THE TORIES retain a significant lead over Labour thanks to the vaccine drive, the result of a survey suggests, as voters head to the polls today.
Research published by The Times found the Conservatives had a ten-point lead over Labour, down just one point from last week.
Meanwhile, the survey, conducted by YouGov, also showed nearly nine in 10 voters believed the government had handled the Covid-19 vaccine programme well.
And 51 per cent of those who thought it was a success credited Boris Johnson.
It comes after, Lisa Nandy said “anything is possible” in the by-election and let slip it would be “difficult” for Sir Keir Starmer to make inroads.
She told TimesRadio that despite some polls showing the Tory lead narrowing, it was still all to play for.
Both sides were playing down expectations ahead of Thursday’s local votes — where thousands of council seats are up for grabs.
Voters will also elect a handful of regional mayors, and Members of the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments.
Tories say they expect to lose more than 1,000 seats due to a “post-Corbyn bounce”, urging every supporter to get out and vote.
Tory elections chief Amanda Milling warned: “We are likely to lose a significant number of seats this time round, but are fighting tooth and nail across the country.”
Read our Local Elections 2021 live blog below for up to the minute updates…
GRAPHIC: THE SEATS IN THE RUNNING
BORIS JOHNSON SLAPS DOWN CALLS FOR ANOTHER SCOTTISH REFERENDUM
BORIS Johnson has warned that local elections will be tough – but slapped down Nicola Sturgeon’s demands for another divisive referendum.
Ahead of millions of voters heading to the polls tomorrow, he vowed to fight for every vote.
Read more here.
WELSH PARTIES SAY PANDEMIC REMAINS FOCUS
Parties have been making their final election campaign visits across Wales, with leaders saying the pandemic has continued to dominate their conversations with voters.
Voting in the 2021 Welsh Parliament election will begin at 7am today – though counting will not take place until Friday due to coronavirus restrictions.
On Wednesday, Labour First Minister Mark Drakeford visited Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, as well as areas of his Cardiff West constituency, and said his party had felt a “real sense of momentum” in the last week.
He told the PA news agency: “We’ve had more and more people come out to help, teams and teams of Labour canvassers out on the doorstep, and the feeling on the doorstep is warm.
“The vaccine is a constant source of conversation. Everybody wants to ask ‘have you had yours?’ The dialogue is all very informed by all the coverage that devolution and the Welsh Government’s handling of the pandemic has had.
“The pandemic is by some distance the top topic. Economic recovery and jobs is a second theme, particularly grandparents and parents asking about their children. Will there be jobs for them, what will they get to do, that sort of thing.”
LONDON MAYOR CANDIDATES 2021: WHO IS STANDING?
LONDONERS will be able to vote on who will become the capital’s next mayor tomorrow (May 6).
A record-breaking 20 candidates are in the running but what do we know about them so far?
Read more here.
BORIS JOHNSON SLAPS DOWN CALLS FOR ANOTHER SCOTTISH REFERENDUM
BORIS Johnson has warned that tomorrow’s local elections will be tough – but slapped down Nicola Sturgeon’s demands for another divisive referendum.
Yesterday ahead of millions of voters heading to the polls, he vowed to fight for every vote.
Read more here.
WHICH LOCAL COUNCIL AND MAYORAL ELECTIONS ARE TAKING PLACE ON MAY 6?
There are 343 councils in England, but not every authority will be holding elections.
This is because elections take place in four-year cycles, so different councils hold polls in varying years. The Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) said that “with two years worth of elections, it’s going to be ‘Super Thursday’.”
It adds that in England, the 2021 elections include more than 150 local authority elections in hundreds of wards and divisions for both the delayed elections of 2020, plus the scheduled elections of 2021. Votes will also be cast on:
- 143 English local councils – some 5,000 seat
- 13 directly elected mayors
- 39 police and crime commissioners
- 25 London Assembly seats
- 129 Scottish Parliament MSPs
- 60 Welsh Senedd MSs
- By-elections
- Neighbourhood Plan referenda
- Parish councils
There are about 5,000 council seats up for grabs across England.
