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Labour launches local election campaign with promise of ‘change’

Elections will be held for 23 councils, while there will also be mayoral elections in the West of England, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and – for the first time – in Hull and East Yorkshire and Greater Lincolnshire.

Meanwhile, the party is facing a by-election in Runcorn and Helsby, after former Labour MP Mike Amesbury resigned following his conviction for assaulting a constituent.

Elections to all 21 county councils in England were due to place.

But last month the government announced local elections would be postponed in nine areas, where councils are being reorganised.

The Conservatives are defending the most seats in the upcoming elections, which were last contested in 2021 when then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson was enjoying a surge in support following the rollout of the Covid vaccine.

Other areas where Labour is hoping to make gains include Durham and Nottinghamshire, parts of the country where the party won seats at last year’s general election.

However, it is facing a difficult economic backdrop, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves setting out sweeping benefit cuts last month amid pressures on public spending.

On Wednesday US President Donald Trump announced new global tariffs, which could hit the UK’s economic growth and wipe out the headroom the chancellor has to meet her spending and borrowing rules.


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