UK's Labour claims early win over Sunak's Conservatives in local polls

The UK's main opposition Labour Party on Friday urged Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to call a general election after seizing another parliamentary seat from the Conservatives and making gains in local elections. 

Labour leader Keir Starmer said the party's win in Blackpool South in northwest England sent a clear message to Sunak, who has until January next year at the latest to call polls. 

"That wasn't just a little message; that wasn't just a murmur. That was a shout from Blackpool: 'We want change,'" he said on a visit to congratulate the new member of parliament (MP) there, Chris Webb. 

Labour, out of power since 2010 and trounced by Boris Johnson's Tories at the last general election in 2019, won Blackpool South with a 26-percent swing. The vote was triggered by a lobbying scandal that saw the area's Conservative MP resign. 

Polling on Thursday coincided with a mix of council, mayoral and other local contests across England. The polls represent the last major ballot box test before Sunak faces a nationwide vote expected in the second half of the year. 

Early results showed that Labour was making gains in council seats, but all eyes were on key regional and London mayoral races, the outcomes of which are only expected later Friday and Saturday. 

As of Friday morning, with barely a quarter of the 2,661 seats up for grabs counted, the Conservatives were down 122 while Labour was up 52, the Associated Press reported. Other parties, such as the centrist Liberal Democrats and the Green Party, are also making gains. 

Tory party chairman Richard Holden described the results so far as "disappointing."

(With input from agencies)

(Cover: Leader of the UK's Labour Party, Keir Starmer, walks to a polling station to cast his vote in the local elections in London, UK, May 2, 2024. /CFP)