Starmer’s Labour suffer huge losses as hard-right Reform gains in U.K. elections

LONDON — Early results Friday from nationwide elections in Britain suggested a historic drubbing for Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party and sweeping gains for hard-right Reform U.K., led by Trump ally Nigel Farage. Though many results were still coming in Friday morning, the overall picture will heap pressure on Starmer, an unpopular leader who will face increasing doubts over his future amid widespread speculation his colleagues may move against him. Starmer said the results “hurt” and were “very tough,” but said he would not step aside. “Tough days like this don’t weaken my resolve to deliver the change that I promised.” Labour losses and Reform gains were no surprise; polls had long telegraphed the direction of travel just two years after Starmer led Labour to power in a 2024 landslide. However with votes still being counted, the scale of Labour’s losses appeared epic. Reform won hundreds of local council seats in working-class areas in England’s north, wiping the ruling party out in places like Hartlepool that were once solid Labour turf. Farage said the results marked “an historic change in British politics.” Though seen as a barometer of public anger, the prime minister’s name itself was not on the ballot. Instead, Britons voted in more than 5,000 local government elections in England, a handful of mayoral contests around London, and votes for the Welsh and Scottish parliaments — devolved legislatures with powers over transport, health and other areas. Many of those votes were still to be counted Friday, but the partial results pointed to a clear break with the longstanding dominance of Britain’s two establishment parties. The Conservative Party suffered a chastening defeat in 2024. And the party, now led by Kemi Badenoch, continued to shed votes. Reform was a big winner, amassing a vast array of council seats in England, while expecting strong showings in Scotland and Wales. The latter looked set to be the first time that Labour would fail to come first in Wales-wide elections in more than 100 years. Plaid Cyrmu, the left-wing, pro-Welsh independence party, was hoping to win the most seats and lead a coalition government in Wales. Their pro-independence brethren, the Scottish National Party, was likely to do the same north of the border. The left-wing Green Party hoped for a momentous night, anticipating council gains from Labour in London and other metropolitan areas. Here, younger liberals have become frustrated with Starmer’s efforts to chase the right-wing vote by acting tough on immigration and pursuing a cautious economic agenda. Starmer was already facing enormous pressure over the decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington, despite his known links with the late convicted sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein. His government has also conducted more than a dozen damaging U-turns. “Keir Starmer is playing existential problems buckaroo at the moment, as he stacks them on the back of his electoral donkey,” said Ben Ansell, a professor of politics and international relations at the University of Oxford, before the results were announced. “Everything is happening at once.” The prime minister seems increasingly likely to face an internal challenge. High-profile contenders have been rumored to be readying themselves for this moment, including Health Secretary Wes Streeting, former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham. If Starmer makes it to the next general election, which can happen no later than May 2029, “that would surprise most political analysts,” Ansell said. “And it would probably surprise most members of the Labour Party at this point, tool.”