Labour’s very poor performance in 2021 provides them with an opportunity to win seats and councils, particularly where the Conservatives are their main opponents.
Potential gains include Redditch, in Worcestershire, Milton Keynes, Hartlepool and Harlow, in Essex.
In many places, Labour will also be looking ahead to the general election.
Some of the Labour-controlled councils with elections in May are also places with key target constituencies for the next UK general election, including Bury, in Greater Manchester, Crawley, in West Sussex, Stevenage, in Hertfordshire, and Swindon, in Wiltshire.
However, Labour may not find that everything goes its way. The party’s response to the Israel-Gaza war has been controversial among many of its own councillors.
Dozens of them have resigned to sit as independents in councils across England.
