The Labour chair said she expects the party to win a majority at the next general election after it made gains and the Tories went backwards at last week’s local elections. 

Anneliese Dodds was asked during an interview on Sky News if she expected, rather than hoped, to form a majority government after the next election and she said: "Yes, I genuinely do, on the basis of these results. 

"I think not only did we see that lead for Labour obviously lengthening but we also saw that Labour was winning, and with really big swings, in many of the areas that are critically important for us forming that majority government.  

"Of course, these elections didn’t include Scotland and actually in Scotland we are moving ahead as well, so yes, I do believe we are on track to form a majority government."

Her comments came just days after Sir Tony Blair said Labour must not be "complacent" following the local elections after the party gained just over 500 council seats while the Tories lost about 1,000.

Pollsters said the local election results suggested Labour was on course to win the next general election but that Sir Keir Starmer could fall short of securing an overall majority. 

You can follow the latest updates below.