Lucy Fisher

And we are expecting this to be a huge breakthrough moment for Reform UK and for the Green Party also.

Reform winning in the north and Midlands, councils for a long time led by Labour.

The Greens doing much better in metropolitan areas and Labour really just bracing for electoral wipeout across the board.

You know, this could be the worst local election performance ever.

that the party has ever seen.

Well, look, that's right.

I think all eyes will turn to what happens to Keir Starmer and his future this weekend and next week.

And it's going to be a very dangerous moment for him.

But at the moment, those within Parliament who have camps that have formed around them, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting, insist they won't be the first movers.

And there are many who support Andy Burnham being the challenger to take on Starmer.

And given he is not yet an MP, but is searching for a way back to the Commons, it could be that that is the prevailing opinion from MPs that it's better to wait until he returns for a challenge later this year.

But Starmer isn't going to take this lying down.

Downing Street is

It is briefing that he will fight and we're expecting a big kind of policy blitz from him next week and potentially even a reshuffle as he rolls the dice to try and reset his flandering administration.

Well, look, I think inertia is underpriced in a lot of the feverish speculation leading up to these elections.

And in a sense, you know, the dismal performance that's expected by Labour is to some extent baked in.

However, sort of intellectually understanding that your party is going to face a bloodbath and then the visceral emotional impact.

reaction when you're standing around you know councillors crying because they've lost their seats and as mps the party is grappling with the idea that you know some of its key campaigners on the ground are all lost and and mps will be worrying that they won't hold their seats at the next election there is a difference there and it and i still think you know panic may yet grip the labour party tomorrow right uh what about the tories how are they getting on

Well, they're not expected to have a good night at all either.

Another election in which they will lose hundreds of seats.