The United Auto Workers strike against the ‘Big Three’ Detroit carmakers entered its second day on Saturday, and some union members are questioning whether President Joe Biden has done enough to back their cause.

The strike involves 13,000 workers so far, less than a tenth of the union’s total membership, but UAW’s strike fund has enough cash to support a full 150,000-member walkout for up to three months. 

The union representing workers at General Motors, Ford and Stellantis is seeking a 40 percent raise for its workers. The walkout is limited for now to three assembly plants: a GM factory in Wentzville, Missouri, a Ford plant near Detroit, and a Jeep plant run by Stellantis in Toledo, Ohio. 

In Kokomo, Indiana, the hometown of UAW boss Shawn Fain, Local 685 President Garry Quirk told Politico that Biden, the self-described ‘most pro-union president in American history,’ had not done enough to prevent a strike.

‘I don’t know what he’s done,’ Quirk said. ‘Ask him. I don’t think he knows what he’s done. Seriously. I’m not trying to be mean.’

Quirk, 60, told the outlet he voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, and then Donald Trump in 2020.

Fellow local member Denny Butler, 52, also expressed frustration at the White House’s perceived lack of action.

‘We haven’t had a president in there for years, with the exception of Trump, that was really for the people, all the way back to the Reagan days,’ he told Politico.

He noted that unions were once tightly aligned with the Democratic Party, but said that was no longer the case.

‘Democrats were for the working people. That s**t has changed. I’m telling you what, the Democratic Party was not what it was 20, 30 years ago.’ 

On Thursday, Biden spoke with Fain and the three auto company CEOs in a futile last-ditch bid to avoid a strike. 

The chair of Biden’s Council of Economic Advisers cited Biden’s record of backing unions and collective bargaining, saying the president had been ‘very much engaged’ in the negotiations. 

The union appeared to be digging in for a potential protracted strike, even as Ford quickly announced that ripple effects from the walkouts meant temporary layoffs of 600 jobs.

UAW President Fain said late Friday that it wasn’t true ‘negotiations have broken down.’

However, he added that ‘our members and allies are standing strong at the picket lines. Anyone who wants to stand with us can grab a sign and hold the line.’

‘Tomorrow, we expect to be at the bargaining table,’ he said. ‘All three companies have received a comprehensive counteroffer from our union, and we await their response.’

For Biden, the strike represents a collision of two of the president’s top goals – fighting climate change and expanding the middle class by supporting unions. 

Biden is trying to turbocharge the market for electric vehicles to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent China from solidifying its grip on the growing industry. 

His signature legislation, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, includes billions of dollars in incentives to get more clean cars on the roads.

However, many autoworkers fear the transition away from gas-powered cars will cost jobs, because electric vehicles require fewer people to assemble. 

Although there will be new jobs in the production of high-capacity batteries, there’s no guarantee that those factories will be unionized, and they’re often being planned in states more hostile to organized labor.

‘The president is in a really tough position,’ said Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. ‘What he needs to be the most pro-labor president ever and the greenest president ever is a magic wand.’

The union is demanding steep raises and better benefits, and it’s escalating the pressure with its targeted strike. 

Brittany Eason, who has worked for 11 years at the Ford Assembly Plant in Wayne, Michigan, said workers are worried that they’ll ‘be pushed out by computers and electric vehicles.’

‘How do you expect people to work with ease if they’re in fear of losing their jobs?’ said Eason, who planned to walk the picket line this weekend. 

Electric vehicles may be inevitable, she said, but changes need to be made ‘so everybody can feel secure about their jobs, their homes and everything else.’

Biden on Friday acknowledged the tension in remarks from the White House , saying the transition to clean energy ‘should be fair and a win-win for auto workers and auto companies.’

He dispatched top aides to Detroit to help push negotiations along, and he prodded management to make more generous offers to the union, saying ‘they should go further to ensure record corporate profits mean record contracts.’

As part of its demands, the UAW wants to represent employees at battery plants, which would send ripple effects through an industry that has seen supply chains upended by technological changes.

‘Batteries are the power trains of the future,’ said Dave Green, a regional director for the union in Ohio and Indiana. ‘Our workers in engine and transmission areas need to be able to move into the new generation.’

Executives, however, are keen to keep a lid on labor costs as their companies prepare to compete in a global market. China is the dominant manufacturer of electric vehicles and batteries.

‘The UAW strike and indeed the `summer of strikes´ is the natural result of the Biden administration´s `whole of government´ approach to promoting unionization at all costs,’ said Suzanne Clark, CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Some environmental groups, conscious of how labor remains crucial to securing support for climate programs, have expressed support for the strike.

‘We’re at a really pivotal moment in the history of the auto industry,’ said Sam Gilchrist, deputy national outreach director at the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Presidential politics have increased the stakes for the strike, which could damage the economy going into an election year, depending on how long it lasts and whether it spreads. It’s also centered in Michigan, a key part of Biden’s 2020 victory and critical to his chances at a second term.

Former President Donald Trump , the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, sees an opportunity to drive a wedge between Biden and workers. 

He issued a statement saying Biden ‘will murder the US auto industry and kill countless union autoworker jobs forever, especially in Michigan and the Midwest. There is no such thing as a ‘fair transition’ to the destruction of these workers’ livelihoods and the obliteration of this cherished American industry.’

In an interview with NBC’s ‘Meet the Press,’ Trump said that ‘electric cars are going to be made in China,’ not the United States, and he said ‘the auto workers are being sold down the river by their leadership.’

Trump’s comments have not earned him any support from UAW president Fain.

‘That’s not someone that represents working-class people,’ he told MSNBC earlier this month. ‘He’s part of the billionaire class. We need to not forget that. And that´s what our members need to think about when they go to vote.’

Ammar Moussa, a spokesman for Biden’s campaign, said Trump ‘will say literally anything to distract from his long record of breaking promises and failing America’s workers.’ 

He noted that Trump would have let auto companies go bankrupt during the financial crisis rather than bail them out as President Barack Obama did at the time.

But there are also disagreements between Biden and workers.

When the Energy Department announced a $9.2 billion loan for battery plants in Tennessee and Kentucky, part of a joint venture by Ford and a South Korean company, Fain said the federal government was ‘actively funding the race to the bottom with billions in public money.’

Madeline Janis, co-executive director of Jobs to Move America, which works on environmental and worker issues, said the White House needs to do more to alleviate labor challenges.

‘We don’t have enough career pathways for people to see themselves in this future and let go of the jobs in industries that are causing our world to be in crisis,’ she said.

Cash-ridden UK councils are being forced to flog their wares – selling multi-million pound public assets after being unable to balance their books.

Last week, Birmingham City Council hit headlines following revelations it had become the seventh local authority to become bankrupt after failing to manage its assets.

The Labour-led council revealed in June that it faced an equal pay liability of between £650million and £760million, growing between £5million and £14million a month and now estimated to be more than £1 billion.

Other local authorities are facing a mass of equal pay claims that threaten to tilt their already struggling coffers even further – with 3,000 such claims against Cumberland, Glasgow, Dundee and Fife councils.

The GMB union is also understood to be collecting evidence for further equal pay claims against an additional 20 councils, adding: ‘Everywhere we are looking, we are finding problems.’

In Glasgow, some 8,000 women employed as cleaner and assistants in homecare, schools and nurseries took industrial action before the council agreed to pay £770million in compensation. 

To fund this, the local authority sold off council assets, including Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Museum and Art Galleries, The Guardian reports.

The City Council announced its plans to sell the assets last autumn as part of a drive to raise £270million. 

Political rivals including former Scottish Green MSP Andy Wightman slammed the deal and insisted the council had no right to make such an arrangement, as the like of City Chambers and Kelvingrove Museum were owned by the Common Good Fund and required legal approval.

In November last year, the council confirmed it did not plan to buy the properties back from City Property Glasgow at the end of their lease, the Scottish Daily Express reported. A council official confirmed that they will review the position when the time comes.

Thurrock Council announced plans at the start of the year to raise £90million through asset sales to help fulfil its £470million funding gap.

Acting chief executive Ian Wake stated that the authority had five options to help plug the gap, including raising council tax, asset disposal, revenue savings from rationalisation and transformation, growth and exceptional financial support from the government.

Mark Coxshall, the Tory leader of the council said: ‘At the moment, we are £470million in debt which we can’t cover and that is why we are needing to move for exceptional financial support from the government.

‘These are shocking numbers but the first stage to creating a good plan for recovery is to understand the full extent of the problem.’

In May, Croydon Council announced plans to sell off holdings of more than 20 properties in an attempt to raise £50million during this financial year.

The council has revealed a list of 27 buildings it planned to sell off 2023/24. Among its list of properties to be disposed of were the Colonnades Retail Park and the old New Addington Leisure Centre, and the Cherry Orchard Garden Centre – staffed by volunteers with disabilities.

The portfolio also included the sale of five council houses which were arranged to be sold off in order to clear the way for the expansion of Crystal Palace Football Club’s Selhurst Park stadium.

Many of the sales were for properties the council had acquired as part of a planned investment portfolio. 

