Reform UK surges in UK local elections as Labour faces heavy losses and leadership pressure

There were municipal and regional elections in England, Scotland and Wales last week in which the Labour government and Prime Minister Keir Starmer were clobbered by Reform UK and Nigel Farage. Starmer is now under pressure to resign but since when do UK prime ministers resign because of local election results? As the Chinese proverb […]

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer took responsibility for the losses but vowed to fight on amid calls for him to resign.

Thursday’s U.K. election results showed voters’ frustration with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as they voted out Labour officials and rewarded Reform UK.

Senior Labour MPs urge prime minister to step down within year as party suffers loss of hundreds of English council seats and humbling in WalesElection 2026 live: latest news updatesFull results from England, Scotland and WalesKeir Starmer is under pressure to set out a timeline for his departure after a crushing defeat in elections across Britain prompted senior Labour MPs to call for him to step down within a year.In a disastrous set of results, Labour lost hundreds of council seats in England, many to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, which made big gains across the Midlands and the north as well as taking seats from the Tories in the South.Nigel Farage said a “truly historic shift in British politics” had occurred after Reform UK won hundreds of seats and control of more councils in England. The gains included Essex where the Tory leader, Kemi Badenoch, has her constituency and which the Conservatives held for 25 years.Plaid Cymru became the largest party in Wales, beating Reform into second place, after Labour admitted it was on course to lose control of the Senedd for the first time since devolution. Morgan, the first woman to lead the Welsh government, became the highest-profile casualty and called on Labour to “go back to being the party of the working class”.The SNP leader, John Swinney, declared victory in the Holyrood elections – though was expected to fall short of an outright majority. The Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, conceded defeat saying his party had failed to counter “national dissatisfaction” with Starmer.The Greens gained their first two directly elected mayors – in Hackney and Lewisham – although they missed out on some more ambitious targets in London, as their leader, Zack Polanski, declared Britain’s two-party politics “dead and buried”. They also won three councils: Norwich, Hastings and Waltham Forest.The Tories were on course to lose hundreds of seats – both to Reform and the Liberal Democrats – across the south of England. However, they won back the flagship Westminster council in central London, with Badenoch announcing it meant the party was “coming back”.Labour appeared to be struggling in its London stronghold, despite early indications that its vote was holding up, unexpectedly losing control of Brent. Party insiders were closely watching councils including Lambeth, Lewisham and Haringey. Continue reading...

Britain’s Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is under growing pressure after Labour’s bruising local election results. The party lost hundreds of council seats in England, fell behind Plaid Cymru in Wales as Reform UK surged, and continued to struggle in Scotland where the Scottish National Party remains dominant. Reform UK has made major gains across England, Wales and Scotland, raising fresh questions over Starmer’s leadership and Labour’s direction. France 24’s Gavin Lee is joined by Tom Baldwin, former Labour Head of Communications and author of Keir Starmer: The Biography, to discuss the fallout from Labour’s losses and whether pressure is already building within the party to replace the Prime Minister.

Reform UK has emerged as a major force in English local elections, securing the most council seats and taking control of its first London council. This surge, alongside significant losses for Labour and Conservatives, signals a potential shift to a five-party political landscape. Labour faces historical setbacks, with its leader under pressure amid widespread voter dissatisfaction.