Labour was dealt further proof of their growing unpopularity as they lost a swathe of council seats on Thursday night, with their vote share dropping across the country.

Across 19 council by-elections, Labour lost four seats and the Tories gained four seats, despite the Conservatives still being in the midst of a leadership election.

Averaged across all 16 seats Labour fielded candidates, Sir Keir’s party lost over 10 percent of their vote share.

The biggest blows wear dealt in South Ribble, North East Derbyshire and Leeds, where Labour lost 21.6%, 21.3% and 20% of their vote share respectively.

Only London and Scotland provided any solace for the beleaguered party, where two by-elections in Ealing and North Lanarkshire saw them put on 0.1% of the vote.

The Tories gained four seats, two from independents in Fylde and Pembrokeshire, and two from Labour in Worthing and North East Derbyshire - the latter with a swing of 15.7%.

Meanwhile the Greens dealt Labour a blow in Leeds by picking up a council seat, as did the LibDems in Southampton.

The Tories also gained a seat from the LibDems in Elmbridge.

Reform UK also put in a good showing, securing nearly 20% of the vote in a seat in Harlow and 24.4% of the vote in the Leeds by-election.

The disastrous night for Labour confirms recent polling which suggests the party has already plummeted in popularity since the election on July 4.

A new poll out this morning from Techne reveals that Labour has already dipped below 30% of the vote.

Meanwhile a separate poll of Keir Starmer’s personal popularity revealed it has now reached a record low just days before he marks 100 days in power.

He now enjoys a net favourability rating of -26, with 52% of Brits saying he is doing a bad job.

Labour’s net favourability ratings have similarly fallen from +6 on the day they won power to -21 today.

The party’s popularity is falling faster among older voters, with those over 55 registering a -18 drop in their attitude to Labour.