These include The Colonnades, which was purchased for £53million in 2018 and the following year, the council bought the Selco builders’ merchants warehouse building the offices of medical supplies trader Alliance Healthcare  for a sum of £14million.

Following the legacy of Northamptonshire County Council, which was disbanded in 2021 after going bankrupt, one of its successors sought to offload some of its inherited assets.

North Northamptonshire Council estimated it saved more than £350,000 by closing down a Knuston Hall, near Rushden, last September after it said it became financially unviable to keep it open.

The Grade II-listed former stately home was used as a conference centre and college  but closed during the Covid pandemic.

It reopened briefly in 2021 before closing again in January 2022.

Subsequent survey found it did not meet legal standards and maintenance work would need to be carried out.

The council’s executive director for finance and performance Janice Gotts said it lost around £372,000 in associated income from the hall but made salary savings of £488,000 and net savings in running costs of £241,000.

The hall and its extensive grounds are on the market for £2million.

Slough Borough Council declared bankruptcy in 2021, owing £760million in borrowed debt. To plug the gap, it announced plans to sell off a portfolio including a cinema, DIY store, supermarket and warehouse.

The former Montem Leisure Centre site -which received received planning permission for 212 homes – was put up for sale in October last year

An application submitted by the council’s company Slough Urban Renewal – a joint enterprise between the council and regeneration company Muse, included affordable homes, ‘iconic buildings’, open spaces, and leisure facilities.

The council cannot embark on with capital projects due to restrictions on spending for essential services while it reduces its debt.

Acquired in the 1930s, the leisure centre was demolished in 2019/20 at the cost of £500,000.

The council has received bids of approximately £13.5million for the site, and also put a former music venue, which hosted The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix, up for sale.

In south London, Bromley Council is selling its historic Grade-II listed HQ after getting a £164million ‘maintenance and refurbishment bill’ for properties across the borough. 

The council announced it would be moving from its Civic Centre based at Bishop’s Place, in Stockwell Close, to a new purpose-built site in Churchill Court in December last year. 

The former HQ dates back to 1775. Speaking at the time, council boss Colin Smith said: ‘Whilst leaving our current home is a real wrench and tinged with considerable sadness for those of us who have been there a while, this move is of its time given the well-publicised pressures on local governments’ finances and the opportunities it presents in terms of integrating our services more efficiently.’

The council finalised its purchase of the new Civic Centre HQ last month, with staff now moving into the site.

In north Wales, cash-strapped Conwy County Council is looking to spend £255,000 on a study to sell off its historic Bodlondeb HQ.

The authority’s top cabinet team met this week to discuss plans to flog off the Grade -II listed building and move staff into the £58million Coed Pella offices in Colwyn Bay, reports the Daily Post today. 

Conwy’s leader Councillor Charlie McCoubrey said the council had to spend money to save money.

‘It is absolutely vitally important that we get this right,’ he insisted. ‘This is a huge decision for us both in terms of reducing to one office in Coed Pella but also in maximising the community benefit, the economic benefit, and making sure that this amenity is utilised in Bodlondeb to support the residents in Conwy.’

The move comes after it was revealed Conwy faces a £20million to £30million budget shortfall next year, despite increasing council tax by 9.9 per cent last year amid sweeping cutbacks to services. 

Further to the west, in Liverpool, Wirral Council is preparing to flog off 23 car parks, libraries and some of its building to pay off a multi-million pound debt. 

The local authority last month gave Lambert Smith Hampton £495,000 to help selling off its assets over the next three years. 

It comes after civic chiefs backed controversial measures in July that saw Claremount Specialist Sports College, the site of the new Bebington Town Hall and Bromborough Civic Centre put up for sale. 

Wirral’s move to cutback on buildings has been launched to help the authority pay back a £12million of emergency Government funding it received in 2021 to prevent it from declaring bankruptcy, reports the Wirral Globe. 

The council’s leader Paul Stuart insisted the sales were desperately needed to pay off the loan, which is racking up £600,000 in interest every year. 

Other sites set to be sold include Oaklands Outdoor Centre, Seacombe Library, the Coronation Gardens Cafe, the Price Street car park, Tranmere’s Marine Technology Park, former council offices in Liscard, and properties in Seaview Road, Laird Street, and Manor Road. 

Land at Ditton Lane in Moreton, Bedford Place, and Old Clatterbridge Road in Bebington is also being sold. 

Also in difficulty is neighbouring Sefton Council. The authority last year announced it was reviewing around 200 assets a year, reports the Liverpool Echo.

