wank fihe wank khe general performance. we want the general election and _ performance. we want the general election and we _ performance. we want the general election and we are _ performance. we want the general election and we are confident - performance. we want the general| election and we are confident going into it. what this by—election shows is the country wants change. the into it. what this by-election shows is the country wants change. the lib dems have — is the country wants change. the lib dems have attained _ is the country wants change. the lib dems have attained all _ is the country wants change. the lib dems have attained all councils - is the country wants change. the libl dems have attained all councils they held, strong night for the green party. more than half the results have yet to be declared. all of the latest. hello. welcome to the programme. all the results and of course crucially what it all means. not all of the results are in yet and we may have to wait until saturday for the full picture. so far, it looks like the conservatives are having a rough

time. they have lost around half the council seats they were defending, similar to how they performed in 1995. two years later, they were crushed at the general election. labour, the green party, lib dems, they made gains. blackpool south huge swing from the conservatives. the story of the night, here is damian grammaticas.- the story of the night, here is damian grammaticas. labour party, 10,825. cheering and applause blackpool south a little before 5am and a decisive labour victory. they were confident of emerging winners at the by—election, but this was emphatic. at the by-election, but this was em - hatic. , ., at the by-election, but this was emhatic. , ., at the by-election, but this was emphatic— at the by-election, but this was emhatic. , ., ., , emphatic. they have said to rishi sunak and the _ emphatic. they have said to rishi sunak and the conservatives, - emphatic. they have said to rishi| sunak and the conservatives, they have had _ sunak and the conservatives, they have had enough. they have had enough — have had enough. they have had enough of— have had enough. they have had enough of 14 years of the conservatives in power, they have lost trust — conservatives in power, they have lost trust of the british people and blackpool has had enough of this failed _ blackpool has had enough of this failed government. the conservatives who had held — failed government. the conservatives who had held the _ failed government. the conservatives who had held the seat _ failed government. the conservatives who had held the seat were _ failed government. the conservatives who had held the seat were beaten i

who had held the seat were beaten into second place but the shock will be reform very nearly pushed them into third. , ., �* into third. they did not get brexit done preperly. — into third. they did not get brexit done properly, they _ into third. they did not get brexit done properly, they did _ into third. they did not get brexit done properly, they did not - into third. they did not get brexit done properly, they did not cut i done properly, they did not cut immigration. people are tired of tory incompetence and lies, we are done with it, time for change, time for reform. the done with it, time for change, time for reform-— for reform. the first council of the niuht to for reform. the first council of the night to change — for reform. the first council of the night to change control, _ for reform. the first council of the l night to change control, hartlepool. 649. but with the conservatives lost six councillors, labour in charge again. six councillors, labour in charge aaain. ,_ . six councillors, labour in charge aaain. . ., again. the win is symbolic for them, clawin: again. the win is symbolic for them, clawing back — again. the win is symbolic for them, clawing back lost _ again. the win is symbolic for them, clawing back lost ground. _ again. the win is symbolic for them, clawing back lost ground. today - again. the win is symbolic for them, clawing back lost ground. today the | clawing back lost ground. today the labour party. _ clawing back lost ground. today the labour party, 806... _ labour party, 806... cheering and applause in rushmore in hampshire, labour have taken control directly from the conservatives. boundary changes help here but it has also been gaining wards from tories. mounting losses and 30—macro and welcome sight for the conservative minister at the

count —— mounting losses and unwelcome site. more labour cheer. conservatives lost control of the council here. grimsby is exactly the sort of place labour will hope to win back at the general election. sadly in local elections, they tend to mirror the polls at national level and clearly it is a statement of the obvious, we are far behind in the polls nationally and people have follow—through at the local level. there are warning signs for labour. in oldham, labour lost control of the council, in areas of substantial numbers of muslim voters, it has no support. the green party have picked up support. the green party have picked up votes often at the expense of labour. ., , ., ., , , ., labour. voters are really sick of this conservative _ labour. voters are really sick of this conservative government . labour. voters are really sick of l this conservative government and labour. voters are really sick of - this conservative government and the way they— this conservative government and the way they have run this country into the ground, — way they have run this country into the ground, but they are not really feeling _ the ground, but they are not really feeling inspired by what keir starmer— feeling inspired by what keir starmer is offering. in stockport where they _

