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Labour has won the Blackpool South parliamentary by-election and made gains in council contests to heap pressure on Rishi Sunak.
In the contest triggered by the resignation of former Tory MP Scott Benton following a lobbying scandal, Labour's Chris Webb secured 10,825 votes, a majority of 7,607.
Tory David Jones came in second with 3,218 votes, just 117 ahead of Reform UK's Mark Butcher.
Mr Webb said: "People no longer trust the Conservatives. Prime Minister: do the decent thing, admit you've failed and call a general election."
The 26.33% swing was the third biggest from the Conservatives to Labour at a by-election since the Second World War.
There is "no doubt" that Rishi Sunak will lead the Conservatives into a general election, Richard Holden has said after the Tories suffered a bruising set of local election results.
The party chairman was repeatedly asked whether the Prime Minister's can survive following losses in key areas like Hartlepool, Rushmoor in Hampshire and Thurrock.
He told Times Radio: "The Prime Minister is going to go on and lead the Conservative Party into the general election, there's no doubt about that."
Asked for his reaction to the results so far, Mr Holden said: "Not a great set of results but coming off I think it would be fair to say a very high watermark in 2021."
There is "no doubt" that Rishi Sunak will lead the Conservatives into a general election, Richard Holden has said after the Tories suffered a bruising set of local election results.
The party chairman was repeatedly asked whether the Prime Minister's can survive following losses in key areas like Hartlepool, Rushmoor in Hampshire and Thurrock.
He told Times Radio: "The Prime Minister is going to go on and lead the Conservative Party into the general election, there's no doubt about that."
Asked for his reaction to the results so far, Mr Holden said: "Not a great set of results but coming off I think it would be fair to say a very high watermark in 2021."
Counting is under way in the 107 councils in England that held elections on Thursday, with the first results declared overnight and more to come later on Friday.
Early results for the police & crime commissioner elections across England and Wales have also been declared, while results are due on Friday afternoon for the mayors in the East Midlands, North East, Tees Valley and York & North Yorkshire.
Here are some of the key results so far:
- Hartlepool
Three years ago Labour lost the Hartlepool parliamentary by-election to the Conservatives - an event that reportedly led Sir Keir Starmer to consider resigning as party leader.
This year Hartlepool gave Labour cause for celebration, with the party winning control of the council for the first time since 2019 thanks to a net gain of seven seats, while the Tories lost six.
- Harlow
Keir Starmer and his deputy Angela Rayner toured the Essex town of Harlow 24 hours before the polls opened, in a symbolic visit to a part of the country that will be a key battleground at the general election.
But while Labour did make progress in Harlow in Thursday's council elections, it fell short of an overall majority by the narrowest of margins, ending up with 16 seats, just one behind the Tories on 17.
- Rushmoor
There was better news for Labour deep in the so-called "blue wall" of the traditional Conservative heartland of Hampshire.
The party gained seven seats and a majority on Rushmoor council, an area that includes the army town of Aldershot, while the Tories lost eight seats and overall control.
- Redditch
Labour will be pleased with its performance in the Worcestershire council of Redditch - another important battleground at the general election - where the party picked up nine seats and overall control, while the Conservatives saw their tally drop by 11.
- South Tyneside
It was a less cheery picture for Labour in South Tyneside, where the party suffered a net loss of 10 seats.
Independent candidates gained nine seats and the Greens gained two, while the Tories lost their only councillor.
Labour still has a majority here, but only just: the new council will have 28 Labour councillors, 15 Independents and 11 Greens.
- Sunderland
The Reform Party had a full or near-full slate of candidates in only a handful of councils holding elections this year and Sunderland was one of a few places where it fought every seat.
While the party did not win any of them, it did beat the Conservatives into third place in 16 of the 25 seats up for grabs while Labour made a net gain of six to increase its comfortable majority.
- Thurrock
This Essex council was another one of Labour's top targets in a key Conservative-Labour election battleground.
The party needed to gain six seats to take control of Thurrock, which has been run by the Tories for the past few years during a period of turbulence that saw the council declared effectively bankrupt in December 2022.
Labour ended up making a net gain of eight seats, enough for a clear majority, with Independents picking up two and the Tories suffering a net loss of 10.
- Police & crime commissioners
Three of the 37 police & crime commissioner results for England and Wales have been declared so far, with Labour gaining Avon & Somerset and Cumbria from the Conservatives, while the Tories have held Lincolnshire.
Here's something a little fun to start the day with amid the results sweeping in...
The BBC has reported that Boris Johnson was turned away from his local polling station because he forgot his voter ID. He had to go home and get it...
Just a reminder - Mr Johnson’s government were the ones who introduced the current Voter ID rules....
Tory Party chairman Richard Holden described the local election results so far as "disappointing".
Mr Holden told BBC Breakfast: "Overall a disappointing night for us but that's what you'd expect from parties in midterm of government."
Asked whether voters do not like what the Conservatives are offering, he said: "I think what they want to see is us delivering on things like the Rwanda scheme... what I think people want to see is more Conservative delivery on things like illegal migration, they want to see that deterrent."
Asked whether the potential challenges posed to Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives posed by the results would be addressed, Mr Holden said: "When people are voting in individual by-elections they know they're not voting for the government of the country."
He added: "I don't think the read across is quite as you're portraying it there."
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