WELSH PARTIES SAY PANDEMIC REMAINS FOCUS DURING FINAL DAY OF CAMPAIGNING
Parties have been making their final election campaign visits across Wales, with leaders saying the pandemic has continued to dominate their conversations with voters.
Voting in the 2021 Welsh Parliament election will begin at 7am on Thursday, though counting will not take place until Friday due to coronavirus restrictions.
On Wednesday, Labour First Minister Mark Drakeford visited Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, as well as areas of his Cardiff West constituency, and said his party had felt a “real sense of momentum” in the last week.
He told the PA news agency: “We’ve had more and more people come out to help, teams and teams of Labour canvassers out on the doorstep, and the feeling on the doorstep is warm.
“The vaccine is a constant source of conversation. Everybody wants to ask ‘have you had yours?’ The dialogue is all very informed by all the coverage that devolution and the Welsh Government’s handling of the pandemic has had.
“The pandemic is by some distance the top topic. Economic recovery and jobs is a second theme, particularly grandparents and parents asking about their children. Will there be jobs for them, what will they get to do, that sort of thing.”
LONDON MAYOR CANDIDATES 2021: WHO IS STANDING?
LONDONERS will be able to vote on who will become the capital’s next mayor tomorrow (May 6).
A record-breaking 20 candidates are in the running but what do we know about them so far?
Read more here.
WHICH LOCAL COUNCIL AND MAYORAL ELECTIONS ARE TAKING PLACE ON MAY 6?
There are 343 councils in England, but not every authority will be holding elections.
This is because elections take place in four-year cycles, so different councils hold polls in varying years. The Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) said that “with two years worth of elections, it’s going to be ‘Super Thursday’.”
It adds that in England, the 2021 elections include more than 150 local authority elections in hundreds of wards and divisions for both the delayed elections of 2020, plus the scheduled elections of 2021. Votes will also be cast on:
- 143 English local councils – some 5,000 seat
- 13 directly elected mayors
- 39 police and crime commissioners
- 25 London Assembly seats
- 129 Scottish Parliament MSPs
- 60 Welsh Senedd MSs
- By-elections
- Neighbourhood Plan referenda
- Parish councils
There are about 5,000 council seats up for grabs across England.
GRAPHIC: THE SEATS IN THE RUNNING
VOTERS ACROSS GREAT BRITAIN GO TO THE POLLS ON SUPER THURSDAY
Voters are going to the polls for a set of elections which could shake up British politics and have profound implications for the future of the United Kingdom.
On what has been dubbed Super Thursday, ballots will be cast across Great Britain in the largest test of political opinion outside of a general election, with the future of the Labour Party and the state of the Union among the issues at play.
Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon’s push for a second independence referendum means the stakes are high in the Holyrood contest.
In England, as well as local council and mayoral contests, the Hartlepool parliamentary by-election will indicate what progress – if any – Labour has made in regaining votes in its former northern heartlands.
Hartlepool was held by Labour with a majority of 3,595 in 2019 even as other bricks in the so-called “red wall” crumbled – in part due to the Brexit Party splitting the Tory vote.
NO SNP MAJORITY NOW ODDS-ON IN SCOTTISH PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION BETTING – LADBROKES
A No SNP Majority remains the most likely outcome of the upcoming Scottish Parliamentary Election tomorrow, according to Ladbrokes.
The bookies have revealed the latest odds, and a No SNP Majority now leads the way at 4/5 in the betting, while even-money says there is a Majority.
Elsewhere, 7/2 says Nicola Sturgeon is NOT Scottish First Minister on 1st January, 2022.
Alex Apati of Ladbrokes said: “It’s going to take something pretty spectacular at this point to see anything but an SNP win, but the latest odds suggest it won’t be by a Majority.”
BORIS JOHNSON SLAPS DOWN CALLS FOR ANOTHER SCOTTISH REFERENDUM
BORIS Johnson has warned that tomorrow’s local elections will be tough – but slapped down Nicola Sturgeon’s demands for another divisive referendum.
Ahead of millions of voters heading to the polls tomorrow, he vowed to fight for every vote.
Read more here.
BOJO AND STARMER ON PUSH FOR ‘EVERY VOTE’
The Prime Minister and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer are in the final hunt for “every vote” after taking to the campaign trail on the eve of the “super Thursday” polls opening.
Boris Johnson said it would be “very tough” for the Conservative Party during the local elections and looked to play down his party’s chances of taking the Westminster constituency of Hartlepool in the by-election – despite recent polling putting the Tories 17 points in front of incumbents Labour.
Opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer, asked about polling suggesting Labour was in danger of losing Hartlepool and seeing control wrestled away from the party in a number of councils across its so-called “red wall” traditional heartlands in the Midlands and North of England, admitted his rebuild would take longer than 12 months.
WELSH PARTIES SAY PANDEMIC REMAINS FOCUS DURING FINAL DAY OF CAMPAIGNING
Parties have been making their final election campaign visits across Wales, with leaders saying the pandemic has continued to dominate their conversations with voters.
Voting in the 2021 Welsh Parliament election will begin at 7am on Thursday, though counting will not take place until Friday due to coronavirus restrictions.
On Wednesday, Labour First Minister Mark Drakeford visited Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, as well as areas of his Cardiff West constituency, and said his party had felt a “real sense of momentum” in the last week.
He told the PA news agency: “We’ve had more and more people come out to help, teams and teams of Labour canvassers out on the doorstep, and the feeling on the doorstep is warm.
“The vaccine is a constant source of conversation. Everybody wants to ask ‘have you had yours?’ The dialogue is all very informed by all the coverage that devolution and the Welsh Government’s handling of the pandemic has had.
“The pandemic is by some distance the top topic. Economic recovery and jobs is a second theme, particularly grandparents and parents asking about their children. Will there be jobs for them, what will they get to do, that sort of thing.”
WHEN WOULD A BY-ELECTION BE CALLED?
If an MP dies, is recalled or becomes ineligible to sit during a Parliament, an election is held in the affected constituency to choose a replacement.
A by-election does not have to take place if an MP changes political party.
The conservatives are leading Labour by 17 points in the Hartlepool by-election.
The prime minister is set to add another blue brick to Labour’s northern red wall with a victory there.
EXPLAINED: WHAT IS A BY ELECTION
THURSDAY 6 has been dubbed ‘Super Thursday’ as millions set to cast their vote at polling stations up and down the country.
In Hartlepool, there will be a by-election – but what does that mean?
A by-election is an election that takes place if a seat in the House of Commons becomes vacant between one General Election and the next.
The Chief Whip of the political party whose MP held the vacant seat begins the process of a by-election.
This starts by ‘moving the Writ’, which is a motion requesting: “”that the Speaker do issue his Warrant to the Clerk of the Crown to make out a new Writ for the electing of a Member to serve in this present Parliament for the constituency of …. in the room of…”
LONDON MAYOR CANDIDATES 2021: WHO IS STANDING?
LONDONERS will be able to vote on who will become the capital’s next mayor tomorrow (May 6).
A record-breaking 20 candidates are in the running but what do we know about them so far?
Read more here.
WHICH LOCAL COUNCIL AND MAYORAL ELECTIONS ARE TAKING PLACE ON MAY 6?
There are 343 councils in England, but not every authority will be holding elections.
This is because elections take place in four-year cycles, so different councils hold polls in varying years. The Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) said that “with two years worth of elections, it’s going to be ‘Super Thursday’.”
It adds that in England, the 2021 elections include more than 150 local authority elections in hundreds of wards and divisions for both the delayed elections of 2020, plus the scheduled elections of 2021. Votes will also be cast on:
- 143 English local councils – some 5,000 seat
- 13 directly elected mayors
- 39 police and crime commissioners
- 25 London Assembly seats
- 129 Scottish Parliament MSPs
- 60 Welsh Senedd MSs
- By-elections
- Neighbourhood Plan referenda
- Parish councils
There are about 5,000 council seats up for grabs across England.
SIR KEIR STARMER REFUSES TO RULE OUT STANDING DOWN AS LABOUR LEADER IF PARTY LOSES HARTLEPOOL BY-ELECTION
Sir Keir Starmer refuses to rule out standing down as Labour leader if party loses Hartlepool by-electionVOTERS ACROSS GREAT BRITAIN GO TO THE POLLS ON SUPER THURSDAY
Voters are going to the polls for a set of elections which could shake up British politics and have profound implications for the future of the United Kingdom.
On what has been dubbed Super Thursday, ballots will be cast across Great Britain in the largest test of political opinion outside of a general election, with the future of the Labour Party and the state of the Union among the issues at play.
Scottish National Party leader Nicola Sturgeon’s push for a second independence referendum means the stakes are high in the Holyrood contest.
In England, as well as local council and mayoral contests, the Hartlepool parliamentary by-election will indicate what progress – if any – Labour has made in regaining votes in its former northern heartlands.
Hartlepool was held by Labour with a majority of 3,595 in 2019 even as other bricks in the so-called “red wall” crumbled – in part due to the Brexit Party splitting the Tory vote.
NO SNP MAJORITY NOW ODDS-ON IN SCOTTISH PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION BETTING – LADBROKES
A No SNP Majority remains the most likely outcome of the upcoming Scottish Parliamentary Election tomorrow, according to Ladbrokes.
The bookies have revealed the latest odds, and a No SNP Majority now leads the way at 4/5 in the betting, while even-money says there is a Majority.
Elsewhere, 7/2 says Nicola Sturgeon is NOT Scottish First Minister on 1st January, 2022.
Alex Apati of Ladbrokes said: “It’s going to take something pretty spectacular at this point to see anything but an SNP win, but the latest odds suggest it won’t be by a Majority.”
BORIS JOHNSON SLAPS DOWN CALLS FOR ANOTHER SCOTTISH REFERENDUM
BORIS Johnson has warned that tomorrow’s local elections will be tough – but slapped down Nicola Sturgeon’s demands for another divisive referendum.
Ahead of millions of voters heading to the polls tomorrow, he vowed to fight for every vote.
Read more here.
BOJO AND STARMER ON PUSH FOR ‘EVERY VOTE’
The Prime Minister and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer are in the final hunt for “every vote” after taking to the campaign trail on the eve of the “super Thursday” polls opening.
Boris Johnson said it would be “very tough” for the Conservative Party during the local elections and looked to play down his party’s chances of taking the Westminster constituency of Hartlepool in the by-election – despite recent polling putting the Tories 17 points in front of incumbents Labour.
Opposition leader Sir Keir Starmer, asked about polling suggesting Labour was in danger of losing Hartlepool and seeing control wrestled away from the party in a number of councils across its so-called “red wall” traditional heartlands in the Midlands and North of England, admitted his rebuild would take longer than 12 months.
PM URGES VOTERS TO BACK WEST MIDLANDS MAYOR IN ‘VERY CLOSE’ RACE
The Prime Minister has urged voters to back Andy Street’s in the “very close” West Midlands mayoral election as he joined the Conservative mayor for a canal bike ride.
Boris Johnson stopped to speak and take photos with a few members of the public as he said Mr Street would “boost skills and drive long term growth in jobs”.
But the former John Lewis boss faces competition from current Labour MP for Birmingham Hodge Hill Liam Byrne, who previously said his party’s losses in the region in 2019 were “really significant”.
The West Midlands is the largest region in the UK outside of London and is subsequently seen as a key battleground in the upcoming local and mayoral elections.
