Senior Tory hits out at Sunak saying party must ‘do better’ after major losses – live

Rishi Sunak ‘disappointed’ as Tories lose control of seven councils in the local elections

A senior Tory has said Rishi Sunak must not adopt “more Labour or Lib Dem policies” as internal party divisions bubbled to the surface following heavy losses at last night’s local elections.

In a blog post on his website, John Redwood, a former cabinet minister and MP for Wokingham,  set out what he believes his party needs to do to win back voters at the general election, warning that the prime minister needed “to do better”.

“There is a majority to be had amongst people who want to be left to get on with their own lives, who want to spend their own money in ways of their choosing, and want to keep enough of the proceeds of their work and savings,” Mr Redwood, an ally of Liz Truss, said.

He added: “It is high time Conservatives moved on from right/left as a method of analysis of politics.”

The Tories have suffered heavy losses across England, with Labour and the Liberal Democrats both making gains in what another Conservative MP described as a “terrible” night for his party.

The contests were the first to be fought under new rules requiring voters to carry photographic ID, and the elections watchdog said “regrettably” some people were turned away from polling stations as a result.

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Tories have ‘lost support’ of 2019 backers – former minister

Tory former minister John Redwood said the Conservatives have “lost the support” of many 2019 backers and “need to do better”, Archie Mitchell reports.

In a blog post on his website, John Redwood’s Diary, the senior MP set out what the party needs to do to win back voters.

Mr Redwood urged Rishi Sunak to not adopt “more Labour or Lib Dem policies”, but instead push for policies “on the side of greater freedom”.

“There is a majority to be had amongst people who want to be left to get on with their own lives, who want to spend their own money in ways of their choosing, and want to keep enough of the proceeds of their work and savings,” he said.

He added: “It is high time Conservatives moved on from right/left as a method of analysis of politics.”

Mr Redwood said Brexit “appealed to people from all shades of political opinion” and that wanting lower taxes, deregulation and greater border controls is not “right or left”.

And he concluded by saying the prime minister’s current pledges to the country “are fine”, but voters will need to see them succeed”. Mr Redwood said: “When will the small boats stop? When will taxes be cut and growth accelerate? When will more capacity be put in to help bring price rises under control?”

Tory MP Michael Fabricant said the results “may not” spell disaster for the Conservatives at the next general election – suggesting voters may have simply stayed at home rather than turning to other parties.

He told The Independent: “An interesting post-analysis will be how many Conservative voters switched to Labour or another party or merely stayed at home.

“If the latter was the case, as often happened in European elections, then it may not be a disaster for the general election provided the party delivers in its objectives.”

Asked why voters did not get out to support the Conservatives, Mr Fabricant told The Independent it was “so bloody obvious” that he “would not bother to comment”.

(Getty Images)

Michael Fabricant (Kirsty O’Connor/PA)

(PA Archive)

Matt Mathers5 May 2023 11:05

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Sunak to publish long-awaited primary care plan

Rishi Sunak will try to turn the page on the local election results next week, with the long-awaited publication of the government’s primary care plan, Kate Devlin reports.

In part this is designed to free up more GP appointments, following complaints from voters that it is hard to see their family doctor.

As we reported on Thursday, Mr Sunak has also invited MPs for drinks in Downing Street in the middle of this month, in what will be seen as a move designed to boost party morale.

Matt Mathers5 May 2023 11:18

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‘Time is up’ for Sunak – Lib Dem leader

Ed Davey has declared that “time is up” for Mr Sunak and demanded a general election at a “victory rally” in Windsor, Archie Mitchell reports.

The Liberal Democrat leader said: “Voters across the country have sent a clear message in these local elections, a message so loud that even someone as out of touch as Rishi Sunak can’t ignore it.

“People are fed up with waiting hours for an ambulance, waiting in vain for the police to show up after a break-in, or for real action to bring down soaring energy bills and food prices.

“Conservative MPs are out of touch, out of ideas and out of excuses, and the British people are fed up with waiting for a chance to kick them out of office.

“Time is up for Rishi Sunak and his appalling Conservative Government, we need a general election now. It’s clear that in many parts of the country, it’s the Liberal Democrats who can defeat the Conservatives and deliver a fair deal for the British people.”

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Matt Mathers5 May 2023 10:38

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Watch: Change is possible’ – Keir Starmer hails Labour’s local election results

‘Change is possible’: Keir Starmer hails Labour’s local election results

Matt Mathers5 May 2023 10:20

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One of the biggest winners from today’s early results are the Liberal Democrats

One of the biggest winners from today’s early results are the Liberal Democrats, writes Jon Stone.

Liberal Democrat Leader Sir Ed Davey said on Friday morning he had a “Cheshire-cat” grin on his face following a “ground-breaking night” for his party.

The Lib Dems say they have delivered a “hammer blow” to the Tories in areas they dub the “Blue Wall” – formerly safe Tory seats in the south of England.

With many councils still to declare the party has wrested control of Windsor and Maidenhead in the south east from the Tories.

And it has ousted the Tories in South Gloucestershire, with a gain of three seats tipping the council in to no overall control.

The liberals also saw off a challenge from Labour to retain control of Hull council.

As of 10am the party has so far picked up at net gain of 61 seats, against 228 losses for the Tories and 119 gains for Labour.

“These are groundbreaking results for the Liberal Democrats and are exceeding all expectations,” a Lib Dem source said.

“We have delivered a hammer blow to the Conservative party in the Blue Wall.

The Conservative party never expected to make these kinds of losses to us tonight – the Blue Wall is looking fragile ahead of the general election next year.”

We’ll get a clearer picture as the results roll in today.

(PA)

Matt Mathers5 May 2023 10:10

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Labour ‘blew the doors off’ with win in Medway – Starmer

Labour “blew the doors off” with its win in Medway, Kent, party leader Keir Starmer has said.

Mr Starmer praised the work of party activists in the area after Labour took control of the council for the first time since 1998.

He visited Medway in his first outing this morning as the local election results continue to trickle in across England.

The Labour leader said his party was having “fantastic” results across the country, pointing to wins in Plymouth and Stoke-on-Trent.

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Matt Mathers5 May 2023 09:59

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Tories are problem, not solution – Starmer

As we’ve been reporting, Keir Starmer has been speaking from Medway, Kent, where Labour won control of the council from the Conservatives.

The Labour leader claimed voters had turned to his party because the government is “the problem, not the solution” on issues such as the cost of living crisis and the economy.

He said voters now trust Labour again and that his party was ready to “change the country”.

Matt Mathers5 May 2023 09:49

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‘Absurd’ to claim Tories are making progress in key battlegrounds – Labour

Labour has dismissed as “absurd” claims by Rishi Sunak that his party was making “progress” in key battlegrounds such as Sandwell, Archie Mitchell reports.

A party figure called it an “absurd line”, pointing out that each year a third of Sandwell’s seats come up for election.

In 2022, Labour won all 24 seats, while this year the party took 22 out of 24 seats – with the Conservatives gaining two.

“If that is all the PM and CCHQ can point to as ‘progress’ they are in enormous trouble. Those are two landslides, year on year,” the source added.

Matt Mathers5 May 2023 08:56

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Results ‘unambiguously bad news’ for Tories – Curtice

As we reported, polling expert Sir John Curtice has been speaking to Radio 4 about the local election results.

Archie Mitchell has more details from the interview:

The local election results were “unambiguously bad news” for the Tories, according to polling guru Sir John Curtice.

But while he acknowledged Labour may be the largest party after the next election, it was unclear whether it would be able to secure an overall majority.

Sir John told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The clear message of the night is indeed that the Conservatives have done badly.

“They have already lost 200 seats, they might, although I emphasise might, end up losing 1,000 by the end of today, despite their hopes that that wouldn’t be the case.

“Even though they did badly in May 2019 their share of the vote in the wards where we have taken votes and added them up is actually down a point from then.

“All of that is unambiguously bad news for the Conservatives.”

He added: “The difficult thing for the Labour Party is that while it has hit some of its targets, it has made significant gains already, it is having to share the spoils with other opposition parties.”

Matt Mathers5 May 2023 08:18

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Disappointing to lose ‘hard-working’ colleagues – Sunak

Prime minister Rishi Sunak said it was “disappointing to lose hard-working conservative councillors and friends and colleagues”, Archie Mitchell reports.

“It’s still early, we’ve just had a quarter of the results in, but what I am going to carry on doing is delivering on the people’s priorities, halving inflation, growing the economy, reducing debt, cutting waiting lists and stopping the boats,” Mr Sunak said.

He told Sky News: “We’re making progress in key election battlegrounds like Peterborough, Bassetlaw and Sandwell.

“The message I am hearing from people tonight is that they want us to focus on their priorities, and they want us to deliver for them.”

And Mr Sunak said he was “not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards the Labour Party or excitement for their agenda”.

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Matt Mathers5 May 2023 08:08

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