John Curtice issues his prediction as Tories suffer worst performance for 40 years

Early results from 35 out of 107 councils put net Tory losses at 122, with Labour recording 52 gains.

The Liberal Democrats bolstered its local representation by 18 and the Greens returned an additional 13 councillors.

However, with hundreds of more wards up for grabs, Curtice believes it could get even worse for the Prime Minister.

He told the BBC: "So far they are basically losing a half of the seats they are trying to defend.

"If that continues they may end up losing 500 or so seats, which is the thing they were meant to avoid.

"Early days yet, but where we have got the detailed voting numbers, it looks as though the Conservative vote is a wee bit down on where it was last year.

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"We are probably looking at certainly one of the worst, if not the worst, Conservative performances in local government elections for the last 40 years."

Curtice's comments come as opinion polls suggest the Conservative Party could suffer its worst election defeat since 1997 later this year.

The latest MRP poll gave the Tories just 155 seats, down from 365 in 2019.

Labour would also almost double its Commons contingent by jumping from a mere 202 to 403.

However, it is not just in local authorities where the Tories face a difficult set of results today.

Blackpool South saw Conservative support slump as Labour gained the seat with an enormous 26.3 per cent swing.

Reform UK also increased its pressure on Sunak as the populist party only trailed the Tory Party in the Lancashire seat by a mere 117 votes.

Results in mayoral races will also prove vital as CCHQ insiders pin their hopes on Andy Street and Ben Houchen clinging on to power.