starmer is offering. in stockport where they processed _ starmer is offering. in stockport where they processed the - starmer is offering. in stockport where they processed the votes | starmer is offering. in stockport l where they processed the votes in the car park, liberal democrats won a couple of wards from labour. the battlegrounds they care about most are yet to start telling. we battlegrounds they care about most are yet to start telling.— are yet to start telling. we are exoecting _ are yet to start telling. we are exoecting to — are yet to start telling. we are expecting to see _ are yet to start telling. we are expecting to see good - are yet to start telling. we are l expecting to see good progress, are yet to start telling. we are - expecting to see good progress, but specifically— expecting to see good progress, but specifically in — expecting to see good progress, but specifically in the _ expecting to see good progress, but specifically in the areas _ expecting to see good progress, but specifically in the areas where - expecting to see good progress, but specifically in the areas where we i specifically in the areas where we hope _ specifically in the areas where we hope to— specifically in the areas where we hope to win — specifically in the areas where we hope to win parliamentary- specifically in the areas where we hope to win parliamentary seats. | specifically in the areas where wei hope to win parliamentary seats. i hope to win parliamentary seats. hereby declare caroline is duly elected. , . , ., elected. the picture emerges of labour chalking _ elected. the picture emerges of labour chalking up _ elected. the picture emerges of labour chalking up gains, - labour chalking up gains, conservatives slipping back, smaller parties winning support from both of them. let's get some analysis on the results that have come through overnight. our political correspondent, nick eardley, is in the newsroom. it is interesting to go over the big picture results so far, but tend to look in more detail about some of the trends we have seen in different parts of the country. starting off with the big picture this morning at nine o'clock. it looks like this. it has been a decent night for labour,

really bad for the conservatives, looking like it could be really, really bad, down 122 seats so far. modest gains for the lib dems. interesting, up 39 independence, i will come back and explain why that is. this is what it means at nine o'clock in terms of councils, you can see labour up three, the conservatives down three. this is the thing that will be looked up closely in party hq, the change in vote share from 2021. it is looking really bad for the conservatives, worrying tories trying to figure out what it means for the general election. pretty good for labour, up 5%. some questions about whether it could have been a bit more, but the message from labour, they think the 5% increase is in areas where they needed to win a general election.

looking more at what some of the specific results might tell us. this is the overnight result... actually, let me give you a broader view of interesting ones. some of the places where labour won, redditch taken from the conservatives, rushmore taken from the conservatives, hartlepool and thurrock, they were hung councils, no overall control, no labour. if you are a tory waking up no labour. if you are a tory waking up this morning, is there any light at the end of the tunnel? maybe a bit in places like harlow. in harlow, labour might have done well and taken that on a really good night. and another one in the lib dem sites on a good night. alden is interesting, labour loss control, i would explain why —— oldham. more detail in redditch. if you look down the bottom here, redditch has been conservative for years, it is a bellwether seat, one of those places were it gives us a good sense of

where the country is headed. it looks really good for labour based on what we saw yesterday. gone from conservative controlled to labour, pretty comfortably, 14 seats needed for a majority, they got 21, quite significant. i also want to show you hartlepool, cast your mind back three years, probably the lowest point in keir starmer�*s leadership, labour lost the hartlepool by—election. you can see the council has been hung for years, it is not now, labourwon has been hung for years, it is not now, labour won comfortably, 24 seats, 19 needed for control. pretty happy about that. the picture has changed. labour upsets, conservatives down two, independents lost a couple. looking good for labour, bad for the conservatives, but not perfect for labour. oldham in greater manchester, really

