Voting has begun in local elections in England, where the Conservatives are braced for heavy losses that could destabilise Rishi Sunak’s premiership.
The elections, which cover more than 2,600 seats across 107 English councils, are seen as a key test of whether the Conservative Party is as unpopular with voters as the polls suggest.
Keir Starmer said in a statement on Wednesday (1) night that people had “a chance to vote for that change, and pass a verdict on 14 years of decline”.
“A vote for Labour is for a plan to tilt our economy back towards the interests of working people and restore a sense of service to our politics,” the Party’s leader said. Ten metro Mayoralties including London are being contested, as are 37 Police and Crime Commissioners in England and Wales.
There is also a parliamentary by-election in Blackpool South, whose former Tory MP Scott Benton resigned after being found guilty of breaching standards rules in a lobbying scandal. Labour said it was hopeful of taking back the seat, which Benton won with a majority of 3,690 in 2019.
This set of LC seats was last contested in May 2021, when the Conservatives under Boris Johnson were at a high point after the UK’s Covid vaccine rollout, and the Party enjoyed its strongest performance since 2008. Speaking to Sky News in Harlow on Wednesday (1) afternoon, Starmer said he had considered resigning as Psephologists have predicted that the Conservatives could lose 500 LC seats – about half of those the Party is defending this time around. Among the most closely watched contests will be the West Midlands and Tees Valley, where Labour hopes to unseat Street and Houchen.
– The Guardian
