UK elections – preliminary results and results; Should Starmer resign? | | Election News

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his ruling Labor Party have suffered very early loