Overview
- Labour lost about 1,400 to 1,500 councillors in England following Thursday’s local and regional elections, fell to third place in Wales, and gave up seats in Scotland.
- Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, turned voter discontent into major gains by adding large numbers of councillors and entering the Welsh and Scottish parliaments.
- Fallout came fast as Wales’s Eluned Morgan resigned as regional leader and Scotland’s Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, lost his seat in Edinburgh.
- Keir Starmer said Saturday he will not resign and promised a reset, appointing former prime minister Gordon Brown as special envoy for finance and global cooperation and naming Harriet Harman as an adviser on women’s policy.
- Labour MP Catherine West warned she will launch a leadership bid on Monday unless a cabinet challenger emerges by Sunday, saying she will seek the 81 MP nominations needed to trigger a contest.