Local elections 2023: Labour wins Plymouth City Council in 'seismic shift'

Labour has gained control of Plymouth City Council from the Conservatives in what one councillor has described as a "seismic shift" for the city.

It increased its number of seats from 24 to 31, reducing the Tories to 18.

The Conservatives previously had a 23-seat minority, but suffered a series of resignations and suspensions.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer hailed the victory, telling supporters in Medway, Kent: "What a night they've had in Plymouth."

Sir Keir said the party had seen "fantastic results across the country" in "places we need to win".

Nineteen of Plymouth's 57 seats were being contested - one third of the council.

Labour group leader Tudor Evans, whose majority in Ham increased, said it was an important moment.

"This is a seismic shift in politics in Plymouth," he said.

Veterans Minister and local Conservative MP Johnny Mercer called it a "really terrible" result for his party.

He told the BBC the decision to cut down trees on Armada Way in the city centre had been a factor.

"The way the Conservative council did it, particularly at night, I obviously would have done it differently," he said.

Mr Mercer said voters had also reacted negatively to the churn of Conservative leaders in Plymouth.

"Four Conservative leaders in two years in the local council group hasn't helped," he said.

"That's the big lesson from tonight - people don't vote for divided parties."

It was a really unusual count in that very early on, with not one seat declared, both the Tories and Labour were predicting the result with remarkable accuracy.

Labour was previously the largest group on the authority with the Conservatives in a minority administration.

We've been reminded a great deal about the issue of those city-centre trees being cut down.

That was really the culmination of a great deal of infighting within the Conservative group.

So there's no doubt that while Plymouth often is a barometer of the national political picture, the Conservatives had a very, very difficult time here.

In contrast, neighbouring Labour MP Luke Pollard said it had been "a stunning night for Labour in Plymouth".

Veteran pollster Prof Sir John Curtice said Labour's victory was helped by the Armada Way saga.

"The Conservatives seem to have cut the knees off their own electoral chances along the way," he told BBC's Radio 4 Today programme.

The number of Independents still stands at five but leader of the group, Nick Kelly, lost his seat in Compton.

Average turnout across the wards was 32%, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

In addition to Labour and Conservative councillors, the authority now has five Independents, two Greens and a vacant seat.

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