Ballots being counted in key by-election test for Starmer and council contests

Ballots are being counted in a series of council elections, mayoral votes, and a key by-election test for Sir Keir Starmer.

More than 1,600 council seats are up for grabs across 23 local authorities, while four regional mayors and two local mayors will be elected.

In Runcorn and Helsby voters are choosing a new MP after Labour’s Mike Amesbury resigned following his conviction for punching a constituent.

Betting odds had Reform ahead of the incumbent party in the by-election, and government parties tend to do poorly in by-elections.

‘Labour managing expectations’

Already, the Labour Party is managing expectations that they may lose the seat.

Speaking about the by-election and polls more widely, Ellie Reeves, the party’s chair, said: “These elections were always going to be a challenge, being held largely in areas dominated by the Conservatives, often for decades. That’s why Labour candidates stood on a promise to bring change right across our country.

“There are promising signs that the Labour government’s plan for change is already starting to turn around 14 years of Tory failure.

“NHS waiting lists have fallen consistently. Free breakfast clubs are starting to roll out in every primary school. Some 3.5 million workers got a pay rise with the minimum wage increase this month, with pensions rising thanks to Labour’s commitment to the triple lock.

“But we know people aren’t yet fully feeling the benefit and we are just as impatient for change as the rest of the country. However the results turn out this evening, this Labour government will go further and faster in turning our country around and giving Britain the future it deserves.”

A Reform UK spokesperson said: “We have fought a strong campaign. The two major parties are more fearful of the results tonight than we are.”