Citizens of England and Northern Ireland went to polls on Thursday to chose members of 248 out of 353 English local councils, six directly elected English mayors and members of all the 11 local councils in Northern Ireland.
According to the most recent data, the Conservative Party has lost 16 councils, winning two and losing 396 councilors in total, while the Labour Party has lost three councils and won one, losing as many as 81 councilors. Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats party has won eight councils and 271 councilors, the Green Party has gained 36 councilors, and smaller and independent parties have gained 224 councilors in total.
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John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor of the Exchequer and a member of the Labour Party, voiced the belief on Friday that the elections had signaled that the government had to take action to finally overcome the Brexit crisis.
"We'll see what final results of local elections look like by end of day as they are pretty mixed geographically up to now but so far message from local elections — "Brexit — sort it." Message received," McDonnell wrote on Twitter.
We’ll see what final results of local elections look like by end of day as they are pretty mixed geographically up to now but so far message from local elections- “Brexit — sort it.” Message received.
— John McDonnell MP (@johnmcdonnellMP) 3 мая 2019 г.
The United Kingdom was initially set to leave the European Union on March 29, but the government failed to secure support for its divorce agreement before the deadline, which prompted London to seek an extension to avoid a no-deal scenario.
As a result of the European Council's special meeting, held on April 10, London received a flexible Brexit extension until October 31. The country is obliged to hold European elections in May if it does not leave by that time or withdraw without a deal on June 1.
