Local elections results 2024 live: Labour win Blackpool South as Tories set for ‘catastrophic’ 500-seat loss

Counting is under way in the 107 councils in England that held elections on Thursday, with the first results declared overnight and more to come later on Friday.

Early results for the police & crime commissioner elections across England and Wales have also been declared, while results are due on Friday afternoon for the mayors in the East Midlands, North East, Tees Valley and York & North Yorkshire.

There was also a byelection in Blackpool South – which saw Labour take the seat from the Conservatives with 58.9 per cent of the vote share.

Labour’s candidate Chris Webb received 10,825 votes, with the Tories trailing far behind with just 3,218 and Reform behind with just 3,218.

Here are some of the key results so far:

The Labour Party won control of the council for the first time since 2019 thanks to a net gain of seven seats, while the Tories lost six.

While Labour did make progress in Harlow in Thursday’s council elections, it fell short of an overall majority by the narrowest of margins, ending up with 16 seats, just one behind the Tories on 17.

The party gained seven seats and a majority on Rushmoor council, an area that includes the army town of Aldershot, while the Tories lost eight seats and overall control.

Labour will be pleased with its performance in the Worcestershire council of Redditch – another important battleground at the general election – where the party picked up nine seats and overall control, while the Conservatives saw their tally drop by 11.

It was a less cheery picture for Labour in South Tyneside, where the party suffered a net loss of 10 seats. Independent candidates gained nine seats and the Greens gained two, while the Tories lost their only councillor.

Labour still has a majority here, but only just: the new council will have 28 Labour councillors, 15 Independents and 11 Greens.

The Reform Party had a full or near-full slate of candidates in only a handful of councils holding elections this year and Sunderland was one of a few places where it fought every seat.

While the party did not win any of them, it did beat the Conservatives into third place in 16 of the 25 seats up for grabs while Labour made a net gain of six to increase its comfortable majority.

This Essex council was another one of Labour’s top targets in a key Conservative-Labour election battleground.

The party needed to gain six seats to take control of Thurrock, which has been run by the Tories for the past few years during a period of turbulence that saw the council declared effectively bankrupt in December 2022.

Labour ended up making a net gain of eight seats, enough for a clear majority, with Independents picking up two and the Tories suffering a net loss of 10.

Labour has held Southampton City Council.

Good morning. So far, 35 out of 107 councils have declared results.

Labour has won 3 councils, with an increase of 52 councillors overall.

The Conservatives have lost 3 councils and 121 councillors across the country.

A leading politics professor has said this year’s local elections could be the worst Conservative performance in nearly 40 years.

Professor John Curtice, of the University of Strathclyde, told the BBC: “I think we’re probably looking at one of the worst if not the worst Conservative performances in local government elections in the last 40 years.

“There’s much more to come, but I think we have to conclude that the message from the polls is the Conservative party has not been making significant progress.”

Labour has lost control of Oldham after losing seats to Independents.

With two seats still to declare, the party was unable to reach the threshold of 31 for a majority on the council.

Portsmouth remains under no overall control, with the Liberal Democrats still the biggest party.

Labour has taken to social media to mock the Tories over the crushing defeats Rishi Sunak has faced in a series of recent by-elections.

It pointed to four 20-plus point swings to Labour from the Conservatives in Blackpool South last night, Wellingborough, Tamworth, and Selby and Ainsty.

Alongside a picture of a miniature Mr Sunak standing on a swing, it said: “This is a a big swing.”

But, posting the results of the four by-elections, it added: “These were bigger.”

A Lib Dem source said: “We are buoyed by our gains overnight that set us up to take seats off the Conservatives at the next election.

“We have made new inroads in true blue councils in Hampshire including in Suella Braverman’s backyard, gained ground in Stockport and topped the popular vote in battleground constituencies across the country.

“This is just a taster of what is to come throughout Friday in the Blue Wall.”