Parties make final pitch ahead of local elections

Parties are making their final pitch to voters ahead of Thursday's local elections in England, as Sir Keir Starmer faces the first major electoral test of his premiership.

Polls open at 07:00 BST for 23 council areas, while there are mayoral contests in the West of England, Cambridgeshire & Peterborough, Doncaster, North Tyneside and - for the first time - in Hull & East Yorkshire and Greater Lincolnshire.

A by-election is also been held in Runcorn and Helsby, triggered by the resignation of former Labour MP Mike Amesbury following his conviction for assaulting a constituent.

Amesbury had a majority of more than 14,600 but it looks set to be a closely fought race between Labour and Reform UK.

Sir Keir has not been to the seat himself but allies insisted he had been out campaigning across the country.

A Labour spokesman acknowledged the elections would be "tough", claiming local polls are "always challenging for incumbent governments and these council elections are in Tory heartlands".

He pointed to extra NHS appointments and rising wages as examples of the progress the government had made.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner is campaigning in South Yorkshire, where Labour is hoping to hold on to the Doncaster mayoralty and pick up more seats on the council which it already runs.

But the party is facing a threat from Reform UK, which has seen its support rise in national polls since the general election.

Council elections are mostly being held in rural and suburban areas, where the Conservatives have traditionally been strong.

The Tories are defending the most seats, with this set of councils last contested in 2021 when then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson was enjoying a surge in support following the rollout of the Covid vaccine.

A spokesman for Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said the party was "working hard for every vote" but "we have got to recognise we are coming off an historic high in 2021".

He rejected the idea the results would be a verdict on Badenoch's first five month as leader, saying it would "be a reflection" the Tories had just suffered their biggest general election defeat in the party's history.

Badenoch is focusing her final day of campaigning in Hertfordshire, where the party has won a majority in every election this century.

However, the Liberal Democrats are hoping to make gains at the expense of the Tories there, as well as in other parts of south England like Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Kent, where leader Sir Ed Davey is spending the final day of campaigning.

In other areas, the challenge comes from Reform, who are targeting Tory-held councils like Lincolnshire as well as Labour strongholds.

Reform leader Nigel Farage will be at an event in Staffordshire later, where the large Conservative majority on the council could come under pressure.

The Green Party is hoping for success in the West of England mayoralty, after winning Bristol Central in the general election and becoming the biggest party on the council last year.

But it could be a tight race, with four other parties also in play.

The Greens and pro-Gaza independents could also threaten Labour in areas like Lancashire.

It is a smaller set of local elections than normal after the government announced contests would be postponed in nine areas where councils are being reorganised.