Labour has taken control of Westminster, Wandsworth and Barnet LBCs, in an election night that has hit the Conservatives hard.
With some councils still to declare, the Conservatives were down ten councils and 339 seats in England. Labour had gained five councils and 53 seats, while the Liberal Democrats’ 190 additional seats only won them an extra three councils.The Greens also had a good night, with an additional 58 seats, but that failed to turn any councils in their favour.
Despite a strong performance for Labour in London when it last went to the polls, the capital turned even more red this time round taking flagship borough Wandsworth, which has been in Conservative hands since 1978, and Westminster which has been Conservative since the London boroughs were created in 1965.
Labour won in Southampton from the Conservatives, and took control of the new Cumberland Council, created following reorganisation in Cumbria. The night also saw Kirklees MBC, and Crawley, Rossendale and Worthing BCs turn red from the previous no overall control.
The Liberal Democrat have snatched Kingston-upon-Hull City Council from Labour, and have gained the most seats. They won Gosport and Woking BCs from the Conservatives and NoC respectively.
And the party triumphed in the new unitaries of Somerset Council and Westmoreland and Furness Council in the other half of Cumbria.
In the final reorganization story, the new North Yorkshire Council maintained the Conservative control of its predecessor county council, while Harrow also turned to blue from red, bucking the trend in London.
Chief executive of the Local Government Information Unit, Dr Jonathan Carr-West, claimed the London result had ‘huge symbolic value’ for the Conservatives.
He said: ‘Over the last decade, we have seen an increasing polarisation with the Labour vote concentrated in large cities and university towns and Conservative support spread across the rest of the country. In that respect, Conservative losses in Southampton or West Oxfordshire might be more telling indicators.’
But he warned: ‘These are elections for the councils that run places, not just opinion polls on central government.’
With Conservative losses split between the other parties, he said: ‘A bad night for the Conservatives is not yet translating into a great night for anyone else.’
Labour wins:
From Cons: Barnet LBC, Southampton City Council, Wandsworth LBC, Westminster LBC
From NOC: Crawley BC, Kirklees MBC, Rossendale BC, Worthing BC
New Unitary: Cumberland Council
Liberal Democrat wins:
From Cons: Gosport BC
From Lab: Kingston-upon-Hull City Council
From NOC: Woking BC
New Unitary: Somerset Council, Westmoreland and Furness Council
Conservative wins:
From Lab: Harrow LBC
New unitary: North Yorkshire Council
No Overall Control:
From Cons: Castle Point BC, Huntingdonshire, Maidstone BC, West Oxfordshire DC, Wokingham BC, Worcester City Council
From Lab: Croydon LBC, Hastings BC
For more on the local elections see:
Labour overtake Tories in Scotland
Conservatives lose their lone Welsh council
Former mayor takes Tower Hamlets after elections ban
Croydon elects Conservative mayor
Bristol votes to abolish elected mayor