These assets, made up of land and buildings, ‘surplus assets’ and investment properties total more than £300million in value, many of which are held as a legacy from the merging of previous local authorities into what is now Sefton Council. 

On the south coast, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council is planning to sell off a children’s centre, student accommodation building and toilet block to help it plug a £20million gap in its finances.

While Labour-led Nottingham City Council is also making sweeping cuts to its holdings, with civic bosses agreeing to sale a number of buildings and other assets.

At a meeting in February, it was announced the authority would sell York House, which is home to the popular Rosa’s Thai restaurant – alongside six other sites.  

The council said it will complete a sweeping review of 550 of its assets by the end of the year to determine what else it will get rid of.

Nottingham faces a £32million black hole in its 2023-24 financial budget, with the council having proposed savings totalling £29million. 

Meanwhile, there are fears more councils up and down the country will go bust with one Surrey authority grappling a debt that is 86.9 times its regular income.

The Moody’s investor services research found that Spelthorne in Surrey had debts valued at £1.1billion. 

That was an even worse ratio than nearby Woking, which has already issued a section 114 order – meaning it is effectively bankrupt. 

Astonishingly, the bosses at five cash-strapped councils facing bankruptcy are pocketing a higher wage than Prime Minister Rishi Sunak £167,391 salary. 

Hollywood star Ryan Reynolds has firmly put Wrexham on the map. 

The Deadpool actor, 46, took over Wrexham AFC with his friend, sitcom star Rob McElhenney, in 2021.

The team’s fortunes have been transformed under the celebrity duo’s leadership, with the Red Dragons getting promoted to League Two in April, ending their 15-year exile from the Football League. 

And it’s game on for Wrexham’s tourism industry too, with the allure of the A-listers leading to a surge in holidaymakers in the city. There’s been a 44 per cent rise in the number of visitors arriving by rail since April, according to Trainline, and Airbnb has recorded a boom in Wrexham getaways over the past couple of years. Jim Jones, chief executive of North Wales Tourism, said that Reynolds and McElhenney have given the region a ‘£1billion boost’ since acquiring Wrexham AFC. 

In light of Wrexham’s newfound fame, local Robin Proctor – who has lived there for 25 years and rents out his home on the house swap site HomeExchange – has shared his tips for the best things to do in Wrexham and the surrounding Wrexham County Borough, from restaurants to dine at to historic sites to visit…

TOP SPOTS FOR FOOD AND DRINK

Robin says The Fat Boar bar and restaurant, which lies on Yorke Street, is the ‘perfect’ city centre spot, whether you’re looking for a quick bite to eat, a drink in a beer garden or a romantic meal for two. 

Dishes include servings of steak and fish and chips, while drinks range from ‘real ales’ to a ‘huge list of gins’ , the bar’s website reveals. 

If you’re up for a short drive, Robin – who runs a property development business – recommends heading to The Boat at Erbistock, a riverside pub that’s set along the river Dee in the nearby village of Erbistock. 

The 17th-century pub is worth the trip, he says, praising the ‘great’ food and location. 

‘We aim to use as much fresh local produce as possible,’ the pub’s website notes. It adds that beer drinkers are in luck, as the venue is ‘blessed with a number of extremely good breweries within just a few miles’. 

Another historic restaurant recommended by Robin is The Corn Mill, a 14th-century watermill and pub that overlooks the rapids of the river Dee in the ‘beautiful’ nearby town of Llangollen.

There, you might dine on wild boar pie for main course followed by marmalade and white chocolate cheesecake for dessert. 

TOP THINGS TO DO  

Watching Wrexham AFC – the Red Dragons – play a match at The Racecourse Ground, the city’s football stadium, is the most obvious form of entertainment when visiting Wrexham, Robin says.  

The stadium is the world’s oldest international football ground still in use – Guinness World Records reveals that ‘the first international match was played at the Racecourse on March 5, 1877, when Scotland visited Wales’.

Also in Wrexham is ‘one of the seven wonders of Wales’ – Saint Giles parish church, which was built in 1506.

Robin notes that thrill-seekers can go mountain biking in Llandegla Forest, which lies near the city, with adventure company OnePlanetAdventure. 

The Wrexham local also recommends a trip to Erddig Hall, an 18th-century manor surrounded by 1,200 acres (486 hectares) of parkland south of the city.

He notes that it might appeal to Downton Abbey fans, as it has been described as ‘the most evocative Upstairs Downstairs house in Britain’ due to the insight it offers into the lives of both the staff and well-heeled residents that formerly inhabited the property. 

