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The Conservatives have lost control of seven councils overnight, while Labour have gained three in early local election results.

As dawn broke, Sir Keir Starmer’s party took Medway Council in Kent from Rishi Sunak’s, while the Liberal Democrats took Windsor and Maidenhead – former Prime Minister Theresa May’s constituency.

Overnight, Labour also won Plymouth and Stoke-on-Trent from no overall control, while the Tories lost Tamworth, Brentwood, North West Leicestershire, Hertsmere and East Lindsey to no overall control.

Labour – which also won the race for mayor of Middlesbrough – were performing best when it came to seat gains, clocking up over 90 so far, compared with the Conservatives, which have lost more than 140.

But all eyes are on the next few hours when more local authorities could change hands.

Politics live: Follow results in big test for Sunak and Starmer

Voters went to the polls on Thursday to decide who runs services in 230 (out of 317) local authorities across England, with around 8,000 councillors’ seats up for grabs.

Mayors are also being chosen in Bedford, Leicester and Mansfield in what is the biggest round of local elections since 2019.

It’s also the largest test of public opinion this side of the next general election, and Labour’s chance to capitalise on national polls suggesting it is on course to form the next government.

Labour MP and national campaign co-ordinator Shabana Mahmood said the results so far showed her party was “on course” to win a majority at the next election, adding: “We have spent the whole campaign talking about Labour’s plan to tackle the Tory cost of living crisis which is the number one issue for voters.

“Rishi Sunak can’t talk about it because the Tories crashed the economy and they don’t know how to fix it. Tonight has been a disaster for Rishi Sunak as voters punish him for the Tories’ failure.”

A Tory spokesman said it was “always disappointing to lose hardworking local Conservative councillors”.

They added: “We expected it would be a tough night for the party [but] there are still many more results to come with just 25% of seats declaring overnight. There is a long way to go yet.”

Read more: See full elections results as they come in

And it is still early hours at the counts, with only 54 councils having declared.

But Labour has shown sound gains when it comes to both seats and vote share in numerous areas, including Thurrock, Rushmoor and Redditch.

The majority of the councils which have confirmed their results so far only had a third of their seats on the ballot, meaning few authorities have changed hands.

The coming hours will see more councils with all their seats up for grabs – such as the areas that have seen major upsets so far – so a clearer idea of the parties’ performances is yet to emerge.

The next three hours will be critical


Sam Coates

Sam Coates

Deputy political editor

@SamCoatesSky

The numbers overnight have seen a solid result for Labour.

They have got some high profile wins and they are starting to put on a decent number of seats.

They are also making strong progress in the south and in the north – so they are pretty content with what they’ve seen so far.

The Conservatives, however, are clearly slipping backwards.

It is a bit early to say it is a poor showing, or if it is something considerably worse.

But the next three hours will be critical.

At the moment, the Conservative Party is losing about one in three seats, and if that trend continues, we could be heading towards the 1,000 seat losses some ministers were warning about.

Tory MP and government minister Johnny Mercer, who represents Plymouth, called it “a terrible night” in his constituency as “we lost every seat we stood in”.

He added: “Take it on the chin, learn and go again tomorrow. It’s going to be a fight but I like a fight.”

Meanwhile, Baroness Anderson – a former Labour MP for Stoke-on-Trent – said the win in her area meant “everything” to the party.

She told Sky News: “It means that people are willing to listen to us again… I think it means they have forgiven us for having Jeremy Corbyn as leader… and candidly it means they are rejecting the policies of the Conservative Party, which is doing so little for them.”

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Tory MP: ‘Some dissatisfaction’ with govt

Elsewhere, the Liberal Democrats are showing early seat gains – currently up by 36.

Party leader Sir Ed Davey called it “a ground-breaking night” for the Lib Dems, and they had “delivered a hammer blow” to the so-called “Blue Wall” of Tory seats.

He added: “The message from voters is clear: they are sick to the back teeth of Rishi Sunak and his out-of-touch Conservative government.”

