The chair of the Commons' levelling up committee has written to the Electoral Commission over concerns about the “credibility” of plans to record data on
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The Conservatives made significant gains and Labour performed poorly in the first 2021 local election results to emerge.
Far fewer councils have declared results than is the norm for the post-election Friday morning, with the complexities of organising election counts at a time of social distancing meaning a majority decided to delay the process until today or over the weekend.
Of the first few councils to declare, the Conservatives gained Dudley MBC, Northumberland CC and Nuneaton & Bedworth BC from no overall control, and Harlow BC direct from Labour.
At 10.45am, the Conservatives had gained 59 councillors and Labour lost 58 across the country.
Voters head to the polls for elections ‘like no other’
Voting in local elections has opened across England with no significant setbacks reported despite unprecedented safety measures being required due to Covid-19.
Peter Stanyon, chief executive of the Association of Electoral Administrators, told LGC the polls were running “very smoothly”.
“All the planning that s been done has worked very well, so far,” he said. “And there s been no major issues or reports at all”.
He added that while it was too early to judge turnout, initial impressions were that polls were “reasonably quiet”, with national elections in Scotland and Wales “a bit busier”.