English elections see Labour Party punished and gains for populist Reform
Thursday's elections for 136 local councils in England, alongside those to elect devolved parliaments in Scotland and Wales, are the most significant test of public opinion in the United Kingdom before the next general election due in 2029.
Most of the results from England – as well as all the seats in the Scottish and Welsh elections – are due to be declared later on Friday.
Partial results from England show Labour lost 247 seats, including in some traditional strongholds in former industrial regions in central and northern parts of the country, along with some parts of London.
The main beneficiary was the right-wing, anti-immigration Reform party of Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, which gained 335 council seats in early results in England.
It could also form the main opposition in Scotland and Wales to the respective pro-independence parties, the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru.
Starmer said he took "responsibility" for his party's poor results. "They are very tough, and there's no sugarcoating it," he told reporters on Friday.
'Historic change'
The Conservative Party has lost 127 seats, while Labour has been wiped out in some of the most closely watched early results.
The party lost control of the council of Tameside in Greater Manchester for the first time in almost 50 years, after Reform picked up all 14 seats it was defending.
In nearby Wigan, a former mining community Labour has also controlled for more than 50 years, it lost every one of the 20 seats it was defending to Reform. In Salford, the party held just three of the 16 seats it was defending.
The results were "soul-destroying", said Rebecca Long-Bailey, a Labour member of parliament for Salford.
Reform won hundreds of local council seats in working-class areas in England's north that were once solid Labour turf, and also made gains from the Conservatives in areas such as Havering in east London.
Farage said the results marked “a historic change in British politics".
In Wales, UK Labour Party loses grip on storied heartland
Starmer's future in balance
The elections are widely viewed as an unofficial referendum on Starmer, whose popularity has plummeted since he was elected less than two years ago, with voters growing impatient for the economic growth and dramatic change promised following 14 years of Conservative rule.
Some Labour MPs have said that if the party performs poorly in Scotland, loses power in Wales and fails to hold many of the roughly 2,500 council seats it is defending in England, Starmer will face renewed pressure to quit – or at least set out a timetable for his departure.
However, Starmer's allies have said it's not the time to move against him.
Defence Minister John Healey said the last thing voters wanted was "the potential chaos of a leadership election".
(with newswires)