The Green Party is also currently up by 13 seats.

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?

Sixty-two councils expect a result from midnight through to the morning.

More than half the 230 councils file their results in mid to late afternoon, while around 30 are expected to declare their results this evening.

There are no local elections in Scotland or Wales, but voters in Northern Ireland will be able to have their say on 18 May, with 462 seats across 11 local councils up for grabs.

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Vote counting begins as polls close in England

This set of local elections was also the first time voters had to bring ID with them in order to cast their ballot.

After voting ended, the Electoral Commission said “overall, the elections were well run”, but it would begin a fuller analysis to discover the impact.

Its spokesperson said the ID requirement “posed a greater challenge for some groups in society” and “some people were regrettably unable to vote today as a result” of the change.

Labour also raised concerns about the new law, with shadow health secretary Wes Streeting telling Sky News: “One eligible voter turned away and disenfranchised is one too many.”

But Tory minister Chris Heaton-Harris called the voter ID requirement a “thoroughly good thing” as it “means that you can be completely sure that your elections are well tested and safe”.

Rishi Sunak visits a community group at the Chiltern leisure centre in Amersham
Pic:AP
Image:
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is looking at a tough night for the Tories. Pic: AP

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:

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.

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Palestinian man forced to abandon loved ones trapped beneath rubble after IDF warning

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Palestinian man forced to abandon loved ones trapped beneath rubble after IDF warning

It was in the evening that the bombing started to intensify.

Salah Jundia, his father and brothers huddled together in their home in Shujaiyya, just east of Gaza City, trying to work out what to do.

It was too risky for them to leave at night. There were a lot of them too. Extended family living across four storeys. They decided they would wait until after dawn prayers.

The explosion tore through the building just before 5am, collapsing one storey on to the next.

The remains of where the family lived - where loved ones were trapped beneath the rubble
Image:
The remains of Salah Jundia’s home in Shujaiyya, just east of Gaza City

Salah Jundia
Image:
Salah Jundia

Jundia says he survived because pieces of bedroom furniture fell on top of him.

Then he looked for his father and brothers.

“I found one of them calling for help. I removed the rubble covering him with my hands. Then I saw another brother covered in rubble but he was dead,” he told Sky News.

Jundia added: “My father was also dead. My other brother was also dead. We got them out and that is when I saw that the whole building had collapsed.”

Over the next few hours, they scrambled to rescue who they could.

One of the child victims of the attack on the home in Gaza City
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One of the child victims of the attack on the home near the Gaza City

One of the child victims of the attack
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Another one of child victims of the attack

An aunt and uncle and one of their children, Shaimaa. Uncle Imad and his son Mohammad. The bodies of Montasir and Mustaf.

Jundia says he could hear cries for help, but they were coming from deep in the rubble and were impossible to reach.

The rescue teams on site – civil defence they are called – did not have the kit to clear through three floors of 500 square metres, 30cm slabs of concrete.

Palestinians drilling to try and reach the people trapped below the rubble
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Rescuers drilling to try and reach the people trapped below the rubble

Efforts to free those trapped beneath the rubble in Gaza City
Image:
Efforts to free those trapped beneath the rubble near the Gaza City

In the afternoon, Jundia says Israel’s Defence Forces (IDF) told rescue teams to leave as they would be resuming their bombardment.

Jundia buried the bodies he had managed to pull out but he knew 15 of his family members, 12 of them children, were still somewhere inside the rubble, still crying for help.

He made a desperate video appeal, begging the Red Cross and Arab countries to pressure Israel to grant access to the site. It was picked up on a few social media accounts.

Israel won’t allow heavy equipment into Gaza. No diggers or bulldozers, nor the fuel or generators to run them.

They say it will fall into Hamas’s hands.

It was a major sticking point during the ceasefire and it is a major issue now as the bombardment continues, given the fact that hundreds if not thousands of civilians might survive if there were the equipment to extract them.

