LABOUR HAS WON the Blackpool South parliamentary by-election in the UK and made gains in council contests to heap pressure on Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

While the final results from the various elections are not expected until Sunday, the Conservatives are in line for big defeats in key areas, signalling the party’s unpopularity.

With 33 of 107 councils fully declared, the Tories have lost three authorities and a net 92 councillors, while Labour gained four authorities and 62 councillors, with significantly more wins expected.

The latest blow to Sunak’s leadership comes following a diplomatic row this week with Ireland. 

Diplomatic tensions between London and Dublin increased in recent days after Justice Minister Helen McEntee claimed last week there had been an upsurge in asylum seekers crossing the border from the UK into Ireland.

Sunak said that this showed that his government’s Rwanda deportation plan was having the desired deterrent effect.

The governments have since been issuing tit-for-tat statements, with Tánaiste Micheál Martin having to confirm there will be no gardaí deployed to the border with the North.

This came after Justice Minister Helen McEntee said 100 police officers would be made available for frontline immigration enforcement duties.

Tory losses

Sunak and the Tories are hoping the Rwanda plan and hard line on immigration will help sway voters, who have been deserting the party in their droves.

In the latest contest triggered by the resignation of former Tory MP Scott Benton following a lobbying scandal, Labour’s Chris Webb secured 10,825 votes, a majority of 7,607.

The Conservatives David Jones came in second with 3,218 votes, just 117 ahead of Reform UK’s Mark Butcher.

Webb said the result showed that “people no longer trust the Conservatives” and called on Sunak to “admit you’ve failed and call a general election”.

The 26.33% swing was the third biggest from the Conservatives to Labour at a by-election since the Second World War.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer called it a “seismic win”.

“This is the one contest where voters had the chance to send a message to Rishi Sunak’s Conservatives directly, and that message is an overwhelming vote for change.

“The swing towards the Labour Party in Blackpool South is truly historic and shows that we are firmly back in the service of working people.”

Tory deputy chair Angela Richardson told the BBC: “The result was not unexpected. I think, given the circumstances that caused the by-election in the first place, it was always going to be difficult for the Conservatives.”

Council elections

The Tories were also facing losses in council elections across England, after votes took place in 107 authorities.

Most of the council seats up for re-election in England were last contested in 2021, at the peak of Boris Johnson’s popularity as the Covid-19 vaccine was rolled out.

Tory peer and polling expert Lord Hayward said he expected the Tories to lose upwards of 400 seats but he suggested that Sunak’s position was not in immediate jeopardy.

“In recent days I have been left with the very clear impression that, amongst Tory MPs, the ‘let’s have a leadership election’ balloon has been substantially deflated,” he said.

However, “an audible, very small group will disagree and probably do so early”.

A strong showing by Reform UK will add to Tory unease about Sunak’s ability to lead the party to a general election victory.

Reform UK’s leader Richard Tice told the PA news agency his party had “rapidly become the real opposition to Labour, whether it’s in the North, the Midlands, we know it’s the case in Wales”.

In Sunderland, one of the few councils where Reform fought every seat, it 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.

A total of 11 mayoral contests are also taking place, including for the London mayoralty between frontrunners Labour incumbent Sadiq Khan and Tory challenger Susan Hall.

Forecasts have consistently put Khan ahead of Hall, with a poll published on Wednesday by Savanta giving him a 10-point advantage after his lead tapered over the campaign.

Allies of Mr Khan said they expected a “close” fight, with the result announced on Saturday.

Gains for Labour

The gains for Labour came despite setbacks in some previously safe areas, particularly those with large Muslim populations, where the party’s candidates may have suffered as a result of Sir Keir’s stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.

Labour lost control of Oldham after gains by Independents, with the Gaza crisis likely to have been a factor.

The Liberal Democrats said they expected to put further holes in the “blue wall” of Tory battleground seats in southern England.

Green co-leader Adrian Ramsay said: “North and south, east and west, Greens are winning the trust of voters fed up with the chaos of the Conservatives and the U-turns of Labour.

“We are winning because our message of hope is being heard by new groups of voters.”

The relatively new requirement for voters to show photographic identification caused some high-profile problems, including for Mr Boris Johnson, who as prime minister introduced the changes.

He was turned away while attempting to cast his ballot in South Oxfordshire, where a police and crime commissioner for the Thames Valley is being elected, Sky News reported.

With reporting from Cormac Fitzgerald