Tories are hopeful local elections will ONLY lose them ‘500 to 600’ seats over Brexit shambles
Tory chiefs’ hopes are growing that they can duck a council elections wipe out today as voters go to the biggest local polls since 2015. Control of a total of 259 local authorities are up for grabs across England and Northern Ireland, with 8,804 councillors to be elected. Conservative MPs have feared a vicious drubbing as angry Leave as well as Remain voters take revenge on the Government for the Brexit shambles. Some Cabinet ministers have even predicted more than 1,000 council seat will be lost. But CCHQ insiders now say they can limit the losses to “around 500 to 600 on a good night”. A Tory figure told The Sun: “The private estimate is our vote will be more resilient than is generally thought. “Much of the voting is in rural areas, where Labour haven’t made many in-roads in the last few years. “The doorstep experience is also better than the national narrative.” In contrast, then-PM John Major’s Tories lost more than 2,000 councillors in 1995 in a massive midterm wipe out. A variety of hidden electoral factors are also expected to help hold up the Tory vote despite the Brexit anger, including a low turnout.
The Sun - May 2, 2019View the full story here: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/8983903/local-elections-conservative-wipeout-brexit/