Overview
- Reform UK won well over 1,000 council seats in England in Thursday’s local and regional elections, while Labour lost roughly 1,400 there.
- Labour forfeited its long-held majority in the Welsh Senedd, with Plaid Cymru leading and Reform UK second, and former First Minister Eluned Morgan lost her seat and resigned.
- Keir Starmer said he will not resign after the defeats, even as left-wing MPs and unions pressed for accountability and floated leadership debate.
- Election analysts said Reform UK performed best in areas that backed Brexit in 2016 and now benefits from a larger activist base, though first-past-the-post could limit national gains.
- Britain’s party map is more fragmented, with the Greens winning the Hackney mayoralty and Liberal Democrats advancing in several southern councils, weakening the old two-party pattern.