The Tories have lost 48 councils and over 1,000 councillors, exceeding their worst predictions. This marks the first time since 2002 that Labour has become the largest party in local government. The Liberal Democrats also celebrated their “best result in decades”, gaining control of 12 councils, mostly in traditionally Conservative areas.

The elections of 230 councils in England were seen as the first major test of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s electoral popularity since he won a Tory leadership contest and became prime minister last October. However, despite admitting that the results were “disappointing”, Mr Sunak has stated that he did not detect “a massive groundswell of movement towards the Labour Party”.

Sir Keir, on the other hand, has claimed that the “fantastic” results demonstrate that his party is well placed to replace the Tories in government in the general election, which is expected to take place next year. “Make no mistake, we are on course for a Labour majority at the next general election,” he told cheering activists in Medway, Kent.

Labour has won control of councils in crucial battlegrounds for the next general election, including Medway, Swindon, Plymouth, Stoke-on-Trent, and East Staffordshire. The BBC’s projected national vote share put Labour on 35%, the Tories on 26%, and the Lib Dems on 20%.

Sir John Curtice, a polling expert, has described this year’s results as “only a little short of calamitous for the Conservatives”. However, the BBC’s political editor, Chris Mason, has said that the results suggest it will be hard for either the Conservatives or Labour to be confident of winning a majority in the next general election.

Despite the significant losses, there appears to be no appetite within the Conservative Party to move against Mr Sunak, after the Tories forced two prime ministers – Boris Johnson then Liz Truss – out of office last year. Nevertheless, some Conservatives are reeling from the results, with ousted councillors and critics of Mr Sunak venting their anger at the prime minister.

The elections took place amid a dire economic backdrop in the UK, with high inflation contributing to the worst cost-of-living crisis in decades. A figure loyal to Mr Johnson and Ms Truss told the BBC that Mr Sunak had “no option but to own these results”. In Swindon, where Labour took control of the borough council for the first time in 20 years, ousted Tory council leader David Renard blamed “the cost of living and the performance of the government in the last 12 months” for his party’s local woes.