Search

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

party haemorrhaged councillors at the local elections and Reform made significant gains. Keir Starmer’s party

Mapped: the elections that could deliver ‘unprecedented’ losses for Labour

party polling since previous local elections. Councillor losses are based on change since last elections. Fisher estimates Reform will gain

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

elections as Reform makes early gains United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party is bracing for [heavy defeats in local

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

Reform makes huge election gains? **Glasgow, United Kingdom –** Voters in England’s [local council elections](/news/2026/5/8/uk-elections-early-results-and-takeaways-will-starmer-have-to-resign) have delivered a damning verdict of Labour as it took hundreds of seats from the UK’s governing party

Nigel Farage hails ‘historic shift in politics’ after Reform UK election gains

gains at the expense of Labour and the Conservatives. Reform made advances in heartland areas of both parties, clocking up substantial early results in the English local elections

Future of UK lies in the EU after Brexit ‘failure’, say European Greens

local elections](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2026/may/07/elections-2026-local-scotland-wales-reform-green-labour-conservatives-live-news-updates) at the expense of Nigel Farage’s Reform party gains

Polls close in elections across England, Scotland and Wales

Reform UK and the Green party are expected to make significant gains at the expense of Westminster’s two biggest parties in England, while the [Liberal Democrats](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/liberaldemocrats) could turn swathes of local

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

Reform’s steel strategy has not yet been written, the push to woo the industry comes just weeks before the local elections on 7 May, in which the party is hoping to make gains

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

party insider tells me they should end up with seat gains of at least four figures in local councils, comfortably winning at least a thousand council seats in England. Some projections put them well over

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

local and devolved election results would be a perilous moment for the prime minister. Robert Hayward, the Conservative peer and polling expert, has predicted the party could lose approximately 1,850 councillors in England, while

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

Reform UK is surging while the Green Party is gaining ground on the left. In Wales, the Welsh nationalist political party Plaid Cymru is polling strongly – an unprecedented challenge in a nation Labour has dominated

Vote Lib Dem or ‘regret it’ living under a Reform council, Davey tells voters

party and Reform at the English local elections. More than 5,000 councillors will be elected on Thursday, with more than half of these being in either London or the south-east. Some [projections show

Badenoch claims Tories ‘coming back’ despite widespread losses in local elections

local elections Kemi Badenoch has claimed that the Conservatives are “coming back” after winning back Westminster and Wandsworth councils from Labour in London, despite her party suffering significant losses throughout England in Thursday’s elections

Greens ‘have welcomed’ people expelled by Labour for antisemitism, Steve Reed claims

parties expected to make big gains in the elections on 7 May, Steve Reed also accused [Nigel Farage](https://www.theguardian.com/politics/nigel-farage) of being more interested in talking to Donald Trump then representing his Clacton constituency

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

local elections in Birmingham could not be more different. Tilsley, now a Lib Dem, faces afragmented field with candidates from Labour, the Conservatives, Greens, Reform and Independents all competing for his seat and no party

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

local authority – gaining 52 councillors. Suffolk and Newcastle-under-Lyme followed, also claimed from the Conservatives, then Sunderland, from Labour. In the Scottish parliament and, particularly, the Welsh Senedd, Reform was hoping to make

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

‘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

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

local elections results rolled in, a trickle of voices were calling for [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

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