Speaking in a recorded broadcast clip this morning, the prime minister has admitted that the Conservatives performance at the local election was “mixed”.

He thanked Conservative councillor candidates but said campaigning in some areas had been “tough”.

However he described some gains as “quite remarkable… in places that have not voted Conservative for a long time, if ever”, claiming voters wanted the government to proceed with tackling “the big issues that matter to them”.

While counting is still ongoing in 61 councils across England, as of 12:30 this afternoon the Conservatives have lost 137 councillors and seven councils.

Quizzed later this morning about why the government is not supporting a windfall tax on energy firms, he said the government had spoken with Shell and BP bosses on the matter, arguing that it made more sense for firms to use their profits to invest in green supplies.

“It is better for them to take that cash and invest it in green energy options, to make sure “this country is protected in the future”, he
stressed.

“One thing about this government, it does big, difficult things,” he argued, claiming that Brexit and the Covid vaccine programme were examples of this.

He stated that “clobbering” energy companies would not sure up UK energy security.