{"id":573372,"date":"2026-05-08T18:25:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T18:25:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/573372\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T18:25:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T18:25:11","slug":"partial-results-show-losses-for-starmers-labour-in-uk-polls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/573372\/","title":{"rendered":"Partial results show losses for Starmer\u2019s Labour in UK polls"},"content":{"rendered":"

LONDON (AP) \u2014 Prime Minister Keir Starmer<\/a> insisted Friday that he will not resign after bruising elections that saw his governing Labour Party suffer big losses and the hard-right Reform UK make major gains.<\/p>\n

The local and regional elections<\/a> are widely seen as an unofficial referendum<\/a> on Starmer, whose popularity has plummeted since he led the center-left Labour Party to power less than two years ago<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Voters have grown impatient for economic growth and dramatic change after 14 years of Conservative government, and many Labour lawmakers have become despairing at the government\u2019s failure to deliver.<\/p>\n

Starmer said he took responsibility for the \u201cvery tough\u201d results but would not quit.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe voters have sent a message about the pace of change, how they want their lives improved,\u201d he said. \u201cI was elected to meet those challenges, and I\u2019m not going to walk away from those challenges and plunge the country into chaos.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Reform<\/p>\n

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage poses for a photo during a visit to Havering Town Hall, in Romford, England, Friday May 8, 2026, a day after the local elections. (Yui Mok\/PA via AP)<\/p>\n

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage poses for a photo during a visit to Havering Town Hall, in Romford, England, Friday May 8, 2026, a day after the local elections. (Yui Mok\/PA via AP)<\/p>\n

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Reform UK, led by the veteran nationalist politician Nigel Farage<\/a>, won hundreds of local council seats in working-class areas in England\u2019s north, such as Sunderland, that were solid Labour turf for decades, and also made gains from the Conservatives in areas like Essex, east of London. The results confirmed that Reform, which ran on an anti-establishment, anti-immigration message, is doing particularly well in those areas that backed the U.K. to leave the European Union in the historic Brexit vote a decade ago.<\/p>\n

Farage said the results in England as well as in Scotland and Wales, where elections to their semiautonomous parliaments were also held, marked a \u201chistoric change in British politics.\u201d<\/p>\n

Labour also lost ground to the Green Party<\/a>, whose popularity has risen under self-described \u201ceco populist\u201d leader Zack Polanski. The Greens beat Labour to win the mayoral race in London\u2019s Hackney borough and gained hundreds of council seats in urban centers, as in Manchester, and university towns, such as Cambridge.The Conservative Party also lost ground, with the centrist Liberal Democrats making some gains.<\/p>\n

A handful of Labour lawmakers have urged Starmer to quit. Even if Starmer survives for now, many analysts doubt he will lead the party into the next national election, which must be held by 2029.<\/p>\n

Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy cautioned the party not to topple the prime minister, saying \u201cyou don\u2019t change the pilot during the flight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Results reflect fragmentation of UK politics <\/p>\n

Tony Travers, professor of government at the London School of Economics, said the elections show established parties struggling \u201cto respond to populists on the left and right who appear to provide painless and simple solutions to intractable political and economic problems.\u201d<\/p>\n

The results reflect a fragmentation of British politics after decades of domination by Labour and the Conservatives, and make the outcome of the country\u2019s next national election hard to predict.<\/p>\n

John Curtice, professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde, said Britain is entering a new political era where \u201cnone of the parties are very big.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Britain's<\/p>\n

Britain\u2019s Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch meets supporters in Westminster after the Tories took control of Westminster City Council from Labour in the local elections, in London, Friday May 8, 2026. (James Manning\/PA via AP)<\/p>\n

Britain\u2019s Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch meets supporters in Westminster after the Tories took control of Westminster City Council from Labour in the local elections, in London, Friday May 8, 2026. (James Manning\/PA via AP)<\/p>\n

