Tories face losing half their seats at council elections'

A POLLING expert has predicted that the Conservatives may lose as many as half of their councillors on Thursday.

- By Christian Calgie Senior Political Correspondent

Election guru Sir John Curtice painted a grim picture for party leader Kemi Badenoch, tasked with defending some 1,600 seats.

He said yesterday: “Four years ago, when Thursday’s seats were last contested, the Conservatives were on 42% (in the opinion polls), six points ahead of Labour and gained over 200 council seats.

“Reform barely registered. Now the Tories are defending nearly 1,000 of the 1,641 seats up for grabs.

“Heavy losses, perhaps as many as half of their seats, seem inevitable.”