Sadiq Khan admitted this morning Labour may not win any new councils in London despite earlier predictions the party would seize the Tory ‘crown jewels’.
Theresa May’s Conservatives had been braced for devastating results from yesterday’s local elections.
But as results come in this morning, Labour has lost ground in pro-Brexit parts of England and shown little sign of the expected surge in London.
Labour had high hopes of winning two extra seats to seize control of Barnet for the first time ever.
The campaign was dominated by claims Labour would win Tory citadels Wandsworth and Westminster but both appeared likely to stay blue.
As the results emerged, London Mayor Mr Khan told the BBC: ‘I’m looking forward to seeing us making gains across London.
‘Of course we may not win councils but I think winning councillors who are Labour is a fantastic achievement.’
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell played down the prospect of famous victories in Wandsworth and Westminster in defiance of earlier optimistic forecasts.
In one of the most significant results so far, Labour lost control of Nuneaton council in a signal the party is failing to make progress in crucial swing seats.
The Tories won nine extra seats and saw their vote surge in the Warwickshire town, which is seen as a crucial bellwether seat for the country as a whole.
In a major boost for Labour on a disappointing night, the Conservative Party has lost control of Trafford for the first time in 14 years – meaning the party no longer controls a single council in Greater Manchester.
Sadiq Khan admitted this morning Labour may not win any new councils in London despite earlier predictions the party would seize the Tory ‘crown jewels’
The first four hours of counting saw Tory gains across the country and a total collapse in support for Ukip
Counting is underway in Westminster tonight (pictured) one of the most closely watched boroughs in the country amid speculation the Tory vote could collapse
Labour sources played down the prospects of securing an historic win in Westminster tonight as the counting began (pictured)
Elections are being held in English councils last fought over in 2014; 4,371 seats and 150 councils are at stake
Elsewhere, the Conservatives held off a Labour surge in Swindon to retain control of the council, which is home to two marginal constituencies currently with Tory MPs.
Basildon fell to the Tories from No Overall Control after the party won five extra seats. Labour also won three extra seats as Ukip collapsed.
Ukip has collapsed across the country and has lost scores of seats. Its vote has split between the Tories and Labour.
Going into election day, Labour held a huge polling lead in London – fuelled by EU citizens allowed to take part in their first election since the Brexit referendum.
But the race is thought to be tighter across the rest of the country, with the Tories hoping to make progress in Brexit-backing areas of the north.
The first wards declared in Sunderland suggested Labour was going backwards, losing seats to both the Tories and Liberal Democrats.
Today’s election was dogged by chaos in areas testing out new rules on voters being forced to show ID before they are allowed to cast a ballot.
Voters were turned away in a series of incidents as ID trials piloted in Bromley, Gosport, Swindon, Watford and Woking’s elections where people have been told they do not have the correct documents to submit their votes.
The trial, introduced by the Cabinet Office, means residents must bring photo ID or two documents showing proof of address from an approved list of sources.
But it has been branded ‘nonsense’ by some angry locals whose attempts to vote were rejected including 76-year-old Peter White who could not vote in Bromley for the first time since 1957 despite knowing the volunteers at the station.
The plan, similar to a system in the US, has divided opinion with some supporting it as a way to stop election fraud and others claiming it will disenfranchise vulnerable people including older voters.
Labour led the way overall in yesterday’s elections but lost some seats and failed to show a surge in support
The Grenfell Tower fire cast a long shadow over the elections in Westminster as a campaign group for victims beamed its logo onto Kensington town hall
Theresa May (pictured walking to vote this morning) is braced for devastating losses in the local elections tonight as counting begins in more than 4,000 contests across England.
Labour will be watching closely to see if the anti-Semitism scandal that has engulfed Jeremy Corbyn’s (pictured at his polling station this morning) leadership hits its support at the polls
London is the major battleground tonight after recent polls pointed towards a substantial swing to Labour.
Mr Corbyn’s party will be hoping to win control of Tower Hamlets and Barnet and possibly even the flagship Conservative councils of Wandsworth and Westminster.
But upsets are also possible around the country, with Labour also hopeful of taking power in town halls from Kirklees and Calderdale in Yorkshire and Trafford in Greater Manchester to Plymouth and Swindon in the south.
The Tories will hope for gains in places like Sunderland which are strongly pro Brexit.
Mr Corbyn had a smile on his face as he went to the polling booth in Islington this morning amid predictions his party is set for a major boost.
But Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson did not look too worried as he cast his vote at a polling station in Westminster today.
Polls closed at 10pm and votes cast in elections to 150 English councils will be counted in the coming hours with the first results due to be declared shortly after midnight (pictured are the first ballot boxes being opened in Sunderland)
Council staff in Sunderland got the count off to its traditional rapid start, passing ballot boxes into the counting centre by relay
Results in the north east are expected to be among the first declared as boxes are literally run to the counting tables (pictured tonight in Sunderland
More than 22 million people were eligible to vote in today’s elections, which are being counted overnight in 150 council areas tonight (pictured is the Sunderland count)
Speaking outside his polling station, Mr Corbyn accused the Conservatives of killing children with ‘heartless’ austerity policies today as he ramped up the rhetoric for the local elections.
The Labour leader said the government’s policies had ‘almost certainly’ increased the death rate and infant mortality.
The intervention comes amid signs the anti-Semitism crisis that has been wracking the party could limit its gains in the English council polls.
Shadow chancellor John McDonnell also risked a backlash today by suggesting Labour authorities could increase council tax – saying he believes voters are ready to pay more.
Senior Labour figures have been trying to play down expectations, having previously boasted they were on track to seize Tory strongholds in London like Westminster, Wandsworth and Barnet.
Mr White, 76, of Bromley, said he was ‘shocked’ to be turned away at the polls because he did not have his bank card or passport on him.
He told the Independent: ‘I can’t vote even though the people know me here and I have been a candidate for the Liberals before. Even after all that they still won’t let me vote.
‘Considering they know me, the chances of other people coming down to vote are going to be even less. This is a nonsense scheme.’
The ID trials causing controversy today were brought in by the Cabinet Office after reports of alleged electoral fraud through voter impersonation more than doubled between 2014 and 2016, according to the Electoral Commission.
The exact form of ID varies from council to council, with some requiring a picture ID and others proof of address.
For example, Watford and Swindon required voters to bring their polling cards with them to cast their ballots, whereas it is not compulsory in general.
Elsewhere Woking polling booths are accepting bus passes as photo ID, but Swindon Borough Council are not treating them as acceptable documentation.
The toughest restrictions appear to be in Bromley in south east London were voters must bring either photo ID such as a passport or driving licence OR two documents including marriage or birth certificates, bank statements or utility bills, with at least one containing proof of address.
Peter White, 76, pictured, said he was ‘shocked’ to be turned away from the polling booth at Bromley because he did not have the correct ID with the local council one of five across England to trial a new scheme trying to curb voter fraud
But controversial ID trials being piloted around the country have been slammed with some claiming voters have been turned away for not having the right documents
One man in Swindon said an 80-year-old woman was ‘fuming’ after being turned away for not having ID with her
But some said voter ID worked well in Gosport (pictured) and others questioned why anyone would object to the trials
It sees the UK follow in the footsteps of the US, where 33 states have introduced some from of ID requirement with Indiana the first to enforce a strict photo ID law in 2006.
But critics in the UK say there is no evidence to bring such laws to Britain.
Darren Hughes, Chief Executive of the Electoral Reform Society, said: ‘The government has no evidence to support its mandatory voter ID plans. That is more clear than ever when they push highly misleading statistics – ones which have now been denounced by the official statistics body. It is right that ministers are being held to account over these trials’ dodgy foundations.
‘Ministers are grasping at straws, and their draconian push to make ordinary voters show their papers before using their right to vote now looks desperate. The government must stop trying to trick voters and come clean.
‘Last year there were just 28 allegations of ‘personation’ in polling stations – the type of fraud voter ID seeks to address – out of nearly 45 million votes cast.
‘That makes this policy a sledgehammer to crack a nut – particularly when our respected legal system is more than equipped to deal with the issue.
‘This is the latest sign that these trials are ill thought-out, and raise serious concerns for our democracy. These poorly researched trials must not be a ‘fait accompli’ to justify a national roll-out of voter ID.’
Angela Wilkins, leader of the Labour group in Bromley, said five people have been unable to vote at polling stations as a result of the pilot and that the scheme is also causing long delays.
She tweeted: ‘Just been round the C Palace polling stations. 5 people not able to vote due to £voterID pilot and several walked away because of queues @CatSmithMP @labour4bromley. So why are we doing this .@LBBromley ?’