Another place to visit, Robin advises, is the ‘beautiful’ 19th-century Pontcysyllte Aqueduct, Wrexham County’s World Heritage Site. He says that you can walk or cycle along it, or even choose to glide along the top in a canal boat.  

Eryri National Park, formerly known as Snowdonia, is just an hour’s drive from the city centre. Although it’s not in Wrexham County, Robin says it’s a great day trip if you are staying in or around Wrexham. He suggests climbing the national park’s mountains or visiting its breathtaking beaches.  

Don’t have a car? Robin suggests that you hop on a train at Wrexham General Station and travel along the Cardiff to Holyhead line, stopping off along the way at Chirk Castle or the neighbouring walled city of Chester.

He says that the train also runs along the North Wales coast, with stops that include the historical town of Conwy, seaside resort Colwyn Bay and, via a change of train, the Victorian seaside town of Llandudno.

WHERE TO STAY  

Wrexham has several attractive properties available for visitors to rent via HomeExchange, Robin highlights.

The website, which operates in the UK as well as France, Croatia and the U.S, allows travellers to swap homes with fellow members of the site. 

Robin, who has five exchanges planned this year via the house swap site, says: ‘For just £180 a year membership, you can stay in Wrexham for every single football game of the season if you please.’ 

If you stay in Robin’s riverside home, a converted watermill with five bedrooms, you’ll be based just a 10-minute drive from the Wrexham AFC football ground.

There are plenty of Airbnb options to choose from too. Airbnb has seen a significant upturn in visitors to Wrexham since Reynolds and McElhenney purchased the football club, with nights stayed in the Welsh town ‘hitting an ‘all-time high’ in 2022, the booking platform told MailOnline Travel. 

Amanda Cupples, general manager of the UK and Northern Europe at Airbnb, said: ‘The rise of the Red Dragons is drawing guests to Wrexham and putting money in the pockets of local families who host on Airbnb.

‘As the cost of living continues to rise, this will help more locals boost their income and help make ends meet.’

Just outside of the city, you’ll find Grosvenor Pulford Hotel & Spa, a four-star hotel with ‘beautifully modern bedrooms’ and ‘opulent’ spa and leisure facilities. 

Another option is The Hand at Llanarmon, an ‘ancient hostelry’ that lies around a 40-minute drive away from the city. The Mail checked in and found that it ‘offers a rare mix – fine cuisine amid authentic muddy countryside’.

A seven-year-old boy has been found dead in a burned out car in Maui amid fears children will make up a large number of those who perished in the devastating wildfires. 

The death toll from the fires increased to 111 on Wednesday night but lawmaker Elle Cochran, who is in the Hawaii House of Representatives, said it could grow to hundreds as search operations continue.

Cochran fears many of the dead could be children because many schools in Lahaina, the historic town that has been ruined, were closed on the day of the fires due to power outages. A lot of children stayed at home while their parents were at work and might have been trapped and perished.

A kindergarten teacher in Lahaina said that a seven-year-old boy – who is the cousin of two of her former students – was found dead alongside his family in a burned out car.

Jessica Sill, who teaches at King Kamehameha III Elementary School, told the Wall Street Journal: ‘Our parents work one, two, three jobs just to get by and they can’t afford to take a day off.

‘Without school, there was nowhere for [kids] to go that day.’

Public schools on Maui have started the process of reopening and traffic has also resumed on a major road, in signs the painful recovery process is underway.

At least three schools untouched by flames in Lahaina, where entire neighborhoods were reduced to ash, were still being assessed after sustaining wind damage, Hawaii Department of Education superintendent Keith Hayashi said.

‘There’s still a lot of work to do, but overall the campuses and classrooms are in good condition structurally, which is encouraging,’ Hayashi said in a video update.

‘We know the recovery effort is still in the early stages, and we continue to grieve the many lives lost.’

Elsewhere crews cleaned up ash and debris at schools and tested air and water quality.

Displaced students who enroll at those campuses can access services such as meals and counseling, Hayashi said. The education department is also offering counseling for students, family members and staff.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency opened its first disaster recovery center on Maui, ‘an important first step’ toward helping residents get information about assistance, FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell said. 

At a news conference, Herman Andaya, Maui Emergency Management Agency administrator, defended not sounding the sirens during the fire. 

‘We were afraid that people would have gone mauka’, he said, using the Hawaiian directional term that can mean toward the mountains or inland.

‘If that was the case then they would have gone into the fire.’

There are no sirens in the mountains, where the fire was spreading downhill.

Hawaii created what it touts as the largest system of outdoor alert sirens in the world after a 1946 tsunami that killed more than 150.

