Labour lost 2 seats in Midlands local council elections yesterday.

They also held a seat in Bedford, Wandsworth, by just one vote.

In Knutton, Newcastle-under-Lyme, the Conservative vote shared soared by 25.8% points. Labour came in second with 48.9% of the vote share. The by-election was caused by the resignation of Labour councillor Brian Johnson.

In Bar Pool, Nuneaton & Bedworth, the Conservatives won with 55.3% of the vote share, up by 14.4 per cent since 2018. Labour came second with 23.4% of the vote share, followed by the Greens whose vote share surged to 21.3%, 12.3% more than in 2018. The by-election was triggered by the resignation of Labour councillor Patricia Elliott.

Both West Midlands wards are ex-industrial areas, with significant working-class voter bases.

These results suggest a counter trend to recent national polling, where the Conservatives were shown fallling behind Labour in several national polls early in November.