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‘Starmer’s referendum’: How local elections could expose a fractured UK

Keir Starmer is facing a tough stress test. His Labour Party on Thursday will battle local and devolved elections under mounting political pressure. Voters across England, Wales and Scotland are expected to deliver Labour their

UK’s Labour set for heavy losses in elections as Reform makes early gains

Keir Starmer’s Labour Party is bracing for [heavy defeats in local elections](/news/2026/5/7/uk-voters-head-to-the-polls-in-local-elections), with Reform UK poised to make gains across the country, according to early results. Labour’s woes were already evident

Starmer brings in Gordon Brown and Harriet Harman to ease pressure on him to resign

Keir Starmer shakes hands with Harriet Harman outside No 10](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/7814deefd0f07178b8329dd1ca91e98ce4c172a3/0_0_1920_1080/master/1920.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none) Harriet Harman was Labour’s deputy leader under Gordon Brown. Photograph: International Pool/PA With the bulk of the votes now counted from

Starmer under pressure as Labour suffers heavy election losses including historic Wales defeat

Starmer has insisted he will not quit as prime minister and "plunge the country into chaos", as Labour reels from significant election losses. The results in England, Scotland and Wales have piled pressure

Cracks showing for Labour close to back yards of Starmer’s top team

Keir Starmer hates to lose. Unsurprisingly, he refused to walk away and end his premiership as Labour’s local election losses began to trickle in on Friday morning. Upon entering Downing Street in July

Starmer vows to fight on as PM despite heavy local election losses for Labour

Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on as prime minister despite [early results](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-interactive/2026/may/07/local-elections-2026-may-full-results-england-scotland-wales) in local elections that show his party suffering heavy losses, many at the hands of Nigel Farage’s Reform

Labour’s disastrous night puts focus on Keir Starmer’s future as leader

Keir Starmer’s resignation – results overnight mean it may yet do so in the coming days. Five years ago, Labour crashed to [a humiliating defeat](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/may/07/hartlepool-byelection-result-labour-starmer-conservatives) in a byelection for the city

Labour’s better than expected thrashing may allow Starmer to cling on in No 10

Keir Starmer](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/keir-starmer) to quit – a couple of MPs, a trade union leader, and a Labour peer. The numbers are undoubtedly [bad for Labour](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/may/08/labour-reform-uk-england-local-elections-2026-scotland-wales), with [Reform making sweeping gains

Pressure mounts on embattled UK PM Keir Starmer as rivals circle

Keir Starmer’s administration is embroiled in turmoil amid a [calamitous local election](/news/2026/5/8/leader-of-the-pack-what-next-as-reform-makes-huge-election-gains) result for the Labour Party last week. Starmer, who has been [dogged by controversy](/news/2026/4/20/uk-pm-starmer-admits-mistaken-call-on-mandelson-rejects-calls-to-resign) over the appointment of Jeffrey Epstein

Reeves to promise free summer bus rides for children and food tariff cuts in living costs package

Keir Starmer [announced that the government will postpone the planned increases in fuel duty](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/may/20/planned-fuel-duty-rise-to-be-scrapped-says-keir-starmer) that were due to take effect in September and December, and give lorry drivers free vehicle tax. Speaking

Keir Starmer makes late pitch to voters turning to Greens and Reform

Keir Starmer’s future as prime minister. In a message to voters on Thursday, Starmer said Reform’s Nigel Farage and the Greens’ [Zack Polanski](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/zack-polanski) were “not fit to meet this moment

TUC leader ‘angry’ at state of Labour but says it can recover to win next election

Keir Starmer’s government and warned that significant change is needed to prevent Reform UK from winning power. In his first intervention as the battle rages over the future of the Labour leadership

In Britain, Brexit is debated again as Starmer’s grip on power slips

Keir Starmer about rejoining when there’s an election in 2029 and at the moment it looks likely that, or at least highly possible that, it will be won by parties who are fervently opposed

Burnham starts byelection campaign with thinly veiled pitch for No 10

Keir Starmer, saying: “No, it’s not, because this is a byelection, and that’s what this contest is about, and those issues are issues for another time, and they are issues for members

Winners, losers and a PM on the brink - what to expect in next week's elections

Keir Starmer should be pushed out afterwards. One minute, one minister says: "It's terminal," and another says "I just can't see a way through." The next minute, another says: "I'm firmly

UK faces £35bn hit and risk of recession this year over impact of Iran war, thinktank warns

Keir Starmer’s government, a leading thinktank has warned. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr) said that even under a best-case scenario the UK economy would grow at a much slower

Starmer gives tech firms ultimatum to block explicit images on children’s phones

Keir Starmer](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/keir-starmer) said on Monday. The prime minister said tech companies must activate nudity-detection algorithms or other technical solutions on smartphones and tablets to prevent users taking photos or sharing images

British leader Keir Starmer under pressure after heavy election losses

Keir Starmer, the British prime minister, is facing increasing pressure to set a date for his departure after elections across much of the country resulted in massive losses for his ruling Labour party. With

Chris Mason: Elections this week a smorgasbord of competitiveness

challenge since its advent in the 1920s." He added: "The basic assumptions of British politics - there isn't enough space for a party to the right of the Tories or the left of Labour - have

Henry Zeffman: PM puts himself back in the game for now

Starmer said to the cabinet today, at the start of what was - let's remember - just its standard weekly scheduled meeting. The prime minister's message was spoken to a full meeting of 28 cabinet