Reform UK sees big gains as Labour gets hammered in local elections in England

LONDON: Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party had scooped up the most council seats in local elections in England by Friday night, even taking control of its first London council, as angry voters booted out hundreds of Labour and Conservative councillors in their traditional heartlands.

By then, even though results continued to come in overnight for the 5,000 seats, Reform had gained nearly 900 councillors, Labour had lost nearly 700 and the Conservatives had lost over 400. Reform UK had gained six councils whilst Labour had lost control of 15. The Greens party had gained 175 councillors and the Lib Dems had gained 68.

Britain’s long established two-party politics is now dead and a new era of five-party politics has begun.

By Friday night Labour was on course to get the worst set of election results in its history, with the unpopularity of Keir Starmer coming up repeatedly on doorsteps. Starmer said he would not “walk away and plunge the country into chaos”. Some unions and Labour MPs want him to leave and rumours continue to swirl of leadership challenges.

Farage said Starmer would “be lucky to still be PM by mid-summer” and that the country was witnessing a “truly historic shift in British politics”. “Labour are being wiped out by Reform,” he said.

Conservatives had little to celebrate other than taking back Westminster city council.

The Green party won its first directly-elected mayor in Hackney. “It is very clear the new politics is Green party versus Reform,” said Green leader Zack Polanski.

In Scotland and Wales, all seats in their national parliaments are also being contested.

On Friday night Labour was braced to lose the Welsh Parliament for the first time since it was formed in 1999 – a huge setback given that Wales is the party’s ideological birthplace. Reform UK Wales leader Dan Thomas, ,who won the first seat to be declared, said, “Labour’s historic demise in their heartlands is a lesson for politicians to never forget the people who voted for you.” SNP looked set to win a majority in Holyrood.