TV and online.
World
Asianmarkets bounce back after Trump pauses higher tariffs for most countries – despite increasing those on China to 125%
Asian markets have reacted positively after Donald Trump paused his so-called “reciprocal” tariffs on most of America’s trading partners for 90 days, despite the US president increasing those on China to 125%.
There have been fears of a global recession and stock markets around the world had plummeted after Mr Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs on Wednesday 2 April.
However, Japan’s Nikkei share average was up 8.2% by 3.50am BST, while the broader Topix had risen 7.5%.
Similarly, the S&P 500 stock index had jumped 9.5% and global markets bounced back following Mr Trump’s announcement on Wednesday that the increased tariffs on nearly all trading partners would now be paused.
Tariffs latest: Trump gives reasons for pausing some tariffs
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump said the “90-day pause” was for the “more than 75 countries” who had not retaliated against his tariffs “in any way”.
He added that during this period they would still have to pay a “substantially lowered” 10% tariff, which is “effective immediately”.
It is lower than the 20% tariff that Mr Trump had set for goods from the European Union, 24% on imports from Japan and 25% on products from South Korea.
The UK was already going to face a blanket 10% tariff under the new system.
Mr Trump said the increased 125% tariff on imported goods from China was “effective immediately”.
He added: “At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realise that the days of ripping off the USA, and other countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable.”
Hours after Mr Trump announced the pause on tariffs for most countries, a White House official clarified that this did not apply to the 25% duties imposed on some US imports from Mexico and Canada.
The tariffs were first announced in February and Mexico and Canada were not included in the “Liberation Day” announcements.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Donald Trump says China ‘wants to make a deal’
Hours before the 125% tariff on China was revealed, Beijing said it was increasing tariffs on US goods by 50%.
It meant tariffs of 84% would be enforced on US goods – up from the 34% China had previously planned.
Mr Trump spoke to reporters in the Oval Office. Pic: Reuters
China ‘want to make a deal’
Asked why he posted “BE COOL” on Truth Social hours before announcing his tariff pause, Mr Trump told reporters at the White House: “I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line.”
“They were getting yippy, you know, were getting a little bit yippy, a little bit afraid,” he added.
Mr Trump continued: “China wants to make a deal, they just don’t know how to go about it.
“[They’re] quite the proud people, and President Xi is a proud man. I know him very well, and they don’t know quite how to go about it, but they’ll figure it out.
“They’re in the process of figuring out, but they want to make a deal.”
Read more:
Why Trump finally blinked
Is there method to madness amid market chaos?
Who’s most likely to see pensions hurt
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the walk back was part of a grand negotiating strategy by Mr Trump.
“President Trump created maximum negotiating leverage for himself,” she said, adding that the news media “clearly failed to see what President Trump is doing here”.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also insisted Mr Trump had strengthened his hand through his tariffs.
“President Trump created maximum negotiating leverage for himself,” he said.
Listen to Sky News Daily on your podcast app 
Mr Bessent said Mr Trump decided to raise tariffs on China because Beijing hadn’t reached out to the US and instead increased its own levies on US goods.
Downing Street said that the UK will “coolly and calmly” continue its negotiations with the US.
A Number 10 spokeswoman said: “A trade war is in nobody’s interests. We don’t want any tariffs at all, so for jobs and livelihoods across the UK, we will coolly and calmly continue to negotiate in Britain’s interests.”
Along the thin strip of beach and woodland known as the Vistula Spit which marks the northernmost demarcation between Poland and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, there is not much in the way of a border.
Just some torn wire fencing and a few rotten posts which seem to stagger drunkenly into the shallows of the Baltic Sea.
Beneath a sign barring entry, we find a couple of empty bottles of Russian cognac and vodka.
It doesn’t feel like the edge of NATO territory.
This doesn’t feel like the edge of NATO territory
“I don’t see much protection. It’s not good,” says Krzysztof from Katowice, who has come to inspect the border himself.
“We have to have some kind of scare tactic, something to show that we are trying to strengthen our army,” says Grzegorz, who lives nearby.
“At the same time I think I would not base the defence of our country solely on our army. I am convinced that Europe or America, if anything were to happen, will help us 100%.”
Poland is investing massively in its defence, with military spending set to hit 4.7% of GDP in 2025, more than any other NATO country.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said he will introduce voluntary military training for men of any age, and women too should they wish, so the army has a competent reserve force in the event of war.
Border between EU and the Russian Federation
He is investing $2.5bn in stronger border fortifications between Russia and Belarus, a project called East Shield which will include anti-tank obstacles, bunkers and potentially minefields too.
Along with its Baltic neighbours, Poland is withdrawing from the Ottawa convention against the use of land mines. It hasn’t committed to using them, but it wants to have that option.
We’ve been granted access to one of the cornerstones of Polish, and European defence, which is a couple of hours drive from the Vistula spit at the Redowicze military base.
Aegis Ashore Poland
Aegis Ashore Poland, together with its sister site in Romania, are the land-based arms of NATO’s missile defence shield over Europe, which is run by the US navy.