Members of Salah Jundia's family left alive after the attack
Image:
Members of Salah Jundia’s family left alive after the attack

Salah Jundia and his family
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Salah Jundia and his surviving family

Civil defence trying to get to the Jundia family home over the next few days were halted because the IDF were in the vicinity. A family friend tried himself and was killed.

The footage that our camera teams have shot in Shujaiyya over the past two weeks shows how civil defence teams struggle to save those who are trapped and injured with the most rudimentary of equipment – plastering trowels, sledgehammers, ropes and small drills.

“The tight siege stops civil defence equipment from getting in,” says one.

They added: “So we are taking much longer to respond to these events. Time is a factor in getting these people out. So we call immediately for the necessary equipment to be allowed in for the civil defence to use.”

The IDF say they are investigating the circumstances around the Jundia family as a result of our enquiries.

In relation to the access of heavy equipment into Gaza, they say they work closely with international aid organisations to enable the delivery of humanitarian activities in accordance with international law.

The last contact Jundia had from beneath the rubble was a phone call from his uncle Ziad, three days after the strike.

“The line was open for 25 seconds then it went dead. We don’t know what happened. We tried to call, but there was no answer,” he says.

He and his family were displaced several times before they returned home to Shujaiyya – to Rafah in the south, then Khan Younis and Deir al-Balah.

Along the way, Jundia lost one brother and a nephew to Israeli bombs.

Read more:
Israeli air strike hits Gaza hospital
Red dye dumped into US embassy in Israel protest
Israel shot at ambulances over ‘perceived threat’

“We were happy and all the family came back. We went back to our house. It was damaged, but we improvised and we lived in it. We have nothing to do with the resistance. We are not interested in wars. But we have been gravely harmed,” he says.

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What does Sudan execution video tell us?

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What does Sudan execution video tell us?

On 11 April, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its affiliates attacked Zamzam camp in North Darfur.

The RSF is a paramilitary organisation comprised of militias that used to be be aligned with Sudan’s government.

For exactly two years it has been been locked in a civil war with the government’s Sudan Armed Forces (SAF). Both sides have been accused of human rights abuses over the course of the conflict.

After the capture of Zamzam, the RSF claimed in a statement released on Telegram that the camp was being used as a barracks, accusing the SAF of using civilians as “human shields”.

It further claimed, “the Rapid Support Forces were able to secure civilians during the liberation operation and prevent them from being harmed”.

Satellite imagery and footage from the ground paints a darker picture, showing the execution of an unarmed man and widespread fires within the camp at the time of its capture.

Zamzam sits just to the south of Al Fashir, North Darfur’s capital city, which has been a key target of the RSF in recent months.

More on Sudan

Filming of an execution

Shortly after the RSF attack began on 11 April, a video began circulating on social media. It shows a group of gunmen standing over two unarmed men and a child.

One of the men squats in front of a gunman holding an assault rifle. The gunman shoots him at close range, killing him.

The child, less than a meter away, lies face down with his hands covering the back of his head.

A fighter films himself at the execution of an unarmed man.
Image:
A fighter films himself while another executes an unarmed man.

While the footage does not contain much contextual information, the person filming turns the camera to his face before showing a close-up view of the dead body behind him.

Sky News has geolocated a second video showing the same man, wearing the same clothing and equipment, at another location within the camp at the time of its capture.

The footage shows the fighter with a group of gunmen celebrating as they enter a compound in the south of the camp.

Gunfire can be heard, and smoke rises from nearby as the group cheer.

An RSF patch is visible on a fighter filmed by the man present at the execution.
Image:
An RSF patch is visible on a fighter filmed by the man present at the execution.

At one point, a uniformed fighter wearing an RSF patch can be seen, confirming that at least this individual is affiliated with the organisation.

Both videos appear to have been filmed within a short timeframe.

The fighter seen in both videos is wearing the same head covering, clothing and tactical gear. The pattern on his head covering is oriented identically in both, suggesting it has not been removed in the time between filming.