interesting if we are trying to figure out potential achilles' heel is for labour. onto the next page to show you, independent at seven, labour down five, that is why they lost control, and five of the independents was standing on a platform about the war in gaza, saying labour have the wrong policy, angry at the position they have taken. that appears to be one of the key reasons labour have lost control in oldham. the party says there are local factors, in oldham. the party says there are localfactors, losing in oldham. the party says there are local factors, losing seats there for a while. if anything is going to worry keir starmer this morning, it will be that. worry keir starmer this morning, it will be that-— will be that. fascinating. while we have not will be that. fascinating. while we have got you. _ will be that. fascinating. while we have got you. can _ will be that. fascinating. while we have got you, can i _ will be that. fascinating. while we have got you, can i get _ will be that. fascinating. while we have got you, can i get you - will be that. fascinating. while we have got you, can i get you to - will be that. fascinating. while we have got you, can i get you to talkj have got you, can i get you to talk us through the by—election result, blackpool south, and what it shows us? i blackpool south, and what it shows us? ., ., ,. ., blackpool south, and what it shows us? . ., us? i have a screen to show you. blackpool _ us? i have a screen to show you. blackpool south, _ us? i have a screen to show you. blackpool south, the _ us? i have a screen to show you. i blackpool south, the conservatives won at the last general election.

nowhere near this time. the labour candidate chris webb, a majority of 7600. look at the difference between the tories and reform, tiny, that will worry the conservatives. reform doing so well but secondly the tories onlyjust doing so well but secondly the tories only just scraped doing so well but secondly the tories onlyjust scraped into second place. here is how the voting stacks up, and here is the change, look at that. the conservative vote is down nearly a third. labour vote up significantly. reform vote is significantly. reform vote is significant too. reform is the successor to the brexit party and they are planning on challenging the conservatives around england. places like blackpool, that will worry the tories. but i think the next thing you will see is the most striking graphic of the day so far. a big swing, huge swing, 26% from the conservatives to labour, the third

biggest swing from the tories to labour since the second world war. the other two have come recently as well. there is a pattern, big swings in by—elections, conservatives to labour, it isjust in by—elections, conservatives to labour, it is just a by—election, you would not get the exact same result we don't think necessarily at a general election, but if you are a conservative mp standing in the general election, looking at that this morning, you will be worried. brilliant stuff, thank you so much for that. we are going to seamlessly now go to blackpool. let's speak to our politcal correspondent, helen catt, whojoins us live from blackpool. tell us where you are and what you are there. i tell us where you are and what you are there. . ., �* ., . ~ , ., ., tell us where you are and what you are there. . ., �* ., . ~ , a are there. i am at blackpool cricket club this morning _ are there. i am at blackpool cricket club this morning and _ are there. i am at blackpool cricket club this morning and i _ are there. i am at blackpool cricket club this morning and i am - are there. i am at blackpool cricket club this morning and i am here - club this morning and i am here because not so long ago so was keir starmer and the deputy leader of the labour party angela rayner and of course the brand—new labour for south, chris webb. they have been here greeting activists and thinking on this morning and doing a rally to

mark this moment because sir keir starmer has called this win in blackpool south seismic. the size of the swing, 26% swing from the conservatives to labour. for more than labour says it would need to win a majority at a general election. they are very keen to mark this moment. sir keir starmer had a particular message he wanted rishi sunak to take from this. we want that general election, and we are confident going into the general election, because what this by—election shows is that the country wants change. this is a very clear divide now. we've had 14 years of failure and decline, we've just got chaos and division from the tories. people want to turn the page on that and go forward with labour and our positive plan for the country. celebrating this morning for labour, not so much for the conservatives

who have a lot to chew over from the results in blackpool south, not only losing votes in such large numbers to labour but they also seem to have lost a sizeable chunk to reform. at one point in the evening there was a thought reform could have picked them to second place, they didn't, them to second place, they didn't, the conservatives managed to stave off what would have been a nightmare scenario for them in that case. but only by the case of about 100 votes. there will be a lot of chewing over for the conservatives to do. the vote has collapsed here, down 30 percentage points, they will have to look at what happened here last night. for labour, conservative spokesperson had suggested this was always going to be difficult for them, given the circumstances surrounding why the by—election came about in the first place, relating to the previous mp scott benton. but i think labour this morning, you can see their celebration, jubilation, what they see as a really important

result. , , ., ., what they see as a really important result.�* , ., ., what they see as a really important result. , ., ., , result. just on how we can i suppose draw a wider — result. just on how we can i suppose draw a wider lesson _ result. just on how we can i suppose draw a wider lesson from _ result. just on how we can i suppose draw a wider lesson from this, - result. just on how we can i suppose draw a wider lesson from this, what | draw a wider lesson from this, what are the kind of factors there you think are encouraging for labour or anything potentially an unusual by—election? anything potentially an unusual lay-election?— anything potentially an unusual b -election? j . ., ., by-election? by-elections are always re by-election? by-elections are always pretty volatile — by-election? by-elections are always pretty volatile and — by-election? by-elections are always pretty volatile and turnouts _ by-election? by-elections are always pretty volatile and turnouts of - pretty volatile and turnouts of course are lower than in general elections, for example here the turnout was 32.5%, at the last general, around 57%. slight differences between by—elections and general elections. when you talk to various parties, talking to them last night, the message from labour, they want change, voters have said it is time. whether they go to labour, reform, moving away from conservatives. conservatives think they had a story to tell in terms of they had a story to tell in terms of the amount of money they put into the amount of money they put into the town about eight clearly has not registered on the doorsteps and i

think they will need to look at why that might be. a lot to think about. thank you for that. let us go to westminster, ben wright is there for us. good to see. i want to ask about details that have stood out to you in a moment. first, can you give us the broadbrush topline top story, story of the night so far? the parliamentary _ story of the night so far? tte: parliamentary by—election story of the night so far? the: parliamentary by—election at story of the night so far? t“t;e: parliamentary by—election at the moment, blackpool south, another round for the conservatives, the latest in a series since 2023, sir keir starmer waking up to the fit and flatter labour winning a by—election which would suggest that he is currently on course to become prime minister in a few months —— waking up to the labour win. that is the standout result overnight. the picture in terms of councils is

emerging. still early days, still many more councils who will declare results in the course of the day. and tomorrow. this is a preliminary picture we are getting. some results stand out and they are potentially very significant. the fact labour took the council in hartlepool, a place where they had terrible results in 2021, at the council level and also losing a parliamentary constituency. they are backin parliamentary constituency. they are back in control in hartlepool in the north—east, also back in control in thurrock in the south—east, another strongly leave voting area where labour has completely come back into contention and now runs the council. i would also highlight rushmore in hampshire, this has been a pretty tory area for several years, now labour have that council. across england, starting to see a map, bits of the map turning red that will cheer up labour ho. this is early days still and i think it is the mayoral race is that we will be

talking about by the end of the day, one in particular, tees valley, where the tory is seeking real action. we won't know about the west midlands and london and other payment until tomorrow. i think the next big thing to look out for will be the result in tees valley —— london and others. t be the result in tees valley -- london and others.— be the result in tees valley -- london and others. i want to pursue more on that- _ london and others. i want to pursue more on that. mark— london and others. i want to pursue more on that. mark our— london and others. i want to pursue more on that. mark our card, - london and others. i want to pursue more on that. mark our card, map l london and others. i want to pursue l more on that. mark our card, map out the next day, what we should be looking out for. a, the next day, what we should be looking out for.— looking out for. a swathe of councils will _ looking out for. a swathe of councils will declare - looking out for. a swathe of councils will declare into - looking out for. a swathe of| councils will declare into the looking out for. a swathe of- councils will declare into the late morning and afternoon giving us a very good picture. whether the pattern is continuing, whether the conservative and labour results are really mirroring the opinion polls we have seen over the last few months as well. at the moment are early results suggest they do. council results to look out for. but the big one will be the tees valley race. i think the conservatives have

beenin race. i think the conservatives have been in the last few days relatively confident of holding on, then hatcher won with a massive vote in 2021, 70 2% -- ben. the hatcher won with a massive vote in 2021, 70 2% —— ben. the question is, does he hang on this time? like lots of the mayor plymouth across england, they have a big personal brand that in some ways a slightly separate from the party —— mayors. he will be hoping that keeps him in post. if he does not hold on, that will be an absolutely devastating blow for the tories. t will be an absolutely devastating blow for the tories.— will be an absolutely devastating blow for the tories. i want to ask ou blow for the tories. i want to ask you about _ blow for the tories. i want to ask you about oldham. _ blow for the tories. i want to ask you about oldham. nick - blow for the tories. i want to ask you about oldham. nick eardleyl blow for the tories. i want to ask - you about oldham. nick eardley gave us some numbers, the breakdown, interesting potential achilles' heel for labour, i think he described it as. how do you see the issue about what happened in oldham? independent candidates gaining _ what happened in oldham? independent candidates gaining seats _ what happened in oldham? independent candidates gaining seats at _ what happened in oldham? independent candidates gaining seats at the - candidates gaining seats at the expense of labour because of the

strongly pro—gaza stance, labour hurt an old and, later we will see results in places like burnley and sheffield and we may see a repeat of the pattern, something that will be causing some jitters in the the pattern, something that will be causing somejitters in the labour party, as they think about their prospects in urban seats with big muslim populations. how is the stance on the israel—gaza war going to play at the ballot box? notjust in the next 24—48 hours, but in the general election. we in the next 24-48 hours, but in the general election.— in the next 24-48 hours, but in the general election. we do spend a lot of time looking _ general election. we do spend a lot of time looking ahead _ general election. we do spend a lot of time looking ahead to _ general election. we do spend a lot of time looking ahead to the - general election. we do spend a lot| of time looking ahead to the general election, interpreting what the results mean when it comes to a general election, but can we look at the results in their own right? what does it mean, what difference does it make to people's lives when a council switches hands? when it drops into no overall control? what kinds of decisions are the local politicians making that have an impact on people's lives? huge imact. impact on people's lives? huge impact. perhaps _ impact on people's lives? huge impact. perhaps it _ impact on people's lives? huge impact. perhaps it is _ impact on people's lives? huge impact. perhaps it is the - impact on people's lives? huge impact. perhaps it is the most l impact. perhaps it is the most direct day—to—day experience of the

decision—making that politicians have. it determines how the local councils are run, how the roads are managed. on a variety of fronts, how social care is operating in a particular area. decisions made that affect people. these are decisions down to local councils, local authorities. they are responsible for very large budgets too. they do have a big impact. you are right to point out, we should not forget that, in all the speculation about what it means for the general election. these elections are important in of themselves, same applies to police and crime commissioner elections happening at the same time. inevitably so close to a general election, this will have a large bearing on the mood within the parties, on their strategies, the areas they need to concentrate on, to —— build up their support, defensive game, this will be really important as they head towards the general election. for rishi sunak, clearly he knows he is

leading a despondent and dejected conservative party. they can see the opinion polls, the actual results coming in now. they know they have an absolutely huge electoral mountain to climb if they have any chance of hanging on at the general election. at the moment, this is going to do nothing to lift the despondent mood within his ranks. thank you so much for that, speak to you later. we will cross now to sir john curtice, professor of politics at the university of strathclyde. great to see. what are the numbers telling you?— telling you? there are two principal messares telling you? there are two principal messages coming _ telling you? there are two principal messages coming out _ telling you? there are two principal messages coming out of _ telling you? there are two principal messages coming out of the - telling you? there are two principal messages coming out of the local. messages coming out of the local election results, together with the parliamentary by—election in blackpool. the first is that so far as the gap between conservatives and labour is concerned, nothing very much seems to have changed. in one sense, it sounds like a surprising

statement because the swing from conservative to labour in blackpool south, just over 26%, the third biggest swing in post—war electoral history. trouble is, swings of that kind of size have now become rather commonplace in the last year, we have had five by—elections in which the swing from conservative to labour has been over 20%, in that sense, more of the same, parliamentary by—elections of the kind we have really not seen since the 1992-27 kind we have really not seen since the 1992—27 parliament which of course ended in defeat for the conservatives. equally if we look at detailed voting figures the bbc has been collecting overnight, many more still to come, but so far at least, it looks as though if anything support for the conservatives in local elections, down on last year, support for the labour party certainly holding firm, slightly higher. eitherway,

certainly holding firm, slightly higher. either way, there is no evidence here of any closing of the camp between labour and the conservatives, narrowing of the labour lead —— the cat. more of the same. just indeed is the opinion polls have been suggesting. one difference, but again anticipated by opinion polls, reform performing more strongly than last year, still did not fight many of the wars, blackpool south, conservatives almost ending up in third place, and local council elections, like sunderland, where i can funded critically well, the conservative party seems to suffer —— where reform did particularly well. it does mean the conservatives are still in as much trouble as a year

ago, with the added twist they now have two parties biting into their vote, labourand have two parties biting into their vote, labour and reform, have two parties biting into their vote, labourand reform, ratherthan just one for the most part 12 months ago. just one for the most part 12 months aro. , , , ago. interesting. on the numbers, what will you _ ago. interesting. on the numbers, what will you be _ ago. interesting. on the numbers, what will you be working _ ago. interesting. on the numbers, what will you be working on - ago. interesting. on the numbers, what will you be working on this i what will you be working on this morning and this afternoon to try to get the best possible picture to try to translate over to the general election? ., ., , . election? there are two things that will be going _ election? there are two things that will be going on — election? there are two things that will be going on today, _ election? there are two things that will be going on today, the - election? there are two things that will be going on today, the first - election? there are two things that will be going on today, the first is i will be going on today, the first is we will be looking at the scale of the conservative losses. at the moment leasing one seat in two, they could end up losing 500 seats, widely suggested before the election, bad result. the second big thing with the detailed voting figures i have referred to, we will come up with the projected national share, which is not a full cost of the general election, not even a statement of what might have happened if we had a general election on thursday, but rather an

estimate of what would have happened if the whole country had had local elections on thursday, because only bits of england date, and people behaved in much the same way as those parts of the country that did have local elections. that is something we do every year. you will have to wait and see. i will say to you last year labour on this estimate were at 35%, conservatives down at 26, liberal democrats at 20%. lib dems do better in this estimate than in the national opinion polls. that is the benchmark. we will have to wait and see what the calculation comes up with when we have a lot more results, probably the second half of the afternoon.— the afternoon. professorjohn curtice, great _ the afternoon. professorjohn curtice, great to _ the afternoon. professorjohn curtice, great to talk - the afternoon. professorjohn curtice, great to talk to - the afternoon. professorjohn curtice, great to talk to you, | the afternoon. professorjohn i curtice, great to talk to you, we will be back with you when you have those numbers. thank you again for reminding us that we are still waiting on a lot of results. a bit of political reaction now to what has happened so far.

the chairman of the conservatives, richard holden, my heart goes out to a lot of my conservative colleagues who i have been campaigning with out across the country, who have lost their seats overnight, and although we've only seen around a third of councils, a couple of the pccs and none of the big mayoral contests yet, and obviously some disappointing results so far. but also, you know, some areas like fareham, harlow where we've managed to hold conservative councils, and up in newcastle upon tyne where we've finally got a conservative councillor there for the first time in 32 years. but, no, overall, a disappointing night for us. the conservative mp, dame andrea jenkyns, who has previously called for rishi sunak to resign, says the party has to change. the last 24 hours, i think, for rishi, he's got a message, he's been told by the electorate, "wake up, be conservative, or we lose."

i think that is the actual message that's come through. i mean, the by—election result, yes, we've been doing disastrously in by—elections, but i think what that demonstrated is, you know, reform can't muster enough votes to win seats, but they can hand seats to labour. support for the conservatives was lower in every area where they were up against candidates from reform uk. the former tory lee anderson, who's reform's only mp, says it was a strong showing from his party. we are here to stay, making inroads, we are _ we are here to stay, making inroads, we are a _ we are here to stay, making inroads, we are a small party. we are pulling around _ we are a small party. we are pulling around 15%~ — we are a small party. we are pulling around 15%. going up and up. the tory— around 15%. going up and up. the tory party— around 15%. going up and up. the tory party is — around 15%. going up and up. the tory party is going down. come the general— tory party is going down. come the general election, this party is going — general election, this party is going to _ general election, this party is going to win seats. vote for reform. the liberal democrats have made modest gains so far — remaining in control of four local authorities they were defending. the party's deputy leader,

daisy cooper, told bbc breakfast that many people have been voting tactically. we have seen that in the four stunning by—election wins we have had in this parliament as well, where again a number of labour voters decided to vote for our liberal democrat candidates, and so our message really is if you want to get rid of this conservative in 80 seats, voting for the liberal democrats is the best way of getting rid of the conservative mp. the co—leader of the green party, carla denyer, is standing in the next general election. she says tonight's local election results are good for her chances. it is even more so with the boundary changes, we think the changes roughly half the labour majority on their own, not accounting for the fact that voters peoples opinions, leadership of the labour party has changed, a number of factors locally and nationally, and simply my experience speaking to voters on the doorstep. voters are really sick of this conservative government and the

way they have run the country into the ground over the last 14 years, but they are not really feeling inspired by what keir starmer�*s labour party are offering and they are excited by the opportunity to vote and elect the city placement first queen anne t. —— the city's first queen anne t. —— the city's first green party and p. katy balls is the political editor at the spectator. she joins us live from westminster. how bad was it for the conservative party? pretty bad, approaching awful if you think of historical comparisons. the tories will say it is far from over, comparisons. the tories will say it is farfrom over, still lots more results to come in. it is true. but if you listen to the pollsters, getting a fair flavour in terms of different parts of the country and the news is not really good in terms of losing council seats, the blackpool by—election, labour took it very comfortably, that is now the second ever labour and p there,

should be a stronghold. they will be taking some light relief from the fact they narrowly managed to stop from from coming second, but only by 100 votes. —— reform uk. the reform uk problem is still very much there. if you were a tory minister sent out on the airwaves, you do not have too much to point to. you will hear a lot about harlow where they have managed to hold off labour taking control of the council. wandsworth and westminster, in the past when tories have had bad results, they cling on a couple, helping the tees valley mayor is re—elected this afternoon because that will give them another thing to point to. right now pretty slim pickings if you want to have a positive story for the tory party on its results. let's spend a moment on the reform problem, as you phrased it, for the conservatives. where there was over reform candidate, they did not stand

one in every seat, it seemed to impact the conservatives' vote share. reminders who reform are and why they are a potential problem for the conservatives?— why they are a potential problem for the conservatives? reform was born out of the brexiter _ the conservatives? reform was born out of the brexiter party _ the conservatives? reform was born out of the brexiter party which - the conservatives? reform was born out of the brexiter party which was l out of the brexiter party which was led by nigel farage. req set was delivered, in the technical sense at least, so they became the reform party. effectively they are on the right of the tory party, so do they divide the tory vote is the big question. up until probably today, where the reform party are in general intention polling tends to be where they are when they have an actual electoral test. the problem for the tories is in the local elections, and they have not stood in many places, they did pretty well in many places, they did pretty well in blackpool, their best by—election to date, and in the wards they are getting on average about 14%, and it

is the tory candidate