Spain swings to the right in the polls with Partido Popular claiming victory in the regional elections

Spain has shifted to the right in the polls as the country’s conservative Partido Popular (PP) wins overall in the regional elections on Sunday.

Just three of the 12 Spanish regions that held elections are likely to continue with Socialist leadership, but the rest were won by the conservative Partido Popular, although some will need to form coalitions with the far-right Vox party.

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In Madrid, the PP, led by Isabel Díaz Ayuso, won a landslide victory. While the previously Socialist-led regions of Valencia, Aragon and the Balearic Islands swung to the right. In Extremadura, until now a Socialist stronghold, the PSOE and PP drew on 28 seats each, although support from hard-right Vox would put the region in conservative hands.

Emiliano García-Page in Castilla-La Mancha just narrowly retained his leadership for the Socialists. Asturias stays red on the map and the PSOE was the most-voted party in the Canaries, but lost nine seats, meaning the Socialists will need to pact with Coalición Canaria to retain power.

In Spain’s North African cities, Melila’s Juan José Imbroda regained government for the PP. In Ceuta, Juan Jesús Vivas, with nine seats out of 25, is preparing to forge a coalition with five representatives, but has announced that Vox is not one of them.

Regional elections were not held on Sunday in Andalucía, Catalonia, Castilla y León, Galicia and the Basque Country.

On a municipal level the PSOE also suffered a setback in Barcelona city with a pro-independence party winning. The margin with the current far-left mayor Ada Colau is just 141 votes. The PP will need an agreement with the Socialists to unseat her.

PSOE was stripped of almost all its territorial power, left without 15 of the 22 provincial capitals in which it used to govern. This is a major setback for Pedro Sánchez ahead of the general elections on 23 July.