Labour has suffered further by-election defeats, losing council seats to the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and the Greens in the latest round of local polls on what was dubbed 'super Thursday'. The party failed to win any new seats and lost four of the 11 it was defending, according to results announced on Friday.
The Conservatives gained seats on Worthing Borough Council, North East Derbyshire Council and Elmbridge Council in Surrey, while the Greens won a seat from Labour on Leeds Council. The Liberal Democrats gained a councillor in Southampton after Labour's vote share dropped by more than 20 per cent, pushing the party into third place in the Shirley ward.
The losses come as Sir Keir Starmer prepares to mark 100 days in office on Saturday, following his landslide general election victory in July. A new YouGov poll on Friday revealed that four out of 10 people think the country is in a worse state since the election. However, the survey also found that most voters still believe the Labour government will do a good job or are willing to give it the benefit of the doubt.
Labour successfully defended seats in Harlow, Essex, Coventry and two on Ealing Council in London, where polls were called after former councillors became MPs. But the party has now lost a flurry of local votes since the general election, including seats to Reform UK in Blackpool, the Greens in Lancaster and the SNP in Dundee in recent weeks.
Council by-elections often see low turnout and can be influenced by local issues, making national conclusions difficult. However, national polling suggests Sir Keir's popularity has declined amid controversies over accepting gifts and the departure of his chief of staff, Sue Gray, less than 100 days into his premiership.
