Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Boost for May as Labour suffers losses
THERESA May’s hopes of a general election victory on June 8 have been boosted after local contests showed Labour suffering losses and the Ukip vote collapsing.
The Conservatives won the West of England metro-mayor contest and gained control of five councils on an encouraging night for the prime minister.
Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell acknowledged that Labour had suffered a “tough” night as it struggled in some of its Welsh heartlands and failed to resist Tory advances in England.
But he said the results were not “the wipeout that people expected” and added that there was still “all to play for” in the general election in just five weeks’ time.
Ukip suffered significant reverses, with voters switching to the Tories in a pattern that could provide a major boost to Mrs May as she hopes to strengthen her grip on power next month.
The Liberal Democrats were having a mixed election, failing to break through against the Tories in the south-west England battleground.
Things could get worse for Labour when counting begins in Scotland, with experts forecasting heavy losses for Jeremy Corbyn’s party.
Mr McDonnell said Labour’s vote “held up” in areas of Wales where Mr Corbyn had campaigned, and said there were signs that voters were developing more confidence in the party leader as he had the chance to get his message across.
With full results declared by 19 of the 88 councils holding elections in England, Scotland and Wales, the Tories had control of nine authorities, including five gains. Mrs May’s party had 441 councillors, a net gain of 113, while Labour had 308, a net loss of 58.
Among the authorities that had declared their final results, Labour had control of two councils and had lost control of two. The Lib Dems had 118 councillors, a net loss of 13; Plaid Cymru was on 40, a net gain of eight; and the Greens were on 10, a net gain of four. Ukip had failed to win a single seat, a loss of 30.