Labour gains ground in local elections, Tories suffer losses.

Labour has emerged as the largest party in local government in England after the Tories lost 48 councils and over 1,000 councillors in the local elections. Labour leader Keir Starmer claimed the "fantastic" results showed his party was well placed to oust the Tories from government in a national poll, due next year. The Liberal Democrats had their "best result in decades", taking control of 12 councils, while the Green Party gained more than 200 seats and control of their first English council. The Tories attempted to manage expectations before the elections, with party chairman Greg Hands suggesting they could lose 1,000 council seats.