Tories lose seven council seats in one night at local elections in latest blow to party

The Conservatives endured another bad night just three months after the general election when they lost seven council seats to Labour and the other parties.

Having lost her majority in June, Prime Minister Theresa May’s pledge that she will lead the Tories into the next general election appears increasingly optimistic after the party lost seven of the nine seats they were defending in the local by-elections.

Her party lost seats across the country in Suffolk, Staffordshire, Cambridgeshire, Herefordshire, East Sussex and North Lanarkshire, losing three to Labour, two to Greens, one to Liberal Democrats and one to an Independent.

Four of the five seats won by Labour and the Greens lie in constituencies held by the Tories in June with majorities in excess of 5,000.

Ms May's party lost a ward in the safe Conservative seat of Hereford and South Herefordshire, which they won with a majority of more than 15,000 at the recent general election.

Two of the seats lost by the Conservatives are in the Cannock Chase constituency where the party increased its majority from just under 5,000 to over 8,000 in June.

It was a good night for Labour, which managed to hold all four of the seats the party was defending, extending their majorities by between five and 24 per cent.

Labour took a ward in the SNP-held seat of Airrdie and Shotts where the Conservatives struggled to make an impact with a candidate from the Unionist Party also standing.

There was positive news for the Greens in the Conservative-held seat of Lewes in East Sussex, where they increased their majority by 22 per cent to win the local seat of Ouse Valley and Ringmer.

The sole consolation for the Tories was a ward won from the Liberal Democrats in Colchester, Essex.

Although only 14 seats in England and Scotland were up for grabs, the results are in stark contrast to the local elections in May when the Tories gained more than 550 seats as Labour saw its vote plunge – before a buoyant Jeremy Corbyn confounded the expectations of many of his own MPs at the general election.

Labour held on to wards it was defending in Glasgow, Croydon, Lancaster and Suffolk councils, while the Tories held a seat in Peterborough.

Mr Corbyn is currently visiting seats that he believes Labour can win in the event of another snap general election as Ms May attempts to stay in power with a minority government, propped up by the Democratic Unionist Party, as the difficult Brexit negotiations continue.

The Labour leader has called for all party members and activists to remain on “high alert” for the possibility of a general election at any time – although the party’s election chief Patrick Heneghan has reportedly just left his post after overseeing the last five campaigns.

Bookies have slashed the odds of Mr Corbyn becoming the next Prime Minister since the June election, with some currently offering 4-1, making him the narrow favourite ahead of the Brexit Secretary David Davis with a majority of betting shops.