UK election results LIVE: Starmer on brink as Boris rejoices - Tories gain 194 seats

Published date09 May 2021
Due to this devastating election performance, Sir Keir has come under fire from within his own party for failing to set out a clear plan to attract voters to the opposition.

The Tories won Hartlepool earlier today, a Labour stronghold since 1974.

Losing the seat is a major blow Sir Keir who becomes one of the first Labour leaders to lose their first by-election.

Labour's crisis has continued, however, as the party also lost its council leader in Oldham this morning - an independent candidate has now taken the seat.

The next Scottish Parliament, Welsh Senedd, London mayor and London Assembly will be determined.

Elections have also taken place for 13 regional mayors, 39 police and crime commissioners and 143 English councils.

Counting started overnight in some areas with results expected throughout the day.

However due to the coronavirus pandemic counting is expected to take longer than usual, with most results coming in between Friday and Monday.

In Scotland, the SNP is seeking the mandate for another independence referendum.

Unionist parties are aiming to weaken Nicola Sturgeon by depriving the SNP of an absolute majority.

Welsh 16 and 17-year-olds were able to vote for the first time for the Senedd election.

Labour is expected to remain the dominant party in Wales but is facing challenges from the Conservatives and Welsh nationalists.

FOLLOW BELOW FOR LIVE UPDATES…

03:00am update: Labour civil war over Rayner sacking

Labour has been plunged into civil war tonight, with Sir Keir Starmer's sacking of Angela Rayner as party chair sparking widespread shock and disbelief.

The deputy leader has been relieved of some of her responsibilities as a vicious blame game breaks out over Labour's disastrous results in Hartlepool and local council elections.

Ms Rayner had been responsible for the party's local election campaign but Sir Keir Starmer yesterday said he took responsibility for the poor results.

02:05am update: Boris Johnson promises jobs in red wall areas

Boris Johnson will promise to provide more jobs and skills to red wall areas in a bid to 'live local and prosper', The Daily Mail reports.

In plans to be outlined in the Queen's speech, the PM will pledge to revive areas that have been neglected by the Government.

He will also outline plans to tackle the NHS backlog caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

01:25am update: Keir Starmer is a 'dead man walking', senior figures have claimed

Senior figures have called Keir Starmer a dead man walking after the disastrous Super Thursday election results, The Sun has reported.

Boris Johnson took chunks out of Labour's "red wall" during the historic election as he looks to be eyeing up a decade as PM.

A shadow Cabinet source said: “The leadership has gone into a bunker.

"He [Starmer] came in with a lot of goodwill but now he’s squandered it."

12:27am update: Andy Burnham 'can't support' axing Angela Rayner as Labour chairwoman

Sir Keir Starmer has removed Angela Rayner as party chairwoman and is likely to sack Anneliese Dodds, the shadow chacellor, according to The Times.

The deputy leader was axed from the role of Labour chairwoman after a face-to-face meeting with Sir Starmer at the Party's HQ in Westminster after reportedly failing to deliver a strategy for the elections.

Shortly after the decision, Andy Burnham, Labour Mayor of Greater Manchester tweeted: "I can't support this."

Ms Rayner, is the first casualty of Starmer's shadow reshuffle but will remain in her position as deputy leader.

11:30pm update: Sadiq Khan re-elected Mayor of London

Sadiq Khan has been re-elected as Mayor of London after a close-run electoral race with Conservative rival Shaun Bailey.

Mr Khan gained 55.2% of the vote compared to 44.8% for Mr Bailey.

Voter turnout was just 42.2%.

Oliver Trapnell takes over from Rachel Russell

9.22pm update: Owen Jones turns on Labour for ‘lacking in basic vision’ as he bashes election washout

Owen Jones delivered a furious rant against the Labour party which he accused of "lacking in basic vision" as he broke down why they had performed so badly in the recent elections.

Mr Jones explained voters did not know what the opposition party stood for anymore and argued Labour were unlikely to know what to do with the power if they secured it due to lack of direction.

The passionate and damning evaluation of the Labour party was accompanied by a respectful nod to the Conservative party who were capitalising on the chaos within their main opposition.

Speaking to BBC News about the damning election results, Mr Jones said: "Never in recent times has Labour gone into elections so lacking in a basic vision.

"I was up in Hartlepool, but this has been corroborated by reports across the country, people don't know what Labour stands for anymore.

"Keir Starmer's whole approach and his whole team were to define themselves against the predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn, and Boris Johnson - but without defining what he actually stands for.

