RECAP: Tories suffer double mayoral election losses in London and West Midlands - with Rishi Sunak warned he could face fresh rebel coup bid
Published: | Updated:
The fallout continues after it was confirmed that the Conservative's lost both the London and West Midlands mayoral elections after the chastening loss of nearly 500 council seats.
With Labour crowing and its leader Sir Keir Starmer calling for a General Election, Rishi Sunak has been warned he could face a fresh rebel coup bid from unhappy MPs.
The final tallies from last week's elections will also come through today, with results outstanding in one council and two police and crime commissioner votes.
Follow MailOnline's live coverage of the local election results and the fallout across the country below:
We are ending our live coverage for the day here - thank you for following
We are now closing our live blog on the latest local election results and political fall-out but there remains plenty of content on the MailOnline website.
Here is a selection of stories we published earlier...
Kent police and crime commissioner Matthew Scott wins re-election for the Conservatives
The penultimate election of the weekend to be declared brought a consolation boost for the Conservatives.
Their Kent police and crime commissioner Matthew Scott retained his post with 120,491 votes - just over 44 per cent of the 20 per cent turnout.
This gave him a majority of 27,983 over Labour's Lenny Rolles, with the other candidate, Lib Dem Graham Colley, on 60,279.
Kent is the 18th PCC election won by the Tories, with the final one of the 37 - in Sussex - expected to be announced later today.
Old university pals Pat McFadden and John Swinney disagree over Labour-SNP 'alliance'
Two former university friends have clashed over suggestions Labour could form an alliance with the SNP after the next general election.
Labour's national campaign co-ordinator Pat McFadden insisted his party was 'not planning alliances' with the SNP 'or anyone' - and that a change in SNP leader 'doesn't make much difference' after Humza Yousaf announced his resignation as First Minister on Monday.
He told Sky News's Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: 'Our aim is to win a majority, to govern, to meet the mood for change, and we're not planning any alliances or pacts with anyone.'
But SNP leadership favourite John Swinney suggested he could change the mind of someone he revealed he knew from University of Edinburgh days 'a lifetime ago'.
Mr Swinney told the same programme: 'I don't think Pat's public line to you is something that he would sustain in a decent conversation with me or with others.'
Newly-elected Green Party councillor ranted about 'Israeli occupation' after October 7 Hamas attacks
Fresh details have emerged about a Green Party councillor who hollered 'Allahu Akbar' after winning his local election.
The Mail has revealed Mothin Ali as a gardening-loving accountant who ranted against the 'Israeli occupation' the day after Hamas's deadly attacks on October 7.
Mr Ali, 42, had used his victory speech after being elected to Leeds Council to describe it as a 'win for the people of Gaza'.
Comments from his TikTok account have been uncovered from October 8 - the day after Hamas' terrorist attack which killed 1,160 and saw 250 people taken hostage.
Instead of condemning the atrocities, he instead dubbed Israel 'white supremacists'.
Conservative backbencher Sir John Hayes calls for another cabinet reshuffle
Conservative MP Sir John Hayes, chairman of the party's Common Sense group and Suella Braverman ally, has called for a cabinet reshuffle.
Rishi Sunak only changed his top team last November including the surprise recall of David Cameron to government, as Foreign Secretary - while Ms Braverman was sacked and replaced as Home Secretary by James Cleverly.
But former transport minister Sir John today described that reshuffle as a 'mistake', telling Times Radio: 'I don't think it was terribly well received because all political parties need to offer a balance of views and opinions.
'It's right that the often-called right of the party - I describe it as the authentic Tory part of the Conservative party - is represented at the top table.
'And so I believe Suella leaving the top table wasn't great from that point of view.'
Ex-Defence Secretary Liam Fox urges Tory MPs to rally behind Rishi Sunak
Former cabinet minister Dr Liam Fox has warned that Tory rebels would only rile their own voter base even more if they moved to topple Rishi Sunak.
Dr Fox, who served in government under David Cameron and later Theresa May, also suggested Labour and leader Sir Keir Starmer could have passed their 'high-water mark' of success.
The ex-Defence Secretary and MP for North Somerset has urged his party to push forward with 'ruthless message discipline and a narrative that where Labour describes the problems, Conservatives deliver solutions'.
Writing in the Independent, he insisted rallying behind the Prime Minister could bring about what he called 'the biggest political turnaround in decades'.
And he blamed his party's losses in Thursday's elections on Tory voters staying home due to 'deep irritation at the apparent splits in the Conservative Party'.
Final local council result of 2024 is announced
Salford City Council has now announced its results.
A third of councillors were up for election and Labour have picked up one in another blow for the Tories.
The news will not impact who runs the council, but is another Labour gain amid a bleak run of results for the Conservative party.
Suella Braverman urges Rishi Sunak to change course after election defeats
Suella Braverman has urged Rishi Sunak to change course after the election blows.
The former Home Secretary said the Prime Minister must change his political course to stay in power as there isn't time to change Tory leader.
Ms Braverman advised Mr Sunak to move to the right in response to the poll blows, which saw a victory for Labour in the West Midlands mayoral contest last night.
Rishi Sunak has 'very little to show' for efforts to restore Tory fortunes
Polling guru Prof John Curtice said the results demonstrated Mr Sunak has 'very little to show' for his efforts to restore the Tories' fortunes after Liz Truss's abrtive premiership.
The election expert told the BBC: 'There is nothing in these results to suggest contrary to the opinion polls that the Conservatives are actually beginning to narrow the gap on Labour, and that so far at least, Rishi Sunak's project which has tried to recover from the disaster – from the Conservatives' point of view – of the Liz Truss fiscal event, that project has still got very little to show for it.
'That in a sense is the big takeaway.
'Now the Conservatives, as when all parties do badly in elections, they always want you to focus on the exception rather than the rule, and Tees Valley and probably the West Midlands are the exceptions not the rule.'
Unhappy Tory MPs accuse No10 of 'bullsh******'
While the success of Ben Houchen in the Tees Valley mayoral election had seemingly helped Rishi Sunak quell a revolt, the loss of Andy Street (pictured) in the West Midlands did the opposite.
One Tory MP told MailOnline that Downing Street had quelled dissent up to now by 'bullsh*****' that 'all's going to be fine' and suggesting Susan Hall was going to win in London.
'Despite all the highly positive private spin from No10 to Tory MPs since Thursday, we've lost well over 400 council seats, Andy Street has lost, Susan Hall has been defeated in London,' they said.
'Ben Houchen won without having the balls to wear a blue rosette, even at his own victory count... Rishi's Sunak's utterly hapless Leadership is now definitely in play.'
The MP added that they had not sent a letter of no confidence before, but would be now - predicting that the threshold of 52 for a vote would be hit.
Labour still needs to offer a clear vision, says David Blunkett
Despite their barely veiled delight at the local election results, Labour should not become over confident.
That's the view of Labour former Home Secretary David Blunkett.
Writing in the Daily Mail, Baron Blunkett says the party must offer a clear vision on what it is offering the country and that general election victory, while likely, could be far less convincing that many think.
You can read his full thoughts below:
WATCH: Braverman says Tories will be lucky 'to have any' MPs after next election
Suella Braverman has stuck the boot into Rishi Sunak this morning.
After first saying the Prime Minister had to own the election results and that she regretted backing him in his Tory leadership challenge, she then went further.
The former Home Secretary told BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg that if things continue as they are 'we'll be lucky to have any Conservative MPs at the next election'.
Calls for Boris Johnson to return to the front line of politics
Conservative former minister Dame Andrea Jenkyns has called for Boris Johnson to return to the 'front line of politics'.
Dame Andrea submitted a letter of no-confidence in Rishi Sunak in November.
She told Sky News's Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: 'I think now we've got to take the fight to Labour, I would like to see real common sense conservatism, honouring our manifesto commitments.
'I would like to see the return of Boris on the front line of politics, whether that's going for a seat in the next election and being front and centre of our election campaign.
Asked if she could see Johnson and Sunak campaigning together on joint visits, she said: 'I haven't spoken to Boris, I haven't spoken to the Prime Minister about this, but I'm an optimist, I'm not sure whether they'd share a stage together, but look how wonderful it is Boris campaigning in these elections.
'He's still got a pull and he's still got a pull in my area; still on the doorstep, Trevor, people say to me that they're saddened that Boris is no longer on the front line of politics.'
What results are still to come today?
While most of the day will be dominated by reaction to the Conservative's losses over the last 72 hours, there are still more results to come.
A total of three local election results are still to be declared with these set to be announced on Sunday afternoon.
These are the results for:
- Salford Council
- Kent Police and Crime Commissioner
- Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner
HS2 cancellation did not affect local election results, Mark Harper says
Mark Harper did not accept cancelling the second phase of HS2 had an impact on the Conservatives' results in the local elections.
He described outgoing West Midlands Tory mayor Andy Street as a 'fantastic mayor'.
But when asked by the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg about the impact of scrapping the northern leg of HS2 on the results, he said: 'Well that illustrates I think something really important about the Prime Minister. He is interested in taking difficult decisions that might not be popular with everyone but are in the long-term interests of the country and are the right decision.'
Pressed that this was not in Mr Street's long-term interests, Mr Harper added: 'Well I disagree. Every single penny of the money we saved from cancelling the second phase of HS2 is being reinvested in transport.
'I was in the West Midlands just a few weeks ago with Andy Street for the launch of a £1.75 billion Midlands rail hub, improving the connectivity of Birmingham across the country.'
Rishi Sunak needs to own election results, Suella Braverman says
Tory former minister Suella Braverman has called on Rishi Sunak to move to the right in response to the election results.
'Rishi Sunak has been leading us for about 18 months, he has been making these decisions, these are consequences of those decisions. He needs to own this, and therefore he needs to fix it,' she told the BBC.
