The Labour Party suffered losses in local and regional elections across England and Wales on Thursday while Reform UK, a right-wing populist party led by Nigel Farage, made major gains.
Local elections in the United Kingdom are seen as a reflection of the popularity of the ruling party and prime minister.
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In England, Reform UK has won more than 1,350 council seats so far while Labour has already lost hundreds of seats, while in Wales, Labour lost power for the first time in more than 100 years.
The Scottish National Party is expected to win a majority in Scotland, with the party’s leader John Swinney declaring victory on Friday. It will be their fifth consecutive victory in Scotland.
Labour’s leader Keir Starmer said that, despite the results, he would not step down as prime minister. “I accept that [the results] reflect voters don’t feel that their lives have changed enough or quickly enough, and that’s been going on for a long time,” Starmer said. “We were elected to deal with that, and I’m not going to walk away from that responsibility and plunge the country into chaos.”
