Local elections: Labour hold early North and Midlands councils to declare

Labour has held control of the first string of Labour-run councils to declare their results in the North and Midlands, a few hours after polls closed in England’s local elections.

Among the first Labour holds were across the North in Sunderland, the first to declare, as well as Chorley, Halton, South Tyneside, Newcastle, Salford and Sefton, according to both the BBC and Election Maps UK.

The next string of councils Labour retained in the early hours of Friday included Lincoln, Sandwell and Coventry in the Midlands. The party has also held Exeter, Ipswich and Stevenage in the South.

Asked about several Conservative councils held so far, Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting told the BBC Labour’s approach had been “ruthlessly targeted” in these election at key councils.

Political scientist Jonathan Curtice told the BBC that Labour had made “considerable progress” in key wards declared so far nationally, but there had not been a “dramatic swing”. He also said the Greens had not done as well as in 2019 so far.

He said early results indicated the Conservatives “cannot be sure that they won’t end up losing 1000 seats”, and that their expectation management may not have worked as planned. Party figures have repeatedly highlighted one forecast of such losses in the run-up to polling day, which was widely seen to suggest they expected actual losses to be notably less.

According to the Local Government Information Unit (LGiU), a total of 230 councils in England have elections this year, alongside four mayors in Bedford, Leicester, Mansfield and Middlesbrough. Elections are taking place in every region of England apart from London.

Some 130 councils are electing the whole council, with the majority of these seats last up for grabs in 2019. The remaining 100 councils are electing a third of their councillors this time round.