A fighter filmed at two seperate locations wearing the same head covering, clothing and tactical gear.
Image:
A fighter filmed at two seperate locations wearing the same head covering, clothing and tactical gear.

Widespread fires

Available footage and satellite images show the RSF’s capture of Zamzam was closely followed by fires being lit across the camp.

In one video, a man in an RSF uniform can be seen driving on the camp’s main road while thick smoke rises from nearby fires.

Data from FIRMS, a NASA project that uses satellite data to detect thermal anomalies, provides a wider view.

Following the arrival of the RSF on 11 April, fires were detected across the south and east of the camp.

FIRMS data showing thermal anomalies indicating fires following the RSF capture of Zamzam.
Image:
FIRMS data showing thermal anomalies indicating fires following the RSF capture of Zamzam.

More fires were detected in the east and south on 12 April, with areas in the north of the camp being affected on the 13 April.

Satellite imagery showing buildings on fire in Zamzam. Pic: Maxar.
Image:
Satellite imagery showing buildings on fire in Zamzam. Pic: Maxar.

Satellite images form Maxar confirm buildings burned across the south of the camp on April 11, close to where fighters were seen.

On Tuesday, the African Union and European government’s including the UK called for an immediate cessation of the hostilities in which tens of thousands of people have been killed in the last two years.

The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open-source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.

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Ukrainian forces ‘strike Russian brigade’ behind deadly missile attack on Sumy

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Ukrainian forces 'strike Russian brigade' behind deadly missile attack on Sumy

Ukraine’s military says it has struck the base of the Russian missile brigade behind Sunday’s devastating attack on Sumy.

A Russian assault on the city killed 35 people and injured at least 119. Children were among the dead and wounded.

The Ukrainian military has now said it has struck a base of “the 448th missile brigade of the Russian occupiers”.

In a statement on messaging app Telegram, it said the base was “hit [and] a secondary detonation of ammunition was recorded”.

“The results of the strike are being clarified,” it added.

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Aftermath of deadly Russian strike

Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously shared videos of the aftermath of Russia’s Palm Sunday attack, showing dead bodies in the middle of a street in Sumy.

The Ukrainian president said “only scoundrels can act like this” and called for “tough reaction from the world” in posts on social media.

Pic: Reuters
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The assault killed 35 people. Pic: Reuters

Meanwhile, Ukraine‘s foreign ministry said one of the children injured was a baby girl born this year, adding “even newborns are targets for Russia’s crimes”.

NATO on Tuesday reaffirmed its “unwavering” support for Ukraine as the alliance’s secretary-general visited the country.

As he met with Mr Zelenskyy at a hospital in Odesa, Mark Rutte said: “I’m here today because I believe Ukraine’s people deserve real peace, real safety and security in their country, in their homes.”

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attend a meeting, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Odesa, Ukraine April 15, 2025. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY.
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NATO’s Mark Rutte with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Odesa, Ukraine. Pic: Reuters

Mr Rutte also said he and Mr Zelenskyy had discussed the Trump administration’s peace talks with both Russia and Ukraine.

“These discussions are not easy – not least in the wake of this horrific violence – but we all support President Trump’s push for peace,” he said.

Read more:
Russia jails four journalists
Trump blames Zelenskyy for war

His comment came after Mr Trump accused Ukraine of starting the war with Russia.

Rebutting this, Mr Rutte added: “Russia is the aggressor, Russia started this war. There’s no doubt.”

It also follows Russian and Ukrainian diplomats accusing each other of violating a tentative US-brokered deal to pause strikes on energy infrastructure.

“The Ukrainians have been attacking us from the very beginning, every passing day, maybe with two or three exceptions,” Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, said, adding that Moscow would provide a list of Kyiv’s attacks from the past three weeks.

Andrii Sybiha, his Ukrainian counterpart, dismissed the claim saying on Saturday that Russia launched “almost 70 missiles, over 2,200 [exploding] drones, and over 6,000 guided aerial bombs at Ukraine, mostly at civilians” since agreeing to the limited pause on strikes.

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