Nigel Farage has written to every one of the 1,352 Conservative county councillors up for re-election next May, urging them to abandon the sinking Tory ship and join Reform UK. With Reform currently boasting just 29 councillors, Farage is keen to bolster his ranks. Poaching disillusioned Tories is certainly one way to beef up the numbers. And save time on any vetting process…

Farage is offering them a political “lifeline,” warning that sticking with the Tories could cost them their seats. Once again, he’s stepping on Conservative toes – this time not just by stealing votes, but by siphoning off their grassroots foot soldiers. Farage wrote:

“The Conservative Party is a busted flush – these 1,352 councillors are watching their time in office tick away, while they bicker over whether to choose a Leader with a sudden political conversion, or someone who refuses to leave the ECHR. I urge any Conservative councillors who believe in their country and share our values to join Reform UK as we build on the extraordinary inroads we made at the General Election.”

Meanwhile, Labour clearly fears Reform’s rise, with officials warning that Reform could overtake them in the polls by May, as Reform is already more popular. A Reform source told Guido:

“The message is very simple – join us now or lose your seats in May.”

Tory councillors have their chance…

After a recount and a knife-edge head to head, Labour’s Richard Parker has won the mayoralty in the West Midlands to defeat Andy Street.

Dick Parker: 225,590 votes – 37.8%
Andy Street: 224,082 votes – 37.5%

It clearly didn’t matter how much Street distanced himself from the national party during the campaign in the end. Losing a two-term mayor will make impossible for the Tories to spin their ‘everything is fine’ line. Truly disastrous expectation management from the Tories – who strongly claimed it would be a winner…

As predicted, Labour’s Andy Burnham has won the Mayoralty in Greater Manchester in a landslide victory. Labour took 63.4% of the vote to the Tory candidate Laura Evans’ 10.4%. Reform took 7.5% of the vote. It didn’t help that the original Tory candidate Dan Barker defected to Reform at the end of March… 

Labour has just won the North East mayoralty, with candidate and current Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Kim McGuinness taking over from ex-Labour Corbynista Jamie Driscoll. Labour got 41.3% to Driscoll’s 28.2% – the Tories trailed on 11.7%. And that’s despite all of Owen Jones’ campaigning?

Meanwhile Labour has just nabbed the usually Conservative York and North Yorkshire. Maybe that’s because the Tory candidate took his inspiration from Engels. Rishi Sunak has a new mayor…

CCHQ is trying to point all noses at the Harlow result in Essex, which has been previously touted as a crucial target for Starmer. Now an “incredible” victory has been claimed as the Tories keep hold of a one-seat majority. Rishi Sunak celebrated the result and Rob Halfon called it the “biggest comeback since Lazarus”…

Was that comment actually directed at recently suspended Tory councillor James Leppard? With 17 seats (including his) versus Labour’s 16, for the Tories to keep control, they will have had to readmit Leppard, who they suspended two weeks ago for saying of Muslims that: “We really don’t need them here. They add nothing”. CCHQ is currently refusing to say whether this has happened – though that is the one way they can claim to have control over the council. So, according to the latest information available, it’s No Overall Control…

What is going on at Labour’s press office? A “senior party source”, telling the BBC that they had lost the West Midlands 24 hours before the mayoralty result would even be declared, said:

“It’s the Middle East, not West Midlands that will have won Street the Mayoralty. Once again Hamas are the real villains.“

Smooth. The Tories called it “vile“. Now a Labour spokesman says:

“The Labour Party has strongly condemned this racist quote which has not come from anyone who is speaking on behalf of party or whose values are welcome in the party.”

The catherine wheel of local election spin keeps rolling…