Andaya said they are primarily meant to warn about tsunamis and have never been used for wildfires. The website for the Maui siren system says they may be used to alert for fires.

Beyond the decision to not use sirens, state and local officials have faced public criticism over shortages of available water to fight the fire and a chaotic evacuation that saw many trapped in their vehicles on a jammed roadway as flames swept over them.

Avery Dagupion, whose family’s home was destroyed, is angry that residents weren’t given earlier warning to get out and that officials prematurely suggested danger had passed.

He pointed to an announcement by Maui Mayor Richard Bissen on Aug. 8 saying the fire had been contained, ‘instilling a false hope in residents of Lahaina,’ when hours later the fire exploded.

That, he said, lulled people into a sense of safety and adds to the mistrust that he and others have over officials’ efforts now.

At the news conference, Gov. Josh Green and Bissen bristled when asked about that mistrust and how they can assure the public they will do all that’s needed to help the community rebuild.

‘Did mistakes happen? Absolutely,’ the governor said, later adding: ‘You can look here to see who you can trust,’ referring to the police, fire, emergency and Red Cross officials standing behind him.

‘I can’t answer why people don’t trust people,’ Bissen said. ‘The people who were trying to put out these fires lived in those homes — 25 of our firefighters lost their homes. You think they were doing a halfway job?’

With the death toll rising by four since Tuesday, a mobile morgue unit with additional coroners has been brought in to help.

The separatist Scottish National Party boasted that it will ‘pull the strings’ of a minority Labour government after the Tories suffered a local election meltdown today.

Rishi Sunak has been left reeling as voters in England dealt a series of stinging blows, stripping the Tories of control in dozens of town halls and kicking out more than 700 councillors. Losses could top 1,000 by the time counting concludes tonight.

Labour is now the largest party in local government for the first time in more than two decades. It racked up significant gains to take charge of councils such as Medway, Swindon, East Staffordshire, Bracknell Forest and Dover, while the Lib Dems took Surrey Heath in Michael Gove’s constituency.

But experts cautioned that Sir Keir’s vote share does not look enough to win an overall Commons majority.

Instead he could be left needing to do a deal with either the Lib Dems or Scottish nationalists to prop him up in No10. 

A jubilant SNP Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said he expected to hold the ‘balance of power’ after the general election next year.

His party is bound to demand another Scots independence referendum as the price of their backing, although it is also facing its own problems with a police probe into its finances.

Unhappy Conservative MPs admitted the party’s results were dire, but insisted there was little evidence voters were ‘rushing’ to Sir Keir. 

‘They have had this wonderful opportunity to stick two fingers up to the government,’ one senior backbencher told MailOnline. ‘The Lib Dems wouldn’t have done so well if he was more dynamic.’ 

Mr Sunak tried to put a brave face on the ‘disappointing’ results and dismissed calls for a change in approach, insisting he would keep focusing on the public’s ‘priorities’ such as cutting inflation. He is likely to get breathing space because attention will move on quickly to the coronation.

But one minister told Mail Online: ‘Tory voters feel let down by Tory policies that aren’t conservative.’ 

And former Cabinet minister John Redwood renewed his call for immediate tax cuts, saying: ‘If the PM wants to win back lost Conservative voters he should try offering some Conservative policies.’

Some Tories criticised the government for failing to stick to housebuilding targets – although others said pressure to build more had hurt them at the ballot box.

Party chair Greg Hands upped the ante in a message to activists this evening, conceding that the results were ‘disappointing’ and a ‘massive wake-up call’.

Appealing for donations, he added: ‘I don’t want to see Keir Starmer reopen Brexit.

‘I don’t want to see Angela Rayner enthusiastically give in to every union demand.’

Speaking in Medway, where his party took charge to end 23 years of blue rule, Sir Keir hailed ‘fantastic results across the country’. ‘Make no mistake, we are on course for a Labour majority at the next general election,’ he said.

In more body blows, the Lib Dems have seized Windsor & Maidenhead – where Theresa May is MP – and Stratford-on-Avon in Nadhim Zahawi’s seat, and are hoping to take over in Michael Gove’s Surrey Heath back yard. 

Tories could yet ship more than 1,000 seats overall. Bright spots have been rare as the pummelling took in ‘Red Wall’ areas and traditional heartlands.

But respected elections expert Professor Michael Thrasher told Sky News that the national vote share should temper the jubilation for Labour.

The 1.7million votes counted so far show the Tories on 28-30 per cent, with Labour considerable ahead on 18-20 per cent. The Lib Dems have surged to 18-20 per cent.

