LABOUR research suggests the party could lose one of its Sussex councils in May’s local elections.

The internal document leaked earlier this week estimates the party may lose Crawley Borough Council.

According to every scenario in the research Labour will lose control of the council it has held for six years.

But council leader Councillor Peter Lamb said he took the report with a pinch of salt.

“Having looked at the report it seems to be highly based on the results of the General Election,” he said.

“Anyone who’s campaigned in a general and a local election knows you get very different results between the two.

“In 2016 and 2018 newspapers have said we were going to lose and we didn’t.

“People have been saying we’ll lose the council since we gained control in 2014.”

Cllr Lamb said the party would not take anything for granted in the May 7 election.

“What we know from the General Election is people’s main issues were Brexit and Jeremy Corbyn,” he said.

“ Neither Brexit nor Jeremy Corbyn will be an issue in May.”

Voters across Sussex go to the polls on May 7, a little over a month after Labour’s new leader will take over.