I spent 11 hours on polling day knocking on the doors of potential Conservative supporters in Croydon to encourage them to come out and vote for us. In the two wards I helped in, four of our five candidates were successful. Across Croydon as a whole, however, the results were a mixed bag — we succeeded in getting Mayor Jason Perry re-elected, but lost five council seats.

It was a mixed bag nationally too. We got a higher national equivalent share of the vote than last year. We held off Reform in the likes of Bexley and Bromley. We made impressive gains in places like Enfield, Harlow and Peterborough and took back control — to coin a phrase — of Westminster City Council. A few weeks ago, Nigel Farage predicted that these elections would mark the end of us as a national party. We’re still here, and Kemi Badenoch deserves credit for that. She’s providing an effective opposition to this failing Government in the House of Commons.

But neither she nor anyone else should pretend that they were good results. Fifth in Scotland. Fourth in Wales. A net loss of 563 councillors in England. And these aren’t just valued elected representatives we’re losing; they are the cement that binds our local parties together. Yes, we survived on Thursday, but I want us to prosper not just survive. And as William Hague taught us, impressive Parliamentary performances do not necessarily mean electoral success.

Read the full article here: https://conservativehome.com/2026/05/15/gavin-barwell-recent-results-show-why-kemi-needs-to-change-her-strategy/?utm_campaign=twitter&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitter