UK PM Starmer says he won't resign after local elections deliver big losses for Labour party
Starmer said he took responsibility for the “very tough” results, which saw his party lose more than half the seats it was defending, but would not quit.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer 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.
The local and regional elections were widely seen as an unofficial referendum on Starmer, whose popularity has plummeted since he led the center-left Labour Party to power less than two years ago.
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's failure to deliver.
Starmer said he took responsibility for the “very tough” results, which saw his party lose more than half the seats it was defending, but would not quit.
“The voters have sent a message about the pace of change, how they want their lives improved,” he said. “I was elected to meet those challenges, and I’m not going to walk away from those challenges and plunge the country into chaos.”
Reform UK, led by the veteran nationalist politician Nigel Farage, won hundreds of local council seats in working-class areas in England’s north, such as Sunderland, that were solid Labour turf for decades, and also made gains from the Conservatives in areas like the county of Essex, east of London. Reform, which ran on an anti-establishment and anti-immigration message, did particularly well in areas that backed the U.K. to leave the European Union in the historic Brexit vote in 2016.
{{/usCountry}}Reform UK, led by the veteran nationalist politician Nigel Farage, won hundreds of local council seats in working-class areas in England’s north, such as Sunderland, that were solid Labour turf for decades, and also made gains from the Conservatives in areas like the county of Essex, east of London. Reform, which ran on an anti-establishment and anti-immigration message, did particularly well in areas that backed the U.K. to leave the European Union in the historic Brexit vote in 2016.
{{/usCountry}}Farage said the results in England, as well as those in Scotland and Wales, where elections to their semiautonomous parliaments were held, marked a “historic change in British politics.”
{{/usCountry}}Farage said the results in England, as well as those in Scotland and Wales, where elections to their semiautonomous parliaments were held, marked a “historic change in British politics.”
{{/usCountry}}Labour also lost ground to the Green Party, whose popularity has risen under self-described “eco populist” leader Zack Polanski. The Greens beat Labour to win the mayoral race in London’s Hackney borough and gained hundreds of council seats in urban centers, including in London and Manchester, as well as university towns, such as Cambridge. The Conservative Party also lost ground, with the centrist Liberal Democrats making some gains.
{{/usCountry}}Labour also lost ground to the Green Party, whose popularity has risen under self-described “eco populist” leader Zack Polanski. The Greens beat Labour to win the mayoral race in London’s Hackney borough and gained hundreds of council seats in urban centers, including in London and Manchester, as well as university towns, such as Cambridge. The Conservative Party also lost ground, with the centrist Liberal Democrats making some gains.
{{/usCountry}}A handful of Labour lawmakers urged Starmer to quit but Cabinet ministers cautioned the party not to topple the prime minister, while acknowledging the results were a wake-up call for the party.
Results reflect fragmentation of UK politics
Tony Travers, professor of government at the London School of Economics, said the elections show established parties struggling “to respond to populists on the left and right who appear to provide painless and simple solutions to intractable political and economic problems.”
The results reflect a fragmentation of British politics after decades of domination by Labour and the Conservatives, and make the outcome of the country's next national election hard to predict.
John Curtice, professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde, said Britain is entering a new political era.
“Even Reform are probably not quite at 30% of the vote, so the fracturing of British politics is underlined by these results,” he told the BBC.
Scotland and Wales go their own way
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.
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., won the most seats. Because it fell short of a majority, analysts said it's less likely it will push for one during the coming five-year parliamentary term. With just a handful of seats remaining to be allocated, Labour is vying with Reform for second.
And in Wales, Plaid Cymru secured a historic breakthrough, bringing an end to Labour's unbroken 27-year run in power since the legislature was formed. 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.
The huge reverse for Labour in Wales, which saw its leader lose her seat and the party drop to third behind Reform, is perhaps the party's most striking reverse and the one that may hurt the most.
“Welsh Labour has today suffered a catastrophic result,” said outgoing Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan. “It ends a century of Labour winning in Wales and the party will have to take a really hard look at itself.”
Starmer's future is under threat
Starmer’s popularity has plunged after repeated missteps and policy U-turns such as welfare reform. His government has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living — tasks made harder by the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, which has choked off oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.
The prime minister has been further hurt by his disastrous decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as Britain’s ambassador to Washington.
The election results could trigger a challenge from a high-profile rival such as Health Secretary Wes Streeting, former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner or Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham. Alternatively, Starmer could face pressure from the party to set a timetable for his departure.
“I don’t think Keir Starmer should survive these results,” said Labour lawmaker Jonathan Brash, who represents Hartlepool in Parliament. “We have to be bolder, and we have to go further. And quite frankly, we need new leadership in order to achieve that.”
Even if Starmer survives for now, many in the party doubt he will lead the party into the next national election, which must be held by 2029.
