Conservatives suffer worst local election results in years – with London and West Midlands mayoral votes still to come

Published

1 month ago

May 4, 2024

admin

The Conservative Party has suffered its worst electoral defeat in years, losing more than half of its councillors who stood for re-election across England.

Labour hailed a “truly historic” result in Rishi Sunak’s own backyard of York and North Yorkshire, where David Skaith smashed Tory Keane Duncan by almost 15,000 votes.

The region, which was electing a mayor for the first time, covers Mr Sunak’s Richmond constituency and is an area Labour has historically struggled to compete in.

Follow live:
The results as they come in

Speaking at Northallerton Town Football Club, Sir Keir Starmer said: “We’ve had a positive campaign here, and I am very, very proud to stand here as leader of the Labour Party to celebrate this historic victory.

“And it is a historic victory – these are places where we would not have usually had a Labour Party success but we’ve been able to create that success and persuade people to vote for us.”

Sir Keir also renewed his demand that the prime minister call a general election.

The party also had successes in the North East and East Midlands mayoral votes and in the Blackpool by-election.

There was a sliver of hope for the government, with Lord Ben Houtchen holding on to his role as the mayor of Tees Valley.

Analysis: Labour’s future success is less clear-cut after the local elections

Appearing alongside Lord Houchen at a victory rally, Rishi Sunak said: “I’ve got a message for the Labour Party too because they know that they have to win here in order to win a general election – they know that.

“They assumed that Tees Valley would stroll back to them – but it didn’t.”

This victory is likely to have quelled talk of rebellion among disenchanted Tory MPs who had threatened to oust the prime minister if the results proved a disaster, but it remains to be seen whether the Tories can hold on to the West Midlands mayoralty.

Of the 107 councils that held elections on Thursday, 102 have declared their full results, with the Conservatives losing more than half of the seats it has been defending so far.

Some 468 Tory councillors lost their seats as the party lost control of 12 councils.

Sky’s election coverage plan – how to follow

The weekend: Sophy Ridge will host another special edition of the Politics Hub on Saturday from 7pm until 9pm. And Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips will take a look back over what’s happened from 8.30am until 10am.

How do I watch?: Freeview 233, Sky 501, Virgin 603, BT 313, YouTube and the Sky News website and app. You can also watch Sky News live here, and on YouTube.

The Electoral Dysfunction podcast with Beth Rigby, Jess Phillips and Ruth Davidsonis out now, and Politics at Jack and Sam’s will navigate the big question of where the results leave us ahead of a general election on Sunday.

You can also follow the latest on our politics page

Labour won control of eight councils as it gained 173 seats, while the Liberal Democrats gained 100 seats, the Greens 67, and Reform UK picked up two.

However, Labour suffered setbacks in Oldham and Kirklees, where it lost control of the councils after victories for independent candidates opposing its stance on Gaza.

Sky News elections analyst Professor Michael Thrasher says although the results are bad news for the Tories, they do not put Labour on course for an overall majority in the Commons in a general election.

Further results are expected over the weekend, including key mayoral contests in London and the West Midlands.

Labour’s Sadiq Khan is attempting to secure re-election in London, while Conservative Andy Street is defending his position in the West Midlands.

Rumours had swirled in London since the polls closed that Mr Khan could have suffered a shock defeat to Conservative Susan Hall, however Sky News understands both parties now believe the incumbent will remain in City Hall.

The results of those elections are expected to arrive at 10pm in London and 2.15pm in the West Midlands.

Other results still to be announced include council elections in the South and West of England where the Liberal Democrats and Greens hope to make progress.

There are also metro mayoral elections yet to declare a winner in Greater Manchester, Liverpool City, North Tyneside, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire.

UK

Beaming Kate returns to royal events at Trooping the Colour – her first public appearance since cancer diagnosis

Published

9 hours ago

June 15, 2024

admin

Beaming Kate returns to royal events at Trooping the Colour - her first public appearance since cancer diagnosis

The Princess of Wales joined the Royal Family on the balcony of Buckingham Palace for the Trooping the Colour flypast – after making her first public appearance since the announcement of her cancer diagnosis.

Kate, 42, wearing a pale outfit, was earlier pictured arriving at Buckingham Palace in a car sat alongside her children and her husband the Prince of Wales ahead of the event to celebrate the King’s official birthday.

The princess, who has been receiving treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer since late February, and her three children Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, were cheered by crowds along The Mall as they left the palace in a carriage for the ceremony.

Follow live: Trooping the Colour latest

The future queen looked relaxed as she travelled along one of London’s most famous thoroughfares with her family in a carriage.

She could be seen smiling and talking to her children in the carriage before they arrived at Horse Guards Parade in Whitehall.

William rode on horseback for the procession, alongside the Princess Royal, and the Duke of Edinburgh.

The King, who is also undergoing cancer treatment, rode in a carriage with the Queen, a departure from last year because of his illness, and inspected the officers and guardsmen from the coach rather than from a horse.

When the royal carriages finally came to a stop, Louis was the first to leave, followed by his elder brother George, and sister Charlotte.

Finally, Kate stepped down wearing a Jenny Packham dress, hat by Philip Treacy, and the Irish Guards Regimental Brooch, as she is the regiment’s colonel.

In another change from last year, Kate did not join senior family members on a dais, but watched the military spectacle – also known as the Birthday Parade – from a balcony in the Duke of Wellington’s former office with her children.

Prince Louis, six, at one point seemed to be distracted by a blind cord and was seen yawning while watching the parade before dancing along during the quick march of the Scots Guards to Highland Laddie.

