VOTE counting is underway in many parts of England after today’s local elections, with Rishi Sunak bracing himself for humbling results amid the worsening cost-of-living crisis.
The Tory Prime Minister predicted a “hard night” for his party before the polls closed at 10pm, but optimistically predicted that the Conservatives are now moving away from “box-set drama” politics.
The vote, which will decide 8,000 councillors in 230 local authorities as well as four local mayors, are likely to be the final set of polls before the next general election, due in the spring or autumn of 2024.
The results will give an indication of whether Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer is on course for Downing Street as his party enjoys a significant lead of about 15 points in many national opinion polls.
Sir Tony Blair had double-digit local election vote share victories in the lead-up to New Labour’s landslide in 1997, as did David Cameron’s Tories before the party became the largest in Parliament in 2010.
Sir Keir, speaking to broadcasters on Wednesday evening, said his party had “a positive case to tell” and that he hoped to make electoral progress.
He urged voters to “set Britain on a path of growth, security and the promise of a better future.”
His optimism stood in stark contrast to Mr Sunak who, according to right-wing newspaper The Daily Telegraph, told the Onward think tank on the same evening: “We should be prepared that tomorrow night is going to be hard for us.
“Good councillors will lose their seats because of all that has happened over the past year.”
The ex-chancellor won a hastily organised online ballot of Tory MPs to become Britain’s richest-ever PM last October, after his disgraced predecessor Liz Truss was forced to resign — less than two months after replacing Boris Johnson following her bungled mini-budget.
The party has set expectations low for the local elections, with Tory chairman Greg Hands predicting a loss of 1,000 seats.
The Lib Dems are meanwhile hoping to make gains in the south of England, dubbed the “blue wall.”
Deputy leader Daisy Cooper said: “Senior Conservative MPs are in for a big shock — we are now on the cusp of causing a major political upset.”
Today’s poll was the first to require voters to show photo ID following the government’s widely condemned Elections Act 2022.
