Tories hail ‘significant’ mayoral election win after widespread losses
Party leader Kemi Badenoch previously warned the local elections would be tough for the Conservatives.
The Conservatives have described their mayoral victory in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough as a “significant win” after widespread local election losses.
Former MP Paul Bristow won the contest with a majority of more than 10,500 over Reform.
It means the Conservatives regain the post, which they took in 2017, with Labour winning four years ago.
A party spokesman said: “On a very difficult night, this is a significant win for the Conservative Party.
“Paul Bristow will be a fantastic local champion, working hard to deliver the lower taxes and better services the residents of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough deserve.
“Labour previously held this mayoralty and won two new MPs in the region last year, so for Paul to win today shows how Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives are already making inroads into the Labour vote.
“Coming on the back of losing the previously safe Labour seat of Runcorn, as well as council seats in regions with large numbers of Labour MPs, this result is likely to increase concerns in Labour over Keir Starmer’s faltering leadership.”
The Tories, in Kemi Badenoch’s first electoral test as leader, were suffering at the hands of Reform and could also be squeezed by the Liberal Democrats as results continue to trickle in on Friday.
With final results in from five county councils, Devon, Durham, Northumberland, Staffordshire and Worcestershire, Reform UK had gained 175 seats, with Conservatives losing 124.
The Conservatives had lost control of three of the five councils, with Reform now in a majority in two, and the other three under no overall control.
The Tory leader had previously warned the local elections would be tough, as the last time most of the seats up for grabs were contested was in spring 2021 when Boris Johnson’s government was boosted by the Covid vaccine rollout.
Nigel Farage said Reform UK had had “wiped out” the Conservatives in parts of England as local election results rolled in.
The elections mark “the end of two-party politics” and the “beginning of the end of the Conservative Party”, he said.
He was speaking from Durham after Reform UK took control of Durham County Council.