"And there's been a complete vacuum left by the Labour party when it comes to policy or vision, what would Labour actually do with political power?

"That's not a question, I'm afraid, that voters can answer, I don't think it's one that they can answer either."

8pm update: London mayoral election results are delayed

London's next mayor will be declared at around 10pm on Saturday night, officials at City Hall have confirmed, with London Assembly results to follow

shortly afterwards.

7.53pm update: Labour 'blame game' erupts as sacked Angela Rayner 'behind' Hartlepool's election loss

Sky News Deputy Political Editor, Sam Coates, revealed a "blame game" was ongoing in the Labour party with some critics pointing the finger at Angela Rayner after the Hartlepool by-election disaster.

Insiders state her lack of commitment - with one telling Mr Coates she only visited 22 locations during the campaign - as being behind the Labour loss and therefore the reason for her sacking.

Labour insiders state there will be a policy rethink and a potential frontbench reshuffle following the "Super Thursday" elections which saw Labour losing several safe seats.

Mr Coates told Sky News Ms Rayner has been sacked by Sir Keir and quipped the news travelled so quickly the news of the sacking reached newsrooms before the meeting ended.

He told Sky News: "Deputy heads should roll it appears, just a day after Keir Starmer told the TV cameras that he takes full responsibility for Labour's defeat in the election.

"There appears to be a bitter blame game underway with people attacking Keir Starmer's office for the decision.

"Things are so fast-moving that news of her people being removed appeared to seep out before the event had concluded."

6.06pm update: Labour loses control of Southampton City Council to the Conservatives after nine years at the helm

A third of the unitary authority's 48 seats were up for grabs this election, with the Tories making gains at Labour's expense in a straight red/blue fight.

Speaking after the results, Daniel Fitzhenry, leader of the council's Conservative Group, said: "Without doubt, people in Southampton are very grateful for the support they have received from the Government during the pandemic.

"And they are fed up with Labour and want to get Southampton moving, they want a positive, can-do attitude to get things done."

Labour has been in control at Southampton City Council, which delivers services for more than 250,000 people, since 2012.

5.43pm update: More results are announced in West Midlands

Vote totals for Coventry, the first of the West Midlands' seven council areas to declare second preference results, showed Labour's Liam Byrne with 3,585 further votes, compared to 2,111 for Andy Street.

Facing a 55,309-vote deficit from the first round, Mr Byrne only pulled back around 600 votes in Wolverhampton, about 300 in Walsall, and approximately 5,000 in Birmingham, meaning Mr Street is certain to be re-elected as the region's mayor.

4.37pm update: Tories hit with another blow in West of England

Labour candidate Dan Norris has been elected West of England mayor, beating Conservative candidate Samuel Williams.

Mr Norris said: "It's a huge honour to be elected. Thank you.

"I will show the difference an active metro mayor makes for our region. This role is about collaboration and I'll listen carefully and work co-operatively."

He added: "I'll hit the ground running with a Jobs & Skills summit in my first 100 days and launch my Green Recovery Plan.

"As we build back from the pandemic, invest in jobs and our high streets, let's create a society where we keep looking out for each other and value what's truly important."

4.30pm update: SNP loses crucial seat to Tories - but results of Scottish election still too close to call

The SNP failed to gain the Aberdeenshire West constituency from the Scottish Conservatives.

Winning the seat has been seen as being key for Nicola Sturgeon's party gaining an overall majority in the Scottish Parliament.

But Conservative Alexander Burnett held on to the seat with 19,709 votes, increasing his majority there and defeating Fergus Mutch, who polled 16,319 for the SNP.

The SNP continues to lead the Holyrood elections, but it is still not clear if they will win an overall majority.

Nicola Sturgeon's party gained three seats during the count on Friday - the only party to take a constituency from another - winning Ayr, Edinburgh Central and East Lothian.

4.15pm update: Andy Burnham wins Great Manchester election

Mr Burnham secured a rare victory for Labour as he was re-elected Mayor of Greater Manchester with 473,024 votes.

Tory Laura Evans came second with 113,753 votes.

3.35pm update: West Midlands mayoral election: Andy Street so close to first round win

The first count declaration showed Mr Byrne had 244,009 votes while Mr Street got 299,318 votes. It will now go to a second round.

Sky's Sophy Ridge tweeted: "The West Mids mayoral race has gone to the second round, but Liam Byrne would need to pick up almost every second...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT