Jeremy Corbyn’s big push leaves Theresa May still standing

But the key here is that in Exeter Labour retained control of the city council, making no gains, and in Plymouth it was a case of Labour taking back control by winning four seats from the Conservatives.

Triumphant Tories have regained control of Pendle Borough Council – but in controversial fashion. But they failed, and the people of Wandsworth re-elected a Conservative council.

– British voters cast ballots Thursday in local elections considered a test of the public mood less than a year before the United Kingdom leaves the European Union.

“We have seen Labour – who thought they would be sweeping the board in London. not gaining a single council in London“.

Although the council remains in no overall control, leader Patrick Harley said he was confident he would receive the necessary support to remain in charge.

The party secured 51% of the vote with a 32% voter turnout.

Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn poses by a sign after voting in local elections at a polling station at Pakeman Primary School on May 3, 2018 in London, England.

In an email to supporters, Mr Corbyn said it had been a “a solid set of results for Labour” and “we have consolidated and built on the advances we made at last year’s general election”.

After losing his seat, he tweeted: “We must NEVER have another election like this”.

“Brandon Lewis must intervene, apologise and immediately confirm this councillor will not be part of the Tory group and they will not rely on her votes”. That should shame us’.

That’s down to Momentum and non-Momentum Labour activists. “This defeat wasn’t yours”.

“I think it’s been a good night for us and it’s been a terrible night for Labour“, Lewis said on BBC radio.

Leader of Worthing Borough Council Dan Humphreys said he was happy with the results but disappointed to see Dianne Guest lose her seat.

Scrutiny of Labour’s performance was amplified by a failure to damp down expectations of victory in Tory strongholds which have not voted Labour in decades.

As so much BBC news was devoted to describing Labour’s election night as a story about anti-Semitism, many took to social media to say imagine how this story would have been reported if the Labour Party had done something so despicable to win a council.

‘I don’t think that he understands the problem because he is surrounded by people from the far left fringes of politics.

Cable said: “It’s certainly the beginning of the comeback of the Liberal Democrats“.

Ukip suffered a bloodbath, with dozens of councillors culled and its own general secretary comparing the party with the Black Death. I told him, come down to Redbridge, we’re going to win big.

“We have a fantastic opportunity to deliver Brexit and destroy Labour – or else we will destroy ourselves in twoand-a-half years’ time”.

Anti-Semitism had previously cost Labour in 2016, when Paddy Heneghan and Andrea Simpson lost their Holyrood and Sedgley seats, to the Liberal Democrats and Tories respectively – as rows over the issue again dominated the party, following comments by Ken Livingstone. Former deputy chairwoman Suzanne Evans openly discussed the prospect of the party “crumbling”.

Thursday’s vote will decide more than 4,400 council seats, determining the makeup of 150 local government authorities who are responsible for the day-to-day provision of public services.