COMMUNIST Party general secretary Robert Griffiths says last week’s English local elections “handed a red card to the Tories and a warning to Labour.”

In a report prepared for the party’s political committee, Mr Griffiths highlights that the Liberal Democrats and the Greens gained almost as many extra seats (178) as Labour (186) on May 2.

He said: “Anybody who cares about local communities, public services, jobs and integrity in public life should look forward to the end of Tory rule at Westminster, too.

“Yet the electors — especially the two-thirds who decided not to vote last Thursday — have also put Keir Starmer’s Labour leadership on probation.

“Labour cannot afford to gamble everything on a Tory collapse at the next general election in order to win an overall majority in the Westminster Parliament.

“Keir Starmer’s refusal to embrace bolder public ownership and progressive taxation policies, together with his refusal to condemn Israeli genocide in Gaza, is alienating millions of electors who would otherwise vote Labour.”

Mr Griffiths congratulated the Communist Party candidates in seven cities last week, noting that the party’s list for the Greater London Assembly won almost 11,000 votes, up 24 per cent on 2021.