London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Aug 24, 2025

Elections results 2021: Conservatives make gains on English councils

Elections results 2021: Conservatives make gains on English councils

Labour is losing ground to the Conservatives in elections across England, in the first big test of Sir Keir Starmer's leadership of the party.

The first blow for Labour came when the Tories took a Westminster seat from it in the Hartlepool by-election.

It has also lost control of several councils, while the Conservatives have made gains.

And the Tories won more than 70% of the mayoral vote in Tees Valley - an area that used to vote Labour.

Sir Keir said he was "bitterly disappointed", but pledged to lead a fightback for his party and to set out a "bold vision" in the next few days.

More than half the results from Thursday's English council elections have been announced.

The rest, as well as those for mayoral and police and crime commissioner contests, will continue to come in through over the weekend.

Among the details so far, the Conservatives have taken Pendle, Maidstone, Cornwall, Nottinghamshire, Basildon, Northumberland, Dudley, and Nuneaton and Bedworth councils from no overall control.

They also took control of of Harlow council, in Essex, from Labour.

And Labour has lost Sheffield, Plymouth and Rossendale to no overall control.

The Green Party has increased its number of seats across England, while the Conservatives lost Cambridgeshire and the Isle of Wight to no overall control.

Conservative Ben Houchen was re-elected mayor of Tees Valley, which includes Hartlepool, receiving 73% of the vote. This involved a swing from Labour to his party of 23%.

Mr Houchen said there was "pride returning" to the area, adding that it was "not true" that the government had pumped lots of money into it over the past few years only because it was run by a Conservative.

Polling expert Sir John Curtice, of Strathclyde University, said "what was once traditional Labour territory" in north-eastern England had "now been well and truly painted blue".

England is electing 143 councils, 13 mayors.

It is also choosing 35 police and crime commissioners, of which the Conservatives have so far gained three, for Dorset, Cleveland and Avon and Somerset.

The prime minister described results declared so far as "very encouraging" for the Conservatives.

"I think that's really because we have been focusing, as a government, on our priorities, the people's priorities, and bouncing back from the pandemic as much as we can and getting through it," he added.

Results so far


Sir Keir offered a stark assessment of Labour's performance, which follows its worst general election outcome since the 1930s in 2019.

He told the BBC the party, which he has led for just over a year, had "lost the trust of working people, particularly in places like Hartlepool", adding: "We have not made a strong enough case to the country."

He said that he intended to take "responsibility for fixing things".

Former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn criticised the party under Sir Keir for "offering nothing" but "insipid support for the government".

"We have to make a very clear pitch for what real social justice would look like," he told Channel 4 News. "You don't succeed in beating the government if you agree with their strategy."

But Labour has won some key votes, including in Doncaster, where Ros Jones was re-elected as mayor.

It has also retained control of councils including Liverpool, Manchester, Hastings and Exeter.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, whose party has lost a few seats with more than half of councils still to declare their results, said it was "moving forwards and making progress".

Reacting to the gain in seats in Cambridgeshire, he added: "If you want to beat the Conservatives, it's the Liberal Democrats that can do it."


England is seeing a bumper set of local council elections this year, after polls in 2020 were postponed due to the pandemic.

In Scotland, parliamentary results will give an indication of the public level of support for a second independence referendum, as proposed by the SNP.

Meanwhile, Welsh Labour is aiming to remain the largest party in the Senedd, where it has held power since the parliament was founded in 1999.


Boris Johnson says the Hartlepool by-election result is a "mandate" for his party to "continue to deliver"


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner Purchases Third Property Amid Housing Tax Reforms Debate
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Italian Facebook Group Sharing Intimate Images Without Consent Shut Down Amid Police Investigation
Dutch Foreign Minister Resigns Amid Deadlock Over Israel Sanctions
Trump and Allies Send Messages of Support to Ukraine on Independence Day Amid Ongoing Conflict
China Reels as Telegram Chat Group Shares Hidden-Camera Footage of Women and Children
Sam Nicoresti becomes first transgender comedian to win Edinburgh Comedy Award
Builders uncover historic human remains in Lancashire house renovation
Australia Wants to Tax Your Empty Bedrooms
MotoGP Cameraman Narrowly Avoids Pedro Acosta Crash at Hungarian Grand Prix
FBI Investigates John Bolton Over Classified Documents in High-Profile Raids
Report reveals OpenAI pitched national ChatGPT Plus subscription to UK ministers
Labour set to freeze income tax thresholds in long-term 'stealth' tax raid
Coca‑Cola explores sale of Costa coffee chain
Trial hears dog walker was chased and fatally stabbed by trio
Restaurateur resigns from government hospitality council over tax criticism
Spanish City funfair shut after serious ride injury
Suspected arson at Ilford restaurant leaves three in critical condition
Tottenham beat Manchester City to go top of Premier League
Bank holiday heatwave to hit 30°C before remnants of Hurricane Erin arrive
UK to deploy immigration advisers to West Africa to block fake visas
Nurse who raped woman continued working for a year despite police alert
Drought forces closures of England’s canal routes, canceling boat holidays
Sweet tooth scents: food-inspired perfumes surge as weight-loss drugs suppress appetites
Experts warn Britain dangerously reliant on imported food
Family of Notting Hill Carnival murder victim call event unmanageable
Bunkers, Billions and Apocalypse: The Secret Compounds of Zuckerberg and the Tech Giants
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
×