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\u201cEven Reform are probably not quite at 30% of the vote, so the fracturing of British politics is underlined by these results,\u201d he told the BBC.<\/p>\n

Scotland and Wales go their own way<\/p>\n

In Scotland and Wales, nationalist parties came first in elections to the Parliaments in Edinburgh and Cardiff, which have an array of powers, including on health and tax. <\/p>\n

In Scotland, the Scottish National Party, which has governed since 2007 and campaigned on a promise to hold another referendum on Scotland leaving the U.K., is on course to win the most seats. Because it is likely to fall short of a majority, analysts said it\u2019s less likely a referendum will be pushed for during the coming five-year parliamentary term.<\/p>\n

And in Wales, Plaid Cymru secured a historic breakthrough, bringing an end to Labour\u2019s unbroken 27-year run in power. The party, which has an ambition for Wales to leave the U.K. but no plan to do so anytime soon, fell short of a majority but will likely form the new government.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Britain's<\/p>\n

Britain\u2019s Prime Minister Keir Starmer and wife Victoria arrive at a polling station in central London, Thursday, May 7, 2026 to cast their votes in the local elections.(AP Photo\/Kirsty Wigglesworth)<\/p>\n

Britain\u2019s Prime Minister Keir Starmer and wife Victoria arrive at a polling station in central London, Thursday, May 7, 2026 to cast their votes in the local elections.(AP Photo\/Kirsty Wigglesworth)<\/p>\n

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The huge reverse for Labour in Wales, which saw its leader lose her seat and the party drop to third, is perhaps the party\u2019s most striking reverse and the one that may hurt the most.<\/p>\n

\u201cWelsh Labour has today suffered a catastrophic result,\u201d said outgoing Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan. \u201cIt ends a century of Labour winning in Wales and the party will have to take a really hard look at itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

As in England, Reform UK made eye-catching breakthroughs in Scotland and Wales.<\/p>\n

Starmer\u2019s future is under threat <\/p>\n

Starmer\u2019s popularity has plunged after repeated missteps<\/a> and policy U-turns such as welfare reform. His government has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services<\/a> and ease the cost of living \u2014 tasks made harder by the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, which has choked off oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n

The prime minister has been further hurt by his disastrous decision to appoint Peter Mandelson<\/a>, a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as Britain\u2019s ambassador to Washington.<\/p>\n

The election results could trigger a challenge from a high-profile rival such as Health Secretary Wes Streeting<\/a>, former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner<\/a> or Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham<\/a>. Alternatively, Starmer could face pressure from the party to set a timetable for his departure.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think Keir Starmer should survive these results,\u201d said Labour lawmaker Jonathan Brash, who represents Hartlepool in Parliament. \u201cWe have to be bolder, and we have to go further. And quite frankly, we need new leadership in order to achieve that.\u201d <\/p>\n

__<\/p>\n

Pan Pylas contributed to this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LONDON (AP) \u2014 Prime Minister Keir Starmer insisted Friday that he will not resign after bruising elections that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":573373,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[157939,19306,3003,627,461,309,59,232,57,58,164199,3365,191790,196118,420,388,50,633,424,229,196117,200,56,54,14990,55,1220,7747,231,91826],"class_list":["post-573372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-kingdom","tag-2026-elections","tag-andy-burnham","tag-angela-rayner","tag-david-lammy","tag-elections","tag-england","tag-gb","tag-general-news","tag-great-britain","tag-greatbritain","tag-iran-war","tag-jeffrey-epstein","tag-john-curtice","tag-jonathan-brash","tag-keir-starmer","tag-london","tag-news","tag-nigel-farage","tag-peter-mandelson","tag-politics","tag-referendums","tag-scotland","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-united-kingdom-government","tag-unitedkingdom","tag-wales","tag-wes-streeting","tag-world-news","tag-zack-polanski"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=573372"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/573372\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/573373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=573372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=573372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=573372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}