Overview
- Results released Friday confirmed a heavy Labour defeat across England and a surge for Reform UK, with Reform topping 1,400 councillors as Labour shed more than 1,400 seats and Conservatives lost over 500 based on 131 councils counted.
- Keir Starmer said he will not resign and called the losses very tough, even as several Labour MPs, ministers and the Unison union urged him to step down.
- In Scotland the SNP won 58 of 129 seats without a majority, while in Wales Plaid Cymru placed first with 43 of 96 seats and Reform UK took second as Labour fell to just 9.
- Reform UK cut deep into former Labour strongholds in the north and Midlands, winning places such as Hartlepool and Barnsley and posting big gains from Wigan to Newcastle-under-Lyme, while the Greens advanced in urban and university areas.
- Outlets and analysts described a decisive break from two-party dominance, with gains for Reform, the Greens and Liberal Democrats reshaping local control and forcing parties to rethink their paths to 2029.