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Elections 2026 live: counting under way after votes in England, Scotland and Wales

elections. Hartlepool is one of the first major tests of whether Reform UK can convert polling momentum into real council gains. The declaration guide itself flags the possibility of Reform making significant advances there

Frustration, apathy and hope: Birmingham divided as extraordinary election looms

local election is anyone's guess. Polls suggest Birmingham's electorate has fully embraced five-party politics, with a healthy number of independent candidates giving city voters a sixth option. Reform UK is feeling confident

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

local elections. Photograph: Leon Neal/Getty Images Although the Tories also anticipate tough results, they could retake control of Wandsworth council and make gains in Westminster, allowing Kemi Badenoch to channel Kenneth Baker, Margaret Thatcher

Keir Starmer under pressure to agree exit plan after election mauling

UK, which made big gains across the Midlands and the north as well as taking seats from the Tories in the South. After more than a century of domination, Labour was also expecting a near

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

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

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

local councils in England, as well as in the devolved parliaments in Scotland and Wales, are the United Kingdom’s most significant test of public opinion before the next general election, which

Starmer to face split cabinet as demands for his resignation mount

local elections last Thursday resulted in Labour losing more than 1,400 seats and losing power in Wales, with Reform and the Greens making gains. A leadership contest requires the endorsement of 81 Labour

Tories are still biggest party on the right, claims Cleverly

gained control of 14 councils, both from the Conservatives - for example in Suffolk and Essex - but also in traditional Labour areas such as Sunderland and Barnsley. It also came second in the Welsh Parliament elections

Five election moments you may have missed

local and general elections throughout Wales since the 1990s, as well as raising money for charity, but told the BBC this would be his last attempt. He told our reporter he had "election fever

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

gains that voters switched directly from Labour to Reform. Even if Labour has lost a seat directly to Reform this may not be because of direct switching. A split vote on the “left”, for example

Reform UK asks steel bosses to draft ‘alternative strategy’ for industry

local elections on 7 May, in which the party is hoping to make gains in areas that have experienced decades of manufacturing job losses. Wales is a particular focus. The party is polling almost level

Campaigning sprint finish ahead of elections around Britain tomorrow

local issues – such as fixing the church roof or cleaning up sewage from rivers. But the Liberal Democrats no longer dominate as perhaps they used to as the most obvious alternative in lots of places

Tories suspend leader at Worcestershire council after he made deal to oust Reform

UK gained control of the council a year ago but its tenure has been marked by a series of controversies and political infighting. This included a bitter leadership battle in which the now former Reform

Farage vows to ban foreign nationals from social housing

local area. Migrants in the UK on student or work visas, those who arrived in the country illegally with no leave to remain and asylum seekers are not usually eligible for social housing. Under Reform

Prospect of Labour leadership race brings out different sides of rivals

election, but with his party intent on deposing him. There is a local byelection where [Andy Burnham](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/andyburnham), the party’s leftwing hope for prime minister, will have to demonstrate

Labour risks handing power to Reform without drastic change, says union leader

local elections in England. Egan's assessment is that the disillusionment with Labour is now being expressed in a different way. "Your Party offered people an opportunity to give Labour a warning that it needed

‘Grotesque’: parties criticise Reform UK plan to set up migrant detention centres in Green-voting areas

gains, such as one-time Labour strongholds in London and other cities. “Reform are a very modern political party, which farms outrage and wants people to be angry, so in a low turnout election

‘This is not the country I moved to’: the British Indians showing support for Nigel Farage

local elections on 7 May. The 2021 census found British Asians made up almost half the population in the north-west London borough, which has been seen as a Conservative stronghold in recent years

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

UK politics has become The overnight local election results have confirmed that, for the time being at least, electoral politics in Britain has become highly fragmented. Reform are certainly the winners. The party