Labour will not need to forge coalition after general election, senior MP says

Peter Kyle rejects predictions that Labour will not win enough seats to have outright majority in Commons

• Local elections 2023: live council results for England

A senior Labour MP has predicted the party will not need to go into coalition after the next general election, despite results from this week’s local elections showing they could be short of an overall majority.

Labour gained 536 seats and took control of another 22 councils as it became the largest party in local government for the first time since 2002.