Labour called for a general election announcement by Rishi Sunak after significant gains in the local elections, and also securing a seat in the parliament in the bypoll.
Party leader Keir Starmer said the party's parliament seat win in Blackpool South in northwest England sent a clear message to Sunak.
"Voters in Blackpool South have sent a direct message to Rishi Sunak: make way, let’s have a general election. Only Labour can get Britain's future back," he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
"Blackpool speaks for the whole country in saying, 'We have had enough now, after 14 years of failure, 14 years of decline, we want to turn the page and start afresh with Labour'," Labour leader Keir Starmer said on a visit to congratulate the new MP there, Chris Webb.
Sunak said it was "disappointing" to have lost dozens of councillors so far but said many results were still to be announced. "I am focused completely on the job at hand, that's delivering for people across the country," he told reporters.
The polls represent the last major ballot box test before Sunak faces a general election that he has said will be held in the second half of the year.
Pollsters forecast that the Conservatives could lose about half of the nearly 1,000 council seats they are defending in cities.
Speculation is rife in the UK parliament that a bad showing may lead some restive Tory lawmakers to try to replace him, forcing Sunak to possibly call the vote earlier.
"They are still getting support, but there are challenges there that we need to respond to," senior Conservative James Cleverly told Sky News, acknowledging the difficulties faced by the party.
"We are probably looking at certainly one of the worst, if not the worst, Conservative performances in local government elections for the last 40 years," polling expert John Curtice told BBC radio, highlighting the magnitude of the losses.
The Blackpool South defeat was the Tories' 11th by-election loss this parliament, the most by any government since the late 1960s. Sunak has been in charge during seven of them. The party linked to arch-Eurosceptic Nigel Farage won 17 percent of the vote, its best-ever by-election performance, suggesting it could squeeze the right-wing vote at the general election.
Labour also faced challenges, losing control of one local authority due to anger over its stance on the Israel-Hamas war. However, Starmer remained optimistic about his party's performance, stating, "Friday's results showed that Labour was once again an electoral force."
The outcome of mayoral contests, particularly in the West Midlands and London, would be crucial for Sunak's leadership. Observers noted that the re-election of Conservative mayors, such as Ben Houchen in Tees Valley, provided some solace for the party despite reduced majorities.
(AFP)
Damian Talbot