Tories aren’t panicking – they expected a drubbing

Unsurprisingly, the overnight results from the local elections have been very bruising for the Conservatives. Local election results day is often quite formulaic, though, given there are always predictions of a ‘bloodbath’ for one party or the other for months ahead of polling day. This means that the losses can be priced in to the political narrative, and the spinners for the most damaged party can highlight surprising results.

This morning, the Tories are putting great store by holding onto Harlow, which Keir Starmer visited twice during the campaign. They are also relieved to have only come second, rather than third, in Blackpool South, given how hard Reform campaigned in the seat. The Conservatives, meanwhile, have boasted about how little they spent on that by-election: apparently just 11 per cent of the spending limit. 

The party’s chairman Richard Holden has done the traditional morning broadcast round where campaign chiefs have to sound both solemn about their losses while also finding reasons to be cheerful and rally the troops.