Heavy rain began to fall as the royal procession made its way back to Buckingham Palace but the King and Queen, as well as Kate and her children, were protected from the downpour in their covered carriage.

Princess Charlotte, nine, smiled and waved enthusiastically to the crowds who braved the weather, while her brothers also smiled and waved to the sea of umbrellas along The Mall.

A 41-gun salute was then fired by the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery in nearby Green Park before Kate and her family joined the King and Queen, as well as other royals, on the Buckingham Palace balcony to watch the RAF flypast.

They smiled and waved to the cheering crowds before standing proudly as the national anthem was played, with the flypast ending with the Red Arrows trailing their trademark red, white and blue colours.

Ahead of the event, Kate said: “I’m looking forward to attending the King’s Birthday Parade this weekend with my family and hope to join a few public engagements over the summer, but equally knowing I am not out of the woods yet.

“I am learning how to be patient, especially with uncertainty.

“Taking each day as it comes, listening to my body, and allowing myself to take this much needed time to heal.”

Her appearance was in doubt after she missed the final Trooping rehearsal last weekend.

This is Kate’s first official outing of 2024 after she missed engagements at the start of the year when she was admitted to hospital for abdominal treatment.

At the time her condition was thought to be non-cancerous, but tests after the successful operation found the disease, and Kate disclosed the diagnosis in March.

A time frame has not yet been set for Kate’s return to a full schedule of public engagements.

UK

General election: Voters annoyed at government’s broken promises, admits minister

Published

9 hours ago

June 15, 2024

admin

General election: Voters annoyed at government's broken promises, admits minister

People are “really annoyed” the government has not always kept its promises, a Tory minister has said as he acknowledged the election was “tough” after 14 years in power.

Speaking to Sky News Johnny Mercer admitted the campaign had been “up and down”, but insisted the polls showing the party lagging behind were not reflected on the doorstep.

He warned voters against giving Labour “unchecked power” by backing Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, after a poll put his party one percentage point above the Conservatives.

It comes after a survey by YouGov for The Times put Reform UK at 19%, compared to the Conservatives at 18%.

Latest general election updates

The veterans minister and former army officer, who is battling to be re-elected to the Devon seat of Plymouth Moor View, also disputed the findings of an IPSOS survey that indicated six in 10 people would accept higher taxes if it meant more money for the NHS.

He made his comments as Rishi Sunak remained away from the campaign trail for another day after attending the G7 summit in Italy.

The prime minister was also due to attend the Trooping the Colour ceremony to celebrate the official birthday of the King before jetting off again to attend a Ukraine Peace summit in Switzerland.

Mr Mercer told Sky News: “I’ve never found six out of ten people on the doors who want to pay more in tax in Plymouth.

“I respect all these surveys. I respect all the polls. There’s one poll that matters on 4 July.

“I don’t find six out of 10 people want to pay more tax. I find they want to bring their taxes down.

“They want better public services. They understand the challenge in the NHS.

“They also understand it’s got record funding and record numbers of doctors and nurses. But we’re up against a huge rise in demand, particularly under the pandemic, which is really, really difficult.”

He added: “Of course, people are annoyed. People are really annoyed that we’ve made promises and that we haven’t always met them.

“I think we’ve got a job of work to get over how hard the prime minister works on this, how difficult government is.

“But, no, I think people want to pay less tax. You have a clear choice in this election now, haven’t you.

“You have got the Conservatives clearly saying we’re going to reduce and continue to reduce tax… and a Labour government coming in, who is clearly going to raise taxes.”

Mr Mercer went on: “This election is tough, right? And it was always going to be tough after 14 years in power, and clearly the campaign’s been up and down as well.”

But insisting the Tories had a “bold plan”, he warned: “If you vote for Reform, you’re going to get a Labour government, you’ll get unchecked power from a Labour government to come in and change the face of this country into something that I don’t believe it is, I don’t think it is a left-wing country.”

👉 Click here to follow Electoral Dysfunction wherever you get your podcasts 👈

Mr Mercer rejected the Tory brand was “toxic” as he defended the absence of Conservative branding in his election literature.

He said: “Anyone looking at those leaflets can see that I’m in the Conservative Party and everybody has always known I’m in the Conservative Party.”

He added: “It’s blue… It’s got me on there talking about my record in government. So which part of it is not clear that I’m in the Conservative Party?

“I think it does say on the back who I’m campaigning for. “

Meanwhile, Labour’s shadow work and pensions secretary Liz Kendall defended her party’s claim NHS waiting lists could rise to 10 million despite a thinktank saying it was “highly unlikely”.

Responding to the Institute for Fiscal Studies’ criticism, Ms Kendall told Sky News: “We’re saying that if there’s another five years of the Conservatives, you could see 10 million people waiting in pain or feeling they have to try and pay to go private to deal with their problem.”

She said it was a “reasonable assumption” that was based on what had already happened under the Conservatives and “if the trend continues in the future, as it has done in the past, that’s what we’re likely to see”.

The Tories have dismissed the Labour attack as “scaremongering”.

Elsewhere, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey is on the campaign trail in Surrey as he continues his party’s efforts to chip away at the “blue wall”, a collection of typically safe Conservative seats in southern England.

Other candidates in Plymouth Moor View are:

Shaun Hooper, Reform UK
Sarah Martin, Liberal Democrat
Georgia Nelson, Greens
Fred Thomas, Labour

UK

Beaming Kate returns to royal events at Trooping the Colour – her first public appearance since cancer diagnosis

Published

12 hours ago