Prof Thrasher said that was ‘very good results but not quite getting over the line’ for an overall majority at a general election. He suggested it was ‘plausible’ that Labour could govern alone, but it would depend on how they fared against the SNP in Scotland. 

Separate estimates by Professor Sir John Curtice found Labour advantage was nine points. 

‘Although Labour have met the minimum threshold they set themselves, the party will be disappointed that it has not been any more successful this year than last,’ he said. 

Tory sources argued that Tony Blair was much further ahead in 1996, and David Cameron enjoyed a 13 point lead in 2009.  

The Tories have lost control of councils in Brentwood, Tamworth, North West Leicestershire, Hertsmere, East Lindsey, South Kesteven, East Hertfordshire and South Gloucestershire. 

The Conservative majority in Welwyn Hatfield – Grant Shapps’ constituency – has been wiped out. 

Labour celebrated victories in Plymouth, where the Conservatives had been running a minority administration, and Stoke-on-Trent – a key battleground ahead of next year’s general election. They were also jubilant about a mayoral win in Middlesbrough.

The party boasted that their performance so far, if replicated at a general election, would be good enough to see Sir Keir become PM. That would require a massive double-digit swing.

Angry local leaders blamed a backlash over the cost of living, access to GPs, and housing. Some Tories renewed calls for immediate tax cuts. 

In both Tamworth and North West Leicestershire there were signs that recent Westminster sleaze scandals had damaged the Tories as they lost control of both councils.

Tamworth’s local MP is Chris Pincher, the former Conservative whip who faced groping claims last summer in a scandal that ultimately led to Boris Johnson’s downfall as PM.

The North West Leicestershire MP is Andrew Bridgen, who was kicked out the Conservative Party last month following his claim that Covid vaccines were ‘the biggest crime against humanity since the Holocaust’.

As well as their gains in Plymouth and Stoke-on-Trent, Labour held on to councils in Sunderland, Chorley, Halton, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, South Tyneside, Sefton, Exeter, Stevenage, Ipswich, Lincoln, Coventry, Salford, Sandwell, Reading and Bassetlaw.

They failed to gain a majority in Hartlepool by just one seat, two years on from suffering a devastating Commons by-election loss in the ‘Red Wall’ area.

The Tories did hold on to many councils across England – including Broxbourne, Harlow, Redditch, Basildon, Havant, Rushmoor, North East Lincolnshire, Thurrock and Dudley.

Mr Sunak – who arrived at CCHQ with bags of comfort food this morning – pointed to ‘progress’ in areas such as Sandwell, and said he was concentrating on ‘delivering’ issues such as lower inflation and stopping Channel migrants. 

He said it was ‘always disappointing to lose hardworking Conservative councillors’ but added: ‘I’m not detecting any massive groundswell of movement towards the Labour Party or excitement for their agenda.’

Labour gloated that they had spoiled Mr Sunak’s ‘political honeymoon’. 

But senior Tory MPs said Mr Sunak was not being widely blamed for the mess the party was in. 

One insisted he must keep being ‘steady’ and showing the government is competent, before bringing forward tax cuts before the election.

‘You can’t do them unfunded,’ the MP said. ‘It has got to be properly explained… you can’t do it yet.’ 

Another Conservative with a marginal Red Wall seat told MailOnline that Labour was not on track to win outright, predicting that the Tories would end up ‘in the 280s’ for seats and Labour ‘the 290s’.

‘There’s nothing I have seen that changes my opinion that Labour will form a minority government,’ they said. ‘Probably a supply and confidence with the SNP.

‘We are not going to get a majority. We will be out of power.’ 

The MP predicted that the Labour Left would see that as an opportunity to push Sir Keir to adopt their policies, in the same way the Brexiteer ERG group had when the Tories had a slender majority. 

On Mr Sunak’s fortunes, the backbencher said: ‘Everybody’s keeping their mouths shut because they think we have got to steady the ship. Whether that carries on is another question.’ 

SNP Westminster Leader Mr Flynn said: ‘It’s increasingly clear that the SNP can hold the balance of power after the next general election – putting Scotland in prime position to pull the strings of a minority UK government.

‘Voting SNP is the best way to beat the Tories in Scotland – and every vote for the SNP will be crucial to ensure Scotland wields real power and influence.’

From 7am to 10pm yesterday, voters across England visited polling stations to choose around 8,000 councillors in 230 councils.

But interpreting the outcome is not straightforward, as the seats up for grabs were last contested in 2019 – when both the Tories and Labour were in dire positions.   

Mr Sunak has already lined up a fightback, with long-awaited proposals to improve access to GPs due to be unveiled next week.

Downing Street has drawn up plans for a health-focused mini-relaunch in the coming days to demonstrate that the Prime Minister is focused on delivering on the public’s priorities.

The package will include the Government’s delayed primary care plan which is designed to free up hundreds of thousands of GP appointments by asking pharmacists to issue more prescriptions.

The Tory MP in Plymouth, Johnny Mercer, who is the veterans’ minister, said it had been a ‘really terrible night for us here in Plymouth’.

Pointing to a row over tree-felling by the council, he added: ‘There’s a number of factors at play – locally it’s been very difficult, the Conservative group here has been through a very difficult time.’

As well as their success in the South West, Labour were also celebrating their candidate Chris Cooke defeating the independent incumbent to become the new mayor of Middlesbrough. 

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey dodged questions over whether he would prop up Sir Keir Starmer in power after shocking the Tories in Windsor.

Sir Ed hailed seizing control of the council as he visited the town, staging an awkward photo op with a large clock to show Rishi Sunak his ‘time’s up’.

He said he was proud that Katy Perry and Lionel Richie would be performing in Lib Dem territory at the coronation concert this weekend. 

But he repeatedly ducked questions on what he will do if Labour falls just short of a majority at the next general election.

Local Tories pinned the blame for poor council election results on a failure to grip issues such as the NHS.

Kent MP Kelly Tolhurst blamed ‘uproar’ against ‘unrealistic housing targets’ that have forced councils to ‘build really significant numbers of homes. 

Outgoing Medway council leader Alan Jarrett told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the government must ‘get their act together on a number of fronts’.

He said that included ‘being clearer about housing requirements… and a really big issue here is access to GP provision’.

Others highlighted the turmoil at Westminster over the past year. 

‘Nationally and locally we’ve had a very difficult 12 months and I think the electorate have responded to that and voted as they see fit today,’ Jeremy Oates, the Tory leader on Tamworth Council, told the BBC.

Chris Mitchell, a former local Tory leader who lost his seat on Worcester Council to the Greens tonight, said: ‘The political backdrop of Westminster undoubtedly is a key factor, which we heard on the doorstep.’

Virge Richichi, a former chair of North West Leicestershire Council and a current councillor, said: ‘We’ve been dealt a pretty bad hand over the past three or four years from Boris, Liz Truss and now Rishi Sunak.

‘And hopefully Rishi Sunak will put us on the right track again.’

Prior to polling day, the PM had predicted a ‘hard night’ and warned that – despite ‘good progress’ since he entered No10 – Tory councillors could yet be punished for the turbulence of the past 12 months at Westminster.

Mr Sunak personally paid for a delivery of 10 large Domino’s pizzas at Tory HQ last night ahead of votes being counted across England. 

The local council seats being decided this year were last contested in 2019, at the nadir of Theresa May’s time as PM.

Following a poor performance that night, Mrs May went on to suffer humiliation in European Parliament elections just three weeks later, which swiftly led to her resignation.

But Labour was also failing to make major inroads at the time with an unpopular leader in Jeremy Corbyn.

Polling experts have said that Labour needs to score a victory of more than 10 per cent in the projected national vote share in this year’s local elections to show that Sir Keir is on course to be the next PM.

Sir Tony Blair had double-digit local election vote share victories in the lead-up to New Labour’s landslide in 1997, as did David Cameron’s Tories before 2010 when they ended up in coalition with the Liberal Democrats.

Labour gaining 700 seats or more would be the party’s best local election performance for at least 10 years.

And gains above 500 seats would point to Sir Keir being poised to win the keys to Downing Street at the next general election, experts have said.

Thursday’s local elections were the first time it has been compulsory for all voters in England to show photo identification at polling stations. There were regional pilots previously.

There were reports of confusion at ballot stations over new ID rules, with the Lib Dems complaining that the numbers are ‘significant’.

Some said they turned up to vote with photo ID only to be told it was the wrong type – while others claimed ‘greeters’ were asking for identification and turning people away outside, meaning that records would not be kept.

The craze for #dogsatpollingstations even got in on the act, with one owner creating an ID for her pet.

But the Electoral Commission said their initial assessment was that ‘overall, the elections were well run’.

People were required to show a form of photo identification, such as a passport, driving licence or blue badge.

Other forms of identity that were being accepted include biometric residence permits, defence identity cards, and national identity cards issued by the EU, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein.

Supporters say it is normal to show ID in much of the rest of the world, and the move protects the integrity of the process. But critics argue it could deter young people and those from poorer communities.

There have been questions raised about why bus and travel passes for older and disabled people were accepted as photo IDs, but that young people’s travel cards were not.