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As it happenedended1525455735

Local elections - as it happened: Corbyn insists Labour ‘ready for an election', despite missing top London targets

All the latest updates, as they happened

Lizzy Buchan,Ashley Cowburn
Friday 04 May 2018 17:45 BST
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Local Elections 2018: The results so far

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Labour has urged the government to scrap controversial ID pilots, which saw some voters turned away during local elections in England.

Parties faced mixed results at the polls, although Jeremy Corbyn insisted Labour was "absolutely ready" for a general election, despite failing to deliver on its pledge to snatch key councils from the Tory clutches.

While Labour made gains in areas like Plymouth and Trafford, it was unable to win the Tory "crown jewels" in London, such as Wandsworth and Westminster.

The party had hoped to seize Kensington and Chelsea from the Tories in the wake of public outcry over the Grenfell Tower tragedy but failed to do so, while its chances in Barnet - which has a large Jewish population - may have been damaged by the recent antisemitism row.

The Conservatives capitalised on the near-collapse of Ukip, and gained control of councils in Peterborough, Southend and Basildon, with a small swing in their favour outside London.

Elsewhere, the Liberal Democrats won several councils - including target seats of Richmond-upon-Thames and Kingston-upon-Thames - while the Greens elected a string of new councillors.

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The Tories are on track to hold Wandsworth, Conservative sources say. 

Kristin Hugo4 May 2018 04:20
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51 out of 51 seats in Barking and Dagenham for Labour.

Kristin Hugo4 May 2018 04:24
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Labour had gained two seats in the Maida Vale ward and one seat in the Bayswater ward by 4am in Westminster City Council.

Karen Buck, Labour MP for Westminster North, said these were "impressive results".

She said these were very difficult wards to win, adding that traditionally they do not swing very much.

Ms Buck said Labour has not won a councillor seat in Bayswater or held in Maida Vale since 1986.

She said a swing of 9% was required to result in Labour controlling the council.

Kristin Hugo4 May 2018 04:24
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Kristin Hugo4 May 2018 04:27
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Sadiq Khan arrived at Wandsworth and left soon after - seems fairly likely Labour won't be getting that majority they wanted.

Kristin Hugo4 May 2018 04:29
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Mark Field, Conservative MP for Cities of London and Westminster, said he was predicting a 40/20 or 41/19 result in favour of the Tories in the City of Westminster.

Prior to this election, the council, which has always been controlled by the Conservatives, had 45 Tory councillors and 15 from Labour.

Mr Field said the "handful of losses" was a far better result than many were predicting and said he never thought there was a realistic chance of Labour taking control of the council.

Reflecting on the results so far and his predicted final result, Mr Field said it was "a pretty good result" in the circumstances.

"I think the idea that the Conservative Party in London is dead, which was an allegation that was being made only yesterday morning, is one that I think can now firmly be disproved," he said

Kristin Hugo4 May 2018 04:33
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The Conservatives have retained control of Westminster City Council after winning 32 of the seats declared so far.

Kristin Hugo4 May 2018 04:44
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Conservatives have retained control of Wandsworth Council after winning 32 of the 60 seats, with some wards still to declare.

Kristin Hugo4 May 2018 04:44
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Not the night Labour was hoping for. The Tory "crown jewels" appear to be staying with the Conservatives.

Kristin Hugo4 May 2018 04:45
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State of parties after 80 of 150 councils

Conservatives: 24 councils; 530 seats (+31)

Labour: 40 councils (-1); 862 seats (+15)

LibDems: 3 councils; 255 seats (+20)

Green: 15 seats (+3)

UKIP: 2 seats (-34)

Independent: 50 seats (-37)

Liberal: 1 seat (-1)

Ratepayers and Residents: 11 seats (-4)

No overall control: 13 councils (+1)

Kristin Hugo4 May 2018 04:50

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