So it was certainly Labour's most successful night in a long time, but is it enough to get them into government? That said, the Sky News projection by Professor Michael Thrasher shows that, based on these results, Labour would get 298 seats at a general election - its highest since the winning 2005 general election - but 28 short of a majority. There is no doubt that it was a very good night for Labour, particularly considering how their support had cratered at the last general election. Sir Keir Starmer and his shadow cabinet members have claimed that this shows that they are "on course" to form a majority government after the next general election (see 8.52 post). Labour gained 528 seats and are now the largest party in local government. Under 150 gains: A step backwards for Labour.250 gains: A disappointing result for Labour in the context of recent opinion polls.450 gains: These results would be better than in 2022, when local elections took place in Greater London.Labour would look on its way to becoming the largest party in Westminster, even if short of a majority. 700 gains: The best local elections for at least a decade.So to spin these results as any other than catastrophic for the Conservatives would be a very difficult sell. ![]() The government is trying to sell it as mid-term blues, and culture secretary Lucy Frazer claimed that Tories are "gaining the trust" of the British people, and that Rishi Sunak is "getting the country back on track" (see 9.17 post).īut our political editor, Beth Rigby, discovered that 1,000 losses as worst case scenario was just their PR spin - 700 losses was internally viewed as the worst case. The Conservatives lost over a third of the seats they were defending. The Conservatives lost 1,064 seats - so it was worse than a "very bad night".
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