Tories braced for bruising poll night

THERESA May is bracing herself for a difficult night, with fears of a near wipe- out in London after today’s local elections. The Tories believe they could be left with just two councils in the capital.

However, experts predict that although the party will probably lose seats overall, their vote could hold up much better outside London.

Mrs May told voters yesterday that if they wanted good local services and low council tax, they had no option but to vote Conservative. The party’s chairman Brandon Lewis warned families they faced the threat of waking up to a town hall led by Labour’s hard-left Momentum activists unless they support the Tories today.

Millions of voters will go to the polls in more than 4,000 seats across England today. Analysts expect the Conservatives to shed around 75, with Labour gaining around 200. The Liberal Democrats are expected to add around 30 seats.

For Ukip, the night is set to be little less than a disaster, with a real possibility they could lose all 125 seats they won in 2014.

Much of the night’s attention will be in London, where Labour has talked up the prospect of taking strongholds such as Westminster and Wandsworth, both of which have been Conservative for decades.

Lord Hayward, a former Tory MP turned elections analyst, said: ‘If the Tories retain either Wandsworth or Westminster they will be pleased.’ He said turnout will ‘definitely be lower this time than in 2014’ – the last comparable poll – because that round coincided with European elections.’

Writing in the Local Government Chronicle, Professors Colin rallings and Michael Thrasher of Plymouth University said recent by-elections and opinion polls show Labour and the Tories were ‘neck and neck’. They said Labour should take Barnet Council in north London, but added that following the party’s anti-Semitism scandals it could underperform in the borough, which is home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the country.

The pair also said it would be harder for Labour to make gains outside London, where the Tories could seize Ukip seats. The Prime Minister said yesterday: ‘If those who are taking part in council elections look up and down the country, they will see that it is Conservative councils that support local communities, provide good local services and keep council tax low.

‘The message is very clear – if that is what you want, vote Conservative tomorrow.’

She added that Tory councils, on average, cost a typical family £100 less in council tax than those run by other parties. The Conservatives’ chairman Mr Lewis said: ‘Make no mistake about what you could wake up with on Friday. Jeremy Corbyn’s Momentum group have been bussing in hard-left activists to try to seize control of councils.

‘Their agenda could not be clearer. They have called for huge hikes in council tax, supported bin strikes which have left rubbish piling up in the street, and want to impose new local income taxes on hardworking families.’

‘Huge hikes in council tax’

WHAT with the Windrush scandal, party infighting over Brexit and now the lethal failures of the cancer screening programme, this is hardly the moment the Tories would have chosen for today’s local elections.

But as voters go to the polls in 150 English councils and six mayoral contests, this paper urges them to look at the broader picture of the battle between the parties.

True, the Tories have had a rocky time. But through careful husbandry of public money, they’ve presided over a growing economy, with unemployment at a record low and more cash coming on stream for vital public services.

Opposing them is a Labour Party riddled with hard-Left, anti-Semitic activists, led by a Marxist committed to sky-high taxes and wildly profligate spending. As history proves, Jeremy Corbyn’s policies are guaranteed to destroy the economy.

Indeed, nowhere is the contrast clearer than at local level, where on average Toryheld boroughs charge lower council taxes for demonstrably better services than their Labour equivalents.

The Mail has this advice for those who have a vote today: give Mrs May the boost she needs and deserves – and whatever you do, don’t encourage Mr Corbyn.