The Conservatives suffered their worst local election results in recent years

The Conservative Party has suffered its biggest electoral defeat in years, losing more than half of its councilors standing for re-election in England.

Labor hailed a “truly historic” result in Rishi Sunak’s backyard in York and North Yorkshire, where David Skaith destroyed conservative Keane Duncan by almost 15,000 votes.

The region, which was electing a mayor for the first time, covers Mr Sunak’s Richmond constituency and is an area where Labor has historically struggled to compete.

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Results as they come

Speaking at Northallerton Town Football Club, Sir Keir Starmer said: “We’ve had a positive campaign here and I’m very, very proud to be here as leader of Labor Party to celebrate this historic victory.

“And it’s a historic win – these are places where we wouldn’t normally have had success as a Labor Party, but we were able to create that success and get people to vote for us.”

Sir Keir also renewed his bid as Prime Minister call general elections.

The party also had successes in the North East and East Midlands mayoral votes and in Blackpool by-election.

There was a glimmer of hope for the government, with Lord Ben Houchen retaining his role as Tees Valley mayor.

Analysis: Labour’s future success less clear after local elections

Appearing alongside Lord Houchen at a victory rally, Rishi Sunak said: “I have a message for the Labor Party as well because they know they have to win here to win the general election – they know that.

“They assumed Tees Valley would come back to them – but it didn’t.”

The win may have quelled talk of rebellion among disaffected Tory MPs who had threatened to oust the prime minister if the results turned out to be a disaster, but it remains to be seen whether the Tories can retain the West Midlands mayoralty.

From 107 councils that held elections on Thursday103 have declared their full results, with the Conservatives losing more than half the seats they have defended so far.

Some 449 Tory councilors lost their seats as the party lost control of 12 councils.

Labor won control of eight councils, taking 174 seats, while the Liberal Democrats won 101 seats, the Greens 65 and Reform UK won two.

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However, Labor suffered setbacks in Oldham and Kirklees, where it lost control of councils after victories for independent candidates opposed to its stance on Gaza.

Labor also lost seats in other councils, including in Bristol, where the Greens extended their lead as the largest party and could now be set to lead the city council despite failing to win outright control .

Remarkably, all 14 councilors in the newly created Bristol Central constituency are now Greens, where the party is aiming to unseat Labour’s Culture Secretary Thangam Debbonaire at the general election.

Sky News election analyst Professor Michael Thrasher says that while the results are bad news for the Tories, they are not putting Labor on course for an outright majority in the Commons at general elections.

Further results are expected over the weekend, including key mayoral contests in London and the West Midlands.

Labour’s Sadiq Khan is seeking re-election in London, while Tory Andy Street is defending his position in the West Midlands.

Rumors have swirled in London since the polls closed that Mr Khan could suffer a shock defeat to Tory Susan Hall, however Sky News understands both sides now believe the incumbent will remain in the City Hall.

Their results elections expected to arrive at 10:00 PM in London and 2:15 PM in the West Midlands.

There are also metro mayoral elections yet to be declared in Greater Manchester, Liverpool City, North Tyneside, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire.