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

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 UK. Starmer struck a defiant note on Friday morning in the face

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

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 wards

Labour leadership jostling puts Brexit back under political spotlight

council house building programme "on a similar scale to the post-war period". But the fact the UK's relationship with the EU has been seized on already by Streeting – as well

More than 60 Labour MPs call for review of UK voting system

results and, in theory, more stable government. The new political backdrop of multi-party politics which has emerged in recent years, with smaller parties challenging Labour and the Conservatives, has reignited calls for electoral reform

Labour loses control of Birmingham city council after 14 years of leadership

results reflecting wider political fragmentation across [England](https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/england). Labour [lost hundreds of council seats in England](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-interactive/2026/may/07/local-elections-2026-may-full-results-england-scotland-wales), many to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, which made big gains across the Midlands

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

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

Australia’s populist One Nation scores first-ever lower house victory

election win and said the next two years would be a test for One Nation, which now faces the tough challenge of translating the popular anger it has tapped into concrete results. “They will successfully

Andy Burnham to make bid to return to Commons as pressure mounts on Starmer

UK. Reform leader Nigel Farage said the party looked forward to the contest and would "throw absolutely everything at it", with Reform having given Labour a drubbing at recent council elections in the area. Burnham

Minority groups brace for surge in racism after Reform UK election gains

UK election gains Conceding defeat at the election count at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena on Friday, the outgoing Labour leader of the city council, John Cotton, made a plea. “What I would encourage the next

Reform wins across northern England overturn decades of Labour control

results were ominous for several of the party’s big beasts. In Wigan, the constituency of the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, [Reform UK](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/brexit-party) won all but one of the 25 seats

The Tories are still on life support – so why is Badenoch in celebratory mood?

elections. It lost about 500 councillors in England and ceded control of three local authorities to Nigel Farage’s Reform UK – losing to the rightwing upstarts in England, Wales and Scotland. Why then is Kemi

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

results in decades, a sharp reversal of fortunes driven by policy U-turns and political controversies. Labour is also facing pressure from parties at either end of the spectrum. The hard-right Reform UK

Labour claims Reform UK won’t protect women, as poll suggests Farage’s party heading for ‘seismic’ wins in May – UK politics live

elections are just over three weeks away, and Labour is using this announcement as a platform to attack Reform UK, saying that Nigel Farage’s party can’t be trusted to stand up for women

British leader Keir Starmer under pressure after heavy election losses

results now counted after voting on Thursday, [Labour](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/labour) had lost more than 1,400 representatives from English councils, the local government structures that deliver many neighbourhood services. Starmer’s party also crashed

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

UK](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/brexit-party) became increasingly apparent. By the early hours, the BBC’s election analyst John Curtice noted, Reform had claimed 45% of all council seats that had been declared so far. On Friday

Makerfield byelection: Burnham’s decisive win intensifies pressure on Starmer to step aside – UK politics live

council byelection results which saw the Tories gaining seats from [Reform UK](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/brexit-party). Cleverly said: “When people see what Reform is like in office, they change their minds about Reform.” ![Post

No leadership pressure on Badenoch despite Tory losses

UK, with both Reform and the Liberal Democrats taking votes off Kemi Badenoch's party. In England, the Tories lost more than 500 seats and lost control six councils, while in Wales they lost

In the UK, Muslim votes are treated as a problem to be managed

council elections in England, largely at the expense of both the Conservative Party and the Labour Party, the two dominant forces in British politics for over a century. In the devolved elections, Labour’s vote

Sarwar says he will 'absolutely' stay on as Labour leader

results if his government could "step up and deliver the scale of change the country craves". The Labour party won just 17 of the 129 available in last week's election, losing four. Only three

How Reform won votes from Swansea to Sunderland

UK gained 17 MSPs. In north-east England, if the local election results went better than Reform's wildest dreams, they were the stuff of nightmares for Labour. What Labour and Reform agree