Labour has been dealt three huge blows in council elections as voters revolt against the winter fuel payments cut.
The Conservatives gained two council seats from Labour last night, and a third just two nights ago.
In Marine ward, Worthing, the Tories took the seat with a swing of 12% from Labour.
In West End ward, Westminster, the Tories took the seat with a swing of 9.5% from Labour.
Just two days ago in Gedling, a key red wall seat the Tories won in 2019 but lost in July, the Tories took the council ward with a 14.3% swing away from Labour.
Sir Keir took a pounding last night in multiple council by-elections (Image: Getty)
Meanwhile the Lib Dems also benefitted last night from Labour’s growing political troubles, with a huge 27% swing from Labour to them, handing them a council seat in Bromsgrove.
And in Hartlepool, Reform UK came dangerously close to taking a council seat off them, as Labour’s vote fell by 7 points and Mr Farage’s party rocketed up 23.9%.
Last night, left-wing journalist Aaron Bastani observed: “In 3 council by-elections tonight Labour are down -19%, -19% and -29%”
“I’m sure it’s nothing and everything is fine….”
“You suspect lots of good Labour councillors will lose wards next May because Starmer just simply can’t say no to free designer ties and glasses.
“A bizarre and puzzling start to his premiership.”
The Tories gained a Westminster council seat last night (Image: Getty)
Meanwhile the Tories were jubilant about their victories, with 2024 candidate Anthony Boutall rejoicing: “This is a phenomenal result, and it shows the @Conservatives are back in London!”
Fellow 2024 candidate Johnny Luk observed: “This – and several other local by-election results today; point to a noticeable drop in support from Labour.”
“No honeymoon for them.”
Former Tory MP Chris Clarkson added: “Brutal… this dishonest, grasping, arrogant Government is already being seen for what it really is.”
Councillor Aled Thomas said: “It’s been a terrible night for Labour”.
Another X user pointed out that the Tories gained the ward containing Oxford Street from Labour, just days after Sadiq Khan overruled Westminster Council and pushed ahead with pedestrianisation plans for the iconic shopping street.
Author Ben Cobley warned: “Labour has started determinedly losing council by-elections to the despised Tories, in its honeymoon period.”
However Ben Walker of polling aggregator Britain Elects warned that Labour may still be set to luck out come next May’s local elections, as many of them are county seats that haven’t voted since 2021, so Labour could still be set for big gains.
The result in Marine (Worthing) was highlighted by former Jeremy Corbyn advisor Andrew Fisher, who noted: “It’s a ward with a large pensioner population”.
The Labour pounding comes after weeks of Labour rows, including the cuts to Winter Fuel Payments for pensioners, Sue Gray’s salary, and Sir Keir’s ‘passes for glasses’ sleaze row surrounding freebie donations from mega-rich donors.
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BBC Question Time guest shows Keir Starmer just how easy it is to turn down freebies
Tim Farron, who remains a Lib Dem MP, won huge plaudits for his stance on accepting gifts (Image: BBC QUESTION TIME)
Sir Keir Starmer has been slammed recently for the amounts of gifts that he has received as Labour leader and now as Prime Minister. He has received more than £100,000, including almost £40,000 in football tickets, since December 2019, more than twice the amount of Labour’s Lucy Powell in second place.
The scrutiny was a major talking point on BBC’s Question Time last night, when the former Liberal Democrat leader told Sir Keir to have “some basic wisdom” when it comes to accepting gifts in office.
Tim Farron, who remains a Lib Dem MP, won huge plaudits from the audience for his stance on the political BBC debate programme.
He told the audience: “My default position has been for 19 years, if somebody on Kendal Market asked me what I did this week and I felt any sense of shame about telling them – don’t do it in the first place.”
Starmer has received more than £100,000 in gifts since December 2019 (Image: Getty)
When host Fiona Bruce asked whether he would accept tickets for a football game, Mr Farron responded: “I’d go watch Kendal Town and I’d pay a ticket to go in.
“I got offered semi-final tickets to watch Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup a few years ago and I didn’t go. It doesn’t make me super worthy.”
The MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale said he didn’t accept the “implied grubbiness or wrong-doing” that had dominated stories around Sir Keir.
However, he added: “Don’t want to impugn people’s integrity. But, if you are an MP, you are representing a whole range of people, from lots of different backgrounds and income groups. And you know you are in a position where you get paid better than most of them.”
Starmer has defended his decision to accept corporate hospitality from Arsenal football club (Image: Getty)
Mr Farron said that the controversy surrounding the gifts came down to “how it looks”.
He said that leadership is about “trying to walk in the shows of the people that you do represent and in my view, you should be relatively austere in how you live your life”.
The Lib Dem MP issued a blunt warning to the PM: “A lot of these events are perfectly legitimate but out of basic wisdom, you should be seen to be doing the right thing, and you should turn these things down.”
The PM has repeatedly defended his decision to accept gifts. He said that he accepted corporate hospitality from Arsenal FC because he had been advised it would cost the taxpayer more in security costs to use his normal seat.
Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer has been slapped down by one of Labour’s most senior figures and an ally. However, Labour ally Baroness Harriet Harman told the Prime Minister “doubling down” is angering and alienating voters.
Baroness Harman urged Starmer to “deal with the criticism” and accept that such donations were not acceptable. She said: “He just needs to say, ‘Right, with hindsight, I’m going to do things differently’… and then move on.
“It’s not a hanging offence, but I think doubling down and trying to justify it is making things worse.
“You can just say it was probably a misstep, if I had my time again I wouldn’t do it and therefore I’m going to auction [it] for charity or something. I think at the moment he’s just got to get rid of every distraction he possibly can.”