They are symbols of the US commitment to NATO and to the protection of Europe.
The control room at Aegis Ashore Poland
And despite changes at the top of the Pentagon it is “business as usual”, says Captain Michael Dwan who oversees air and missile defence within the US Sixth Fleet.
“Our mission to work with NATO forces has been unchanged. And so our commitment from the United States perspective and what capability we bring to ballistic missile defence and the defence of NATO is championed here in Poland.”
The control room at Aegis Ashore Poland
As far as Russia is concerned, NATO’s two missile defence bases in Romania and Poland represent a NATO threat on their doorstep and are therefore a “priority target for potential neutralisation”, per Russia’s foreign ministry.
NATO says the installations are purely defensive and their SM-3 interceptor missiles are not armed and are not intended to carry warheads. Russia counters they could easily be adapted to threaten Russia.
Not the case, Captain Dwan says.
Aegis Ashore Poland
Aegis Ashore Poland
Read more from Sky News:
King and Queen meet Pope at the Vatican
British passports are about to get more expensive
“It’s not a matter of moving offensive weapons here into the facility, the hardware and the infrastructure is simply not installed.
“It would take months or years to change the mission of this site and a significant amount of money and capability and design.”
With so much marked “secret” on the site, it seems amazing to be granted the access.
But for NATO, transparency is part of deterrence. They want potential adversaries to know how sophisticated their radar and interception systems are.
They know that if they carried warheads on site, that would make them a target so they don’t.
Deterrence also depends on whether potential adversaries believe in the US’s commitment to NATO and to Europe’s defence.
On an operational level, as far as the troops are concerned, that commitment may still be iron-clad.
But as far as its commander-in-chief goes, there is still – as with so much around Donald Trump’s presidency – a great deal of uncertainty.
In the Oval Office on Wednesday afternoon President Trump suggested he might bundle a potential US troop drawdown in Europe together with the issue of EU trade and tariffs.
“Nice to wrap it up in one package,” he said, “it’s nice and clean”.
Probably not the way Europe sees it, not with a resurgent Russia on their doorstep, economic tailwinds breeding animosity and the notion of Pax Americana crumbling at their feet.
The defence secretary will urge “coalition of the willing” nations to increase pressure on Russia to end its war in Ukraine as plans to support peace ramp up.
John Healey and French defence minister Sebastien Lecornu will lead about 30 defence ministers in Brussels on Thursday as they discuss operational plans for a multinational peacekeeping force in Ukraine as part of the “coalition of the willing”.
They will look at each nation’s capabilities and how they could be best used to support Ukraine’s long-term defence and security as part of what the Ministry of Defence called a “reassurance force”.
UK and French military chiefs discussed planning with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his military chiefs in Kyiv last weekend.
Peace negotiations are ongoing between the US and Russia, however, US officials appear to be growing increasingly impatient with the lack of progress after Donald Trump publicly suggested a month ago Vladimir Putin wants to end the war.
Read more: Who’s in and who’s out of the coalition of the willing?
Leaders of nations part of the coalition of the willing at a summit in Paris on 27 March. Pic: AP
Last Tuesday, the Kremlin described the latest US peace proposal as unacceptable in its current form because it does not solve the “root causes” of the conflict.
Mr Putin wants to dismantle Ukraine as an independent, functioning state and has demanded Kyiv recognise Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and other partly occupied areas and pull its forces out, as well as a pledge for Ukraine to never join NATO and to demilitarise.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday Mr Trump is not “going to fall into the trap of endless negotiations” with Moscow.
Read more:
Two Chinese citizens ‘fighting for Russia’ captured in Ukraine
Zelenskyy makes dig at US over response to Russian attack
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Children killed in Russian missile strike
Despite the apparent impasse in talks, the coalition of the willing – which does not include the US – is continuing with its plans for when peace is agreed.
Mr Healey is expected to tell his fellow defence ministers: “We cannot jeopardise the peace by forgetting about the war, so we must put even more pressure on Putin and step up our support for Ukraine – both in today’s fight and the push for peace.
“Our commitment is to put Ukraine in the strongest position to protect Ukraine’s sovereignty and deter future Russian aggression.”
On Friday, the defence secretary and his German counterpart, Boris Pistorius, will chair the 27th meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group at NATO’s headquarters in Brussels.
The group is an alliance of about 50 countries – all 32 NATO member states, including the US, and about 20 other countries – that has been supporting Ukraine by sending military equipment since Russia invaded in April 2022.
A Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting – including the US defence secretary – in March. Pic: AP
Mr Healey and Mr Pistorius will “drive forward additional military support” as Russia continues to attack Ukraine.
The latest development in the war has seen Mr Zelenskyy say Ukraine has intelligence there are at least 155 Chinese citizens fighting for the Russian military.
On Tuesday, Mr Zelenskyy released a video of a Chinese soldier taken by Ukrainian forces, with another captured by Ukrainian forces, he said.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian denied claims there were “many more” Chinese citizens fighting alongside Russians in Ukraine.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway