Labour Party Leader, Jeremy Corbyn (L) arrives to vote at a polling station in Pakeman Primary School in Holloway, noth London
EPA
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A Tory town hall chief put Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn in the frame for the outcome of council elections as voters went to the polls across England.

Kevin Davis, leader of Kingston council, said controversies swirling around the Government and Labour nationally could sway local contests today.

Mr Davis added that Brexit was making it difficult to “cut through” to voters.

“I know I speak on behalf of all London’s Conservative leaders when I say that the biggest vote swing issue will be what happens in Parliament, not in the boroughs,” he told the ConservativeHome website. “At the moment our Government competes with the opposition for headlines, swinging from Wind-rush to anti-Semitism and back.”

Theresa May was among voters heading to the polls in the local elections
EPA

The local polls are the biggest electoral test for Mrs May since the 2017 snap general election which saw her lose the Conservative majority. “In a Brexit-dominated Parliament nothing much cuts through to people and they have generally switched off,” said Mr Davis.

One Tory ex-minister added: “We are going to lose seats but the question is how many authorities are at risk.”

Across England, more than 4,000 seats are being contested in some 150 councils, including all 32 London boroughs, as well as every ward in Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds and Newcastle.

The Tories are fighting to avoid losing Barnet, Kingston, Richmond and Wandsworth and even possibly Westminster. The Grenfell Tower disaster overshadowed campaigning in Tory stronghold Kensington and Chelsea. In Tower Hamlets Labour is seeking to seize a majority of council seats, and defend its grip on the mayorship against challenges from independents.

Clare Coghill, Waltham Forest’s Labour leader, said: “National politics of course has an impact because it sets the framework around which councils operate — in particular around resourcing. But the message I hear on the doorstep is that the thing really driving people out is local issues.”

Ruth Dombey, Liberal Democrat leader of Sutton, which the Tories are seeking to gain, said: “Local elections should always be about local issues.” But she believed national issues would “probably” impact on the results.

An unknown factor in some contests will be new anti-Brexit party Renew. In Wandsworth, where 75 per cent voted Remain in the EU referendum, it is fielding nine candidates.

Labour may lose votes in some boroughs, including Barnet, because of its handling of anti-Semitism allegations.

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