- Conservatives lost a trio of London councils in elections, including Wandsworth and Westminster.
- Poor performance on national issues, including partygate and the cost of living, were blamed.
- Conservative MPs are concerned about what this means for the general election.
The Conservatives have lost control of three key London councils – including Margaret Thatcher's favorite, Wandsworth – putting more pressure on Boris Johnson's leadership from the party's moderate wing.
As well as Wandsworth, which the Tories have held since 1978, Labour took Barnet and now has control of Westminster Council, which has been Conservative-held since it was created in 1964.
The Conservatives' woes extended beyond the capital to Cumbria, where Labour won 66% of the seats.
Conservative councilor John Mallinson, who was previously the leader of Carlisle City Council, said national issues such as partygate and the cost of living were to blame for his party's poor result.
He told the BBC: "[It's] the integrity issue basically, I just don't feel people any longer have the confidence their Prime Minister can be relied upon to tell the truth."
In Sunderland, where Labour retained the city council with one fewer seat, Antony Mullen, the leader of the Conservatives on Sunderland Council, told the BBC that partygate had "suppressed our turnout," adding: "The best chance of reviving the Conservative Party's fortunes will be with a new leader."
According to polling expert Sir John Curtice, with just under half the results in, the Tories are on track to lose about 250 seats across England.
This is not as bad as had been feared, however. The bulk of the Tory pain has been felt in London.
One Conservative MP told Insider the party now feared it would lose much of its remaining parliamentary seats in the capital in a general election after today's "dreadful" showing.
Likely seats that would go include Theresa Villiers' Chipping Barnet, Nickie Aiken's Two Cities, and Iain Duncan Smith's Chingford and Woodford Green, they believe.
Another backbencher suggested the results might lead them to send in a letter of no confidence, having been wavering until now. Others had previously told Insider the local elections would be a deciding factor in their next steps.
On Thursday, Insider revealed that Boris Johnson is mulling an early election – perhaps as soon as this summer – to head off the twin threats of a worsening economy and facing a vote in his leadership.
A vote will be triggered if the chairman of the 1922 committee, Sir Graham Brady, receives 54 letters. A rising number of Tories have publicly called for Johnson to quit.
Although such a move would risk sacrificing several seats – including deputy prime minister Dominic Raab and those mentioned above – the prime minister is said to be considering "taking it to the people" rather than leaving it in the hands of MPs in a bid to save his career.