Theresa May turns Britain blue as Tories crush Labour in biggest local election rout on record
THERESA May turned Britain blue yesterday as the Tories crushed Labour in the biggest local election rout on record.
The Conservatives picked up a whopping 563 council seats across the UK as working-class voters switched their support.
It sets the PM up for a crushing General Election victory in five weeks' time.
They won 11 councils including Derbyshire, Lancashire and Lincolnshire.
Their candidates were elected Mayor in both the West Midlands and Tees Valley — a Labour heartland. And the Tories also made huge gains in Scotland.
Labour lost 382 seats including symbolic defeats in Glasgow and South Wales. And Ukip was obliterated — losing 145 seats as anti-EU voters flocked to Mrs May’s promise to deliver Brexit.
Stunned pollsters said if the same thing is repeated in the June 8 General Election, Mrs May could be heading to a landslide majority of more than 100 seats.
Ratings guru Rob Hayward told The Sun: “This is history in the making. It’s the biggest win by a government and the biggest loss by the main opposition.”
Former YouGov chief Peter Kellner added: “This is bigger than 1982 when we had the Falklands. The main problem the Conservatives will face now is complacency.”
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Speaking on a victory visit to a sign factory in West London, the Prime Minister insisted she was taking nothing for granted.
She said she was encouraged but echoed ministers from earlier in the day, saying there is too much at stake for complacency.
She said: “The reality is that today, despite the evident will of the British people, we have bureaucrats in Europe who are questioning our resolve to get the right deal.
“And the reality is that only a General Election vote for the Conservatives in 34 days’ time will strengthen my hand to get the best deal for Britain from Brexit.”
Jeremy Corbyn was left to claim Labour had “closed the gap” because a poll suggested his party would have been only 11 points adrift in a national vote.
The BBC put the Tories on 38 per cent, with Labour on 27. Margaret Thatcher was three points ahead in 1982 before her crushing 1983 General Election victory.
Experts put much of the Conservative success down to the Ukip vote switching en masse to the Tories.
But a threatened Lib Dem fightback also failed to materialise, despite them picking up general election target seats like Eastleigh and Wells.
The first signs of the incredible success came as the Tories gained Lincolnshire County Council at 2am yesterday — while Ukip lost every one of its 14 seats.
Gloucestershire followed before the Tories got their first Mayoral success as Tim Bowles became regional mayor for the West of England. But experts were stunned when Ben Houchen beat Labour to become Mayor of Tees Valley, relying on votes from Labour strongholds such as Darlington and Redcar.
Former John Lewis boss Andy Street then steamed in with victory in the West Mids.
Tory chairman Patrick McLoughlin last night said: “The results are encouraging, but we cannot take anything for granted.”
But one senior Tory admitted the party was delighted. Another said: “I think this proves that even voters who backed Remain just want us to get on with it.”
Labour’s only crumb of comfort came as former Shadow Home Secretary Andy Burnham won the race to be Greater Manchester Mayor and Steve Rotheram was elected Mayor in Liverpool.
In a statement last night, Jeremy Corbyn described the results as “mixed”. He insisted: “We lost seats but we are closing the gap. I urge everyone to vote Labour because things can, and will, change.”
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