Theresa May is bracing herself for a difficult night, with fears of a near wipe-out in London after today’s local elections.

The Tories believe they could be left with just two councils in the capital.

However, experts predict that although the party will probably lose seats overall, their vote could hold up much better outside London.

Elections are being held in English councils last fought over in 2014; 4,371 seats and 150 councils are at stake

Mrs May has been campaigning around the country this week, including in Manchester on Monday (pictured)

The primary battleground is London - where Labour has been hoping to ride a wave of Remainer anger to seize Tory strongholds like Wandsworth, Westminster and Barnet

Mrs May told voters yesterday that if they wanted good local services and low council tax, they had no option but to vote Conservative.

The party’s chairman Brandon Lewis warned families they faced the threat of waking up to a town hall led by Labour’s hard-left Momentum activists unless they support the Tories today.

Millions of voters will go to the polls in more than 4,000 seats across England today.

Analysts expect the Conservatives to shed around 75, with Labour gaining around 200. The Liberal Democrats are expected to add around 30 seats.

For Ukip, the night is set to be little less than a disaster, with a real possibility they could lose all 125 seats they won in 2014.

Much of the night’s attention will be in London, where Labour has talked up the prospect of taking strongholds such as Westminster and Wandsworth, both of which have been Conservative for decades.

Lord Hayward, a former Tory MP turned elections analyst, said: ‘If the Tories retain either Wandsworth or Westminster they will be pleased.’

Although the gap with the Tories has narrowed slightly over the past month, Jeremy Corbyn's party is still 22 points ahead in London

Mr Corbyn (pictured in Kennington on Monday) is hoping to seize long-term Tory strongholds in London

Recent national opinion polls have seen Conservatives and Labour running virtually neck-and-neck - but the local elections could be a different story

He said turnout will ‘definitely be lower this time than in 2014’ – the last comparable poll – because that round coincided with European elections.’

Controversial voting ID scheme set to be tested in local elections Controversial plans forcing voters to prove their identity before casting their ballot will be trialled on Thursday. Pilot schemes will be in place at five councils, Bromley, Gosport, Swindon, Watford and Woking, during the local elections in England. The Government said the scheme will help combat electoral fraud but it has been strongly criticised by some over fears of potential discrimination and voter suppression. Shadow voter engagement minister Cat Smith questioned if the measures will affect the Windrush generation and said it is 'difficult for some communities to provide official papers'. The Electoral Reform Society said the plans are a 'calculated effort by the Government to make voting harder for some citizens'. It said personification fraud - where someone votes while pretending to be someone else - is 'incredibly rare'. Advertisement

Writing in the Local Government Chronicle, Professors Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher of Plymouth University said recent by-elections and opinion polls show Labour and the Tories were ‘neck and neck’.

They said Labour should take Barnet Council in north London, but added that following the party’s anti-Semitism scandals it could underperform in the borough, which is home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the country.

The pair also said it would be harder for Labour to make gains outside London, where the Tories could seize Ukip seats.

The Prime Minister said yesterday: ‘If those who are taking part in council elections look up and down the country, they will see that it is Conservative councils that support local communities, provide good local services and keep council tax low.

‘The message is very clear – if that is what you want, vote Conservative tomorrow.’

She added that Tory councils, on average, cost a typical family £100 less in council tax than those run by other parties. The Conservatives’ chairman Mr Lewis said: ‘Make no mistake about what you could wake up with on Friday. Jeremy Corbyn’s Momentum group have been bussing in hard-left activists to try to seize control of councils.

‘Their agenda could not be clearer. They have called for huge hikes in council tax, supported bin strikes which have left rubbish piling up in the street, and want to impose new local income taxes on hardworking families.’