Labour and the Liberal Democrats both faced embarassing losses at the hands of the Tories in two by-elections last week.

Fifteen council by-elections took place in the UK last week, with Labour defending five seats and the Lib Dems defending six.

In the Harbourside and Town (Gosport) council by-election, the Conservatives came out on top with 48.5% of the votes, representing an increase of 10.6%.

Labour nosedived by a shocking 12%, coming in second with 27.8% of the votes.

The 2024 elections resulted in Harbourside and Town's council being made up of 15 Lib Dem councillors, 10 Conservaties, and three Labour.

The Tories' second gain came in Blackmoor Vale (Somerset), once again securing victory with 57.3% - an increase of 13.1% in what is traditionally a Lib Dem stronghold.

The Lib Dems took second place despite their popularity decreasing by a dramatic 19.1%. The Greens came in third with 4.4%, and Labour fourth with just 1.6%.

However, despite the embarrassingly low percentage of votes, Labour still manage to gain an increase of 1.6%.

These Labour losses reflect a growing shift in public opinion, as a petition calling for another general election has reached a staggering 2 million signatures.

Keir Starmer addressed the petition on Monday, but ruled out calling a general election. He said on ITV's This Morning: "Look, I remind myself that very many people didn't vote Labour at the last election.

"I'm not surprised that many of them want a rerun. That isn't how our system works. There will be plenty of people who didn't want us in in the first place. So, what my focus is on is the decisions that I have to make every day."