The Conservatives face losing their parliamentary majority at the next general election if today’s local election results are replicated, according to a projection conducted by Sky News.
Their analysis suggests that Boris Johnson’s party would have a hung parliament, remaining the largest party at Westminster but would fall 48 seats short of an overall majority.
In total, the Conservatives were predicted to win 278 seats, just seven more than Labour’s 271.
The projection was based on local election results from 1,700 wards, factoring in the changes in vote patterns across 87 local authorities since 2018.
The figures come after Westminster, a Conservative stronghold since its creation in 1964, and Wandsworth, widely believed to be Margaret Thatcher’s favourite council – and run by the Tories since 1978 – both fell to Labour.
In addition to these relative surprises, Labour also took their top London target in Barnet, the same borough they narrowly failed to win in 2014.
Boris Johnson admitted it was a “tough night” for the Conservatives, whereas Sir Keir Starmer called it a “massive turning point” for Labour.
Almost 150 councils held votes across England on Thursday, including 32 London boroughs.
Council seats were also contested in Scotland, Wales and the Northern Ireland assembly, where nationalists Sinn Féin could become the largest party for the first time in Northern Irish history.
All results in England, Scotland and Wales are expected to be known by Friday evening, although those in Northern Ireland are likely to carry through to Saturday.
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