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Major test for Labour as polls open in English, Scottish and Welsh elections

local, mayoral and parliamentary contests – the biggest electoral test Keir Starmer and the [Labour](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/labour) government have faced since the 2024 general election. As millions of people across Great Britain

Green party threat to Labour in London laid bare in Starmer’s own back yard

Labour activists at the count for his constituency in the early hours of 5 July 2024](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/f83eb56afbf1a10277a480d7c415f7589c41a731/436_0_4361_3488/master/4361.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none) Starmer on election night in his Holborn and St Pancras constituency in July 2024. His party

How Labour’s ‘terrible’ night unfolded as Reform surges and Greens and Lib Dems hail wins

local campaigns across the country: thank you,” he posted on X late on Thursday. “Together we will build a stronger and fairer Britain.” Well, maybe. As the long night went on, result after result

Could Lib Dems become the biggest party in English local government?

Labour and the Tories. But there is a chance that on 8 May the [Liberal Democrats](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/liberaldemocrats), largely ignored in recent weeks, could wake up as the biggest party in English local government

Labour losses pile up in England local elections as Reform UK makes gains

local election in 2024. In Halton, Cheshire, Labour held two of the 17 seats it was defending as Reform UK gained 15 councillors in the first council to complete its count on Friday. In some

UK voters head to the polls in local elections

2024. Voters in England, Scotland and Wales are casting their ballots in local elections where far-right and left-wing parties are projected to make gains, dealing a heavy blow to the governing Labour Party

UK elections – early results and takeaways; will Starmer have to resign?

results were “soul-destroying”, said Rebecca Long-Bailey, Labour member of parliament for Salford. While incumbent governments often struggle in mid-term elections, pollsters forecast that Labour could lose the most council seats in local

‘Leader of the pack’: What next as Reform makes huge election gains?

2024 UK general election. Indeed, from dealing with internal challenges to his authority following a series of backbench Labour rebellions to the political fallout over the prime minister’s ill-fated [decision to appoint](/news/2026/4/20/uk-pm-starmer-admits-mistaken-call-on-mandelson-rejects-calls-to-resign

Lib Dems can counter extremes of Reform and Greens, Davey says

local elections as proof his party is best positioned to confront what he described as the “extreme populist change” offered by Reform UK and the Greens. As Labour assessed a disastrous set of results

Voters contend with ‘grotesque’ leaflets and ‘dodgy’ data in English elections

local elections and that it was reasonable for political parties to address [significant swings](https://www.ipsos.com/en-uk/uk-opinion-polls/voting-intention-polls-and-trends) in the national polls. But the organisation concluded that “some of these leaflets could mislead people as they

Reform wins across northern England overturn decades of Labour control

local election campaign because, he said, it was where he had first sensed the “big political earthquake” underfoot. A decade ago next month, the city was the first to declare its vote in the Brexit

Cabinet minister warns Labour against ‘doomscrolling’ through leaders like the Tories

local politicians who see themselves as victims of the government’s unpopularity. However, the vast majority of cabinet ministers are thought to be unwilling to move against Starmer. “There’s a complacency on the backbenches

John Curtice: Early results show how fragmented UK politics has become

local election performance ever. However, so far at least, the party has yielded a net gain of just 25 seats. The party has secured a number of creditable second and (especially) third places, but relatively

Early England election results make it clear: we are in an era of five-party politics

local election results require careful interpretation. Not all places have them at the same time, a relatively small proportion complete their counts overnight and the early headlines may not reflect outcomes later

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

local elections … and it might precipitate a leadership challenge against him,” Tonge said. Members of Labour’s voter base have criticised Starmer because of the government’s decision to cut the winter fuel allowance

Birmingham council leader says end of city’s bin strike ‘within sight’

resulting from a job evaluation process, and agency workers who had worked for more than 12 months would be offered permanent employment. It also said disciplinary issues would be quashed, gross misconduct issues reviewed

Polls close in elections across England, Scotland and Wales

2024 general election. Results across three nations could fundamentally change the political landscape and could have repercussions for the prime minister. In what is seen as the first true multiparty battle, Reform

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

local elections that show his party suffering heavy losses, many at the hands of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. Starmer struck a defiant note on Friday morning in the face of calls from some

Birmingham is awash with local election candidates – but will result be a ‘coalition of chaos’?

results in May, with elections taking place across Scotland, Wales and English councils that are likely to lead to gains for the Green party and Reform. In Birmingham, Labour’s 14-year dominance could also

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

local time (06:00 GMT). The election is seen as a [key test of Starmer’s leadership](/news/2026/5/5/starmers-referendum-how-local-elections-could-expose-a-fractured-uk), with Labour trailing behind Reform UK in opinion polls in recent months. In response to the early