Election results 2022: Lib Dem gains mark turning point, says Davey

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has hailed the local election results as a "turning point" for his party's prospects.

The party has gained over 220 new councillors across England, Wales and Scotland - the biggest net gain of any party.

They won seats at the expense of the Tories across swathes of their heartlands in southern England.

And they took control of Hull City Council, after a decade of Labour rule.

With nearly all results declared, the Lib Dems have gained 191 councillors in England, 20 in Scotland and 11 in Wales.

Boris Johnson has said the Conservatives had had a "tough night" in some areas, but argued results overall had been "mixed".

The Lib Dems have gained seats in traditional Tory areas including Wokingham, where the Tories have lost control after two decades in charge.

The same was in true in West Oxfordshire, while the Lib Dems have also displaced the Tories as the largest party in Tunbridge Wells in Kent.

The Lib Dems also took overall control in Somerset and in Westmorland and Furness, new single-tier authorities that had been targets for the party.

The party has also taken back control of Hull City Council from Labour, where they had been fighting to regain power since 2011.

Polling expert Sir John Curtice said the Lib Dems' gains reflected its relatively poor performance in 2018, when most of the seats up for grabs this time were last contested.

He added that the Lib Dems' gains reflected the decline in Conservative support since then, with its advance most prominent in areas where it was in second place to the Tories.

The BBC projects the Lib Dems would take 19% of the votes had all parts of Britain gone to the polls - matching its best local election performance since it entered coalition government with the Conservatives in 2010.

It has also been a good set of elections for the Greens, who have gained over 84 councillors across Great Britain.

The Liberal Democrats had entered the local elections hoping to build on by-election successes over the Tories in Chesham and Amersham and North Shropshire last year.

Speaking to party activists in Wimbledon, south-west London on Thursday, Sir Ed said the victories for his party were an "almighty shockwave that will bring this Conservative government tumbling down".

He added that voters had "had enough" of the squeeze on living standards, along with the government's decision to raise National Insurance from April.

He also said voters had responded positively to his party's plans to cut VAT using the proceeds from a windfall tax on the profits of oil and gar companies.

Labour, which has also backed a windfall tax on energy companies, had also put the cost of living at the centre of its campaign.

It gained symbolically important London councils from the Conservatives such as Westminster and Wandsworth, with leader Sir Keir Starmer saying it put his party "on track" for the next general election.

Labour also gained seats in Wales and finished ahead of the Tories in Scotland - but failed to make a breakthrough in areas of England outside the capital.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Boris Johnson admitted the Conservatives had endured a "tough night in some parts of the country".

But, arguing the results overall were "mixed", he added: "In other parts of the country you are still seeing Conservatives going forward and making quite remarkable gains in places that haven't voted Conservative for a long time, if ever."