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The Conservatives and Labour have both been dealt heavy blows in local elections by voters angry with the Brexit paralysis at Westminster, raising pressure on both parties to strike a deal to resolve the issue.
The results, which are being declared throughout Friday, are the first indication at the ballot box of the cost of the Brexit uncertainty on Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservatives, who were on course to lose hundreds of seats across England.
Labour, which is holding cross-party talks with Mrs May intended to deliver Brexit, also suffered net losses of 72 seats as of 11.45am, with almost half the results declared.
Polling expert John Curtice said it was a case of “a plague on both your houses”.
John McDonnell, shadow chancellor, said the election results were a signal to the two main parties to settle the issue “whichever way”. Cross-party talks on a Brexit deal will continue next Tuesday.
He said in a tweet: “We’ll see what final results of local elections look like by end of day as they are pretty mixed geographically up to now but so far message from local elections — ‘Brexit — sort it.’ Message received.”
Mrs May’s reaction was similar. She told the Welsh Conservative conference there was a “simple message” for both the Tories and Labour from the results: “Just get on and deliver Brexit.”
Barry Gardiner, shadow trade secretary, said Labour wanted a deal with the Tories. “We are trying to bail you guys out on Brexit,” he told James Cleverly, Brexit minister and Conservative deputy chairman.
Many Labour Remainers are firmly opposed to helping Mrs May deliver Brexit.
While heavy losses were predicted for the Tories — the party had lost 460 seats by 11.40am — the failure of Labour to make early advances sent shockwaves through the opposition party. Many losses were suffered in northern areas of England that voted Leave.
The results will put pressure on Jeremy Corbyn, Labour leader, to intensify efforts to help Mrs May finally end the Brexit deadlock, although Remain voters in the south would then punish Labour for helping Mrs May take the country out of the EU.
“Of course we wanted to do better,” said Mr Corbyn. “We always want to do better. That’s why we’re in politics.”
The Conservatives’ losses suggested that by the time counting has finished on Friday, the party could be heading for losses of more than 800 seats, largely in line with expectations.
Although that would represent a bad result for Mrs May, it would not be the wipeout some had expected. The Conservatives were defending more than half of the 8,425 seats up for election in the 248 councils being contested in England.
The big beneficiaries were the pro-EU Liberal Democrats, who bounced back from the nadir of 2015 when these seats were last contested.
The party had gained 312 seats as of mid-morning on Friday and taken control of councils in some of their former heartlands including Bath and North East Somerset, North Devon, North Norfolk and Winchester. Vince Cable, Lib Dem leader, said his party was bouncing back and were “the big winners” of the local elections.
Independent and other smaller parties had gained more than 220 seats, as voters turned away from the big parties, while the UK Independence party, now a shadow of its former self and contesting one-in-six seats, was down four.
The Greens were polling at about 10 per cent on the back of recent public debate and protests about climate change and were on course for one of their best local election results.
So far the Conservatives have lost control of Basildon, Southend-on-Sea, Peterborough and Tandridge, while Labour has lost control of Wirral and Hartlepool councils, all to no overall control.
The Conservatives have won control of Walsall and held on to Swindon, despite Honda’s announcement in February that it would close its UK Swindon plant.
Many traditional Conservative supporters are angry at the compromises involved in the prime minister’s deal at the delay to Britain’s scheduled departure from the EU, now put back from March 29 to October 31.
“It is unrealistic for me to pretend that with nine years in government and Brexit as a backdrop, it will be anything other than a tough night,” Mr Cleverly told the BBC on Friday.
Sir John, professor of politics at Strathclyde university, told the BBC: “One of the major features of the 2017 general election was that, between them, the Conservatives and Labour dominated the election, winning over 80 per cent of votes — the biggest combined share since 1970.”
He added: “On these early signs, we might be saying tonight those days are over.”
The majority of Labour activists want a second Brexit referendum, but Mr Corbyn has so far seen off a bid to commit the party to holding a such a vote in all circumstances.
Jess Phillips, a Labour MP, said on Twitter: “Our position on Brexit has failed. Bravery is needed. If you combine kindness and effectiveness with a bit of grit most people will respect you even when they don’t always agree.”
Nigel Farage’s new Brexit party, which did not field candidates in the local elections, is likely to pose a huge problem for the Conservatives if, as expected, they are forced to take part in the European Parliament polls on May 23.
A senior Whitehall official admitted on Thursday that it was now too late to pass a Brexit deal to abort the elections. “Realistically we are past that point,” the official said.
Mr Farage’s party is also expected to eat into Labour votes in the north in the European elections, while the pro-Remain Change UK will also enter the fray on May 23.
This is the biggest set of local elections in England’s four-year electoral cycle, with more than 8,400 seats being contested. A further 462 seats are up for grabs in Northern Ireland, with results declared on Friday. There were no elections in Scotland or Wales.
