Conservatives stepped up their drive into Labour heartlands today as voters went to the polls for local elections around the country.
Full page advertisements with the slogan “Theresa May for Britain” appeared in local newspapers in seats previously seen as safe Labour territory.
The word Conservative appeared only in tiny letters on the adverts, which were focused on the Prime Minister and her pleas for a big majority ahead of Brexit negotiations.
Among the seats targeted for the presidential-style campaign was Mansfield, a former National Union of Mineworkers stronghold where veteran Labour left-winger Sir Alan Meale had a majority of 6,012 in 2015, which has been reduced from 20,518 in 1997.
Another was Stockport, where Labour’s Ann Coffey is defending a majority of 10,061.
The choice of target seats suggest that Conservative campaigners may shifting resources into Labour heartlands in the hope of a landslide majority on June 8, despite publicly urging voters to doubt opinion polls showing a big Tory lead of 20 points or so.
Party insiders said a range of seats had been targeted for ads.
Mrs May was out knocking on doors in the South East this afternoon while and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was campaigning in Oxfordshire.
Both will be studying the results tomorrow for clues about where the key battlegrounds will be for the general election.
People were voting in 88 councils in England, Scotland and Wales, as well as new mayors in six new devolved super-regions.
Labour is braced for the loss of hundreds of seats, which is unusual for an opposition party in mid-term and would be taken as a grim omen.
Among key figures standing in city halls, former Labour cabinet minister Andy Burnham is hoping to launch a new career outside Westminster as Greater Manchester’s first elected mayor.
Former John Lewis boss Andy Street is running for the Conservatives in closely fought West Midlands, against ex-Labour MP Sion Simon.