'I think the problem is that our voters are on strike, they are not coming out to support us, we have seen that with turnouts and we have seen that with losing Conservative strongholds.'
The former home secretary called on Rishi Sunak to move rightwards with more tax cuts, and a cap on legal migration among the policies she suggested.
Asked for her evidence of a need to shift further to the right, she said: 'The evidence is that people are not voting for what he is doing because they don't believe that we are serious about some of these issues.'
When asked if she regretted supporting Mr Sunak's leadership, Ms Braverman said: 'Honestly, yes I do.'
'There's no spinning these results' warns Suella Braverman
The Prime Minister's plan is not working and Rishi Sunak needs to fix it as there is no time to change Tory leader, Suella Braverman has said.
The Conservative former home secretary told the BBC's Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg: 'The plan is not working and I despair at these terrible results.
'There is no spinning these results, there is no disguising the fact that these have been terrible election results for the Conservatives and they suggest that we are heading to a Labour government and that fills me with horror.
'I love my country, I care about my party and I want us to win, and I am urging the Prime Minister to change course, to with humility reflect on what voters are telling us, and change the plan and the way that he is communicating and leading us.'
Asked about whether she wanted to see a change in leader, Ms Braverman said: 'I just don't think that is a feasible prospect right now, we don't have enough time and it is impossible for anyone new to come and change our fortunes to be honest. There is no superman or superwoman out there who can do it.'
'No love for Starmer' insists Tory party chairman
Conservative party chairman Richard Holden, who is facing criticism over the election campaigns, is trying to calm furious politicians and activists.
Writing in The Telegraph he claimed that the result showed there was 'no surge in love for Sir Keir Starmer'.
'While Labour made some gains, they have failed to romp to victory, falling well short of the 350 predicted gains,' he said.
He added that 'the public has had enough of infighting', saying: 'It is incumbent on me to communicate this message from voters to my colleagues – leave sniping from the sidelines to Sir Keir, get behind our Prime Minister and make the case for our party to our country.'
Ever feel you're working too hard? Spare a thought for
Ever feel you're working too hard? Spare a thought for polling guru Sir John Curtice who has spend most of the last three days on our TV screens.
In fact, he's spent so little time off screen, that some concerned viewers have done the maths and figured out exactly how long he's gone without sleep.
Maps show the extent of the battering taken by the Tories
Key battlegrounds across the UK have turned from blue to red as counting for local elections have changed the political landscape in England and Wales.
You can see how some former Tory heartlands swung away from the Conservatives in the maps below:
Rishi Sunak insists his party's plan 'is working'
Rishi Sunak has admitted it was 'disappointing' that Andy Street lost, but insisted the country was 'turning a corner' and that his party's plan 'is working'.
Tory rebels are lining up to stick the knife into the Prime Minister as they warned that the 'gamechanging' defeat meant Mr Sunak could now face a fresh bid to oust him - although other MPs reiterated their view it was too late.
But Mr Sunak remains defiant, insisting that the Tory party 'understand the priorities of the British people and are delivering on them'.
You can read his full response here:
Labour crow after their shock victory in the West Midlands
Jubilant Kier Starmer last night hailed Lbaour's victory in the West Midlands mayoral election as a 'phenomenal result'.
Labour's Richard Parker beat Tory incumbant Andy Street by 1,508 votes to become Mayor in an extremely close contest.
Talking after the result, Street said he was 'incredibly proud' he had lost by such a thin margin, despite being 'personally devastated' by the result.
He said: 'Given that this has always been a place where some people said you should never have won in the first place, I'm actually very, very proud of what we've done.
'The thing everyone should take from Birmingham in the West Midlands tonight is this brand of moderate, inclusive, tolerant conservatism that gets on and delivered has come within an ace of beating the Labour Party in, what they considered to be their backyard.'
You can read the immediate reaction to that result below:
What were the key results on Saturday?
If you spent Saturday away from your phone or the news, the biggest thing you may have missed was the results of the London and West Midlands mayoral elections.
Labour's Sadiq Khan won a historic third term as Mayor of London, fending off the Tory Susan Hall with an increased share of the vote.
There had been some late jitters within Labour after initial polls suggested lower than expected turnout in some key Labour areas, but in the end he won with a maority of nealry 276,000 votes.
But it was the loss of Conservative Andy Street in the West Midlands that will have dented egos within the Tory party after he fell by just 1,500 votes to Labour's Richard Parker (pictured together below)
Sir Keir Starmer hailed it as a 'phenomenal result' for Labour, given the strength of Street's personal brand and popularity among swing voters.
Good morning
Good morning and welcome to MailOnline's coverage of the UK local elections and reaction to the results.
It has been a chastening 48 hours for the Conservatives, losing key mayoral races as well as hundreds of council seast across England.
The fallout is continuing and with more results set to come through today, kep your eyes peeled to our live blog for the latest updates.
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