Local elections results: Corbyn says Brexit deal between Labour and Tories ‘has to be done’ in wake of poll hammering
Disastrous night for major parties as Liberal Democrats surge
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Your support makes all the difference.Voters have punished both Theresa May’s Conservative party and Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour in the 2019 local government elections over Brexit.
The Tories lost more than 1,200 seats, while the Lib Dems gained more than 600. The Greens gained more than 180 seats, with party co-leader Jonathan Bartley declaring it “the biggest election night in our history”.
Change UK MP Chuka Umunna said the local election results illustrate that “politics is broken in Britain”, while polling expert Sir John Curtice said the hold of the two big parties looks “as weak as it has done at any point in post-war British politics”.
The prime minister was confronted with anger as backbench MPs called for her removal and warned that the party would be “toast” if it did not change direction.
In Wales, a heckler interrupted the PM as she gave a speech in Wales, saying: “Why don’t you resign? We don’t want you.”
The prime minister later thanked Conservative councillors who had lost their seats.
“Because we haven’t delivered the Brexit deal through parliament yet, this was going to be a particularly challenging set of elections for both of the main parties,” she said in a speech to the North East Lincolnshire Conservative Group.
“I also know that last night, I’m sorry to say, a good number of good local councillors across the country lost their seats,” she said, in a speech to the North East Lincolnshire Conservative Group.
“Brandon (Lewis) and I both started our careers in local government and we know what it’s like when you’re fighting local elections against a difficult national background.
“I’d like to thank all those councillors for all their hard work and effort that they’ve put in.”
Labour also suffered losses, surprising the party leadership who had expected to make gains in Thursday’s vote.
Instead the party lost 63 council seats and overall control of six councils, including heartland councils such as Hartlepool, Wirral and Bolsover.
Both parties are now bracing for further losses in European elections, which are scheduled for 23 May.
If you would like to see how the results emerged, please see what was our live coverage below:
Dominic Grieve will reportedly not be de-selected following a no confidence vote last month.
ITV News has obtained a copy of a letter from the Beaconsfield Conservative Association, in which the group warns Mr Grieve to "play a more positive role" in delivering Brexit but confirm that the de-selection will not go ahead.
Theresa May has reportedly welcomed Jeremy Corbyn's comments about reaching an agreement on Brexit.
"It's what I've been saying for some time; it's what I've been working towards," the prime minister told BBC News.
"And I hope all across Parliament have got a very clear message as to what the public wants; they want us to deliver Brexit."
But Labour MPs have warned Mr Corbyn not to bail out the Tories, as the stalemate continues.
The party leaders' comments come after disastrous results for both the Conservatives and Labour in the local elections.
The Conservatives have now lost 1,172 council seats.
Results are available for 241 councils, out of a total of 248.
Labour have lost 68 councillors overall, while smaller parties celebrated significant wins.
The Liberal Democrats gained 619 council seats, while the Greens gained 174.
The Conservatives have lost control of Rother council.
No party will have overall control of the local authority.
The Conservatives have held West Berkshire council, but have lost 23 seats.
The Lib Dems have gained 11 seats on the council and the Greens have gained three seats.
"Brexit....is once again proving utterly unmanageable and disruptive for our traditional party system," argues our editorial on the aftermath of the local elections.
"It has already forced defections and splits, and both the main parties appear increasingly like disorderly gangs barely able to bear their own company.
"The parties, by contrast, that have a clear unequivocal message – the Liberal Democrats, the Greens and the Brexit Party – are benefiting from the public mood and yearning for clarity."
The Conservatives have lost overall control of Swale Borough Council, for the first time since 2002.
The result adds to a series of disastrous losses for the Tories.
Support for independent councillors has surged in the local elections.
Many of the councillors elected represent small new parties, which operate only on a hyperlocal basis.
Tonight, with seven councils still to declare, 1,009 independent candidates have been elected, 236 more than in 2015.
Independents have overall control of three councils, including Ashfield District Council and North Kesteven Council.
York Council remains outside of any party's control.
The Liberal Democrats gained 10 seats on the council, Labour gained four and the Conservatives lost eight.
The Conservatives have also held Mid Sussex council.
Three more councils are still to declare their results.
"Because we haven't delivered the Brexit deal through parliament yet, this was going to be a particularly challenging set of elections for both of the main parties," Theresa May has said, after the Conservatives lost over a thousand council seats.
"As the party who has been in government for nine years, it was of course always going to be particularly difficult for us.
"But as we look at what happened, nobody was expecting that Labour was going to do as badly as they did."
"But I think a message has been given to both main parties from the public - I think people are saying to us, 'We're sending a strong message, just get on and sort Brexit out and do it'."
The prime minister was speaking to members of the North East Lincolnshire Conservative Group.
Labour have lost 61 council seats in Thursday's vote.
The party had expected to do much better in the local elections.
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