Tories lose more than THREE HUNDRED seats in local election humbling but Labour FAILS to beat Corbyn's record or dent Boris Johnson's Red Wall - as poll shows result would mean a hung parliament at general electionBy DAVID WILCOCK, DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR
and JAMES TAPSFIELD, POLITICAL EDITOR FOR MAILONLINE
and GREG HEFFER, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT
6 May 2022
Boris Johnson was handed a local election humbling today as the Tories lost more than 300 seats and a slew of benchmark councils - but won some breathing room by holding on to key Red Wall votes.
The Prime Minister shrugged off the Conservative bloodbath in London and a handful of setbacks in the South, instead pointing out that the government's support had held up surprisingly well in the North and Midlands.
The Conservatives lost the totemic strongholds of Wandsworth and Westminster - which they have held since 1978 and 1964 respectively - to Labour.
Labour also seized Barnet, Southampton and Rossendale while West Oxfordshire, Worcester and Wokingham went to no overall control. But the grim toll is far lower than the 800-seat loss some had feared before polling day.
In another boost for the PM, Keir Starmer suffered a brutal double-whammy as he failed to beat Jeremy Corbyn's local election showing and police launched an investigation into 'Beergate'.
Despite a campaign dominated by sleaze and Partygate, while Labour piled up votes and seized the Tory council strongholds in the capital, they struggled to make a dent in crucial Red Wall areas.
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Source:
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10788987/Defiant-Boris-brushes-London-Tory-bloodbath-local-elections.html