Peter Byrne/PA
The Conservative Party chairman has appealed to restive Tory MPs to “wait through the weekend” after a bruising first set of local election results, insisting Rishi Sunak is “the right man” to lead the party.
Richard Holden admitted it had been a “tough night”, but insisted the party’s drubbing on Friday was “typical for a Government in midterm” amid rumblings of unease among the parliamentary back benches.
Elections experts have warned the Conservatives could be on course to lose 500 seats in what could be their worst showing in 40 years.
It comes as Sir Keir Starmer hailed a “seismic win” for Labour in the Blackpool South by-election, where the party secured a 26.33% swing, as well as council gains in key areas like Hartlepool and Redditch.
The Prime Minister is braced for further pain as more results trickle in over the weekend which could increase pressure on his leadership of the Conservative Party and the country.
Touring broadcast studios on Friday, Mr Holden said it had been a “tough night”, but insisted that “when we’re facing those tough challenges we’ve got the right man for the job”.
Asked whether he was confident that Tory MPs will not try to remove Mr Sunak as PM, Mr Holden told Sky News: “Parliamentary colleagues need to look at this and see… and wait through the weekend as well.”
The losses have triggered speculation that mounting Tory discontent could lead MPs to seek to remove the Prime Minister after reports of a rebel plot to oust him in anticipation of disastrous local elections results.
But Mr Holden sought to highlight local issues at play, insisting the Blackpool South by-election took place in “particularly difficult” circumstances following the resignation of former Tory MP Scott Benton after a lobbying scandal.
He admitted it had been a “tough night” but told LBC the party was coming off a “very high watermark in 2021”.
Most of the council seats up for re-election in England were last contested three years ago, at the peak of Boris Johnson’s popularity as the Covid-19 vaccine was rolled out.
Labour’s Chris Webb won the Blackpool South parliamentary seat with the third biggest swing from the Conservatives to Labour at a by-election since the Second World War.
The Conservatives avoided the humiliation of coming third in Blackpool South, but finished just 117 votes ahead of Reform UK.
Out of the 107 councils where votes were held on Thursday, just 35 counted overnight – but the results make grim reading for the Prime Minister.
The Tories lost control of three authorities and 96 councillors lost their seats, though the party held on by a single seat in Harlow. Labour gained three authorities and 58 councillors.
Elections expert Professor Sir John Curtice said the Tories could be on course to lose 500 councillors in “one of the worst, if not the worst” performances by the party in 40 years.
“So far they are basically losing a half of the seats they are trying to defend. If that continues, they may end up losing 500 or so seats, which is the thing they were meant to avoid,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today.
Voters across England and Wales also had the chance to choose their police and crime commissioners.
Key results include:
– Labour won Rushmoor in Hampshire for the first time and claimed the council in general election bellwether Redditch.
– Labour won Hartlepool council, regaining ground in an area where the party suffered a Westminster by-election disaster in 2021.
– Labour won Thurrock, one of its top targets and an area of the country that will be a key battleground with the Tories at the next general election.
– The Tories clung on by a single seat in Harlow, a council targeted by Sir Keir on the eve of polling day.
– Labour lost control in Oldham, with gains made by independents possibly as a result of Sir Keir’s stance on the war in Gaza.
– The Greens put on 12 councillors and the Liberal Democrats also gained 12, while there were also increases for independents and residents’ groups.
– Labour gained police and crime commissioners from the Conservatives in Cumbria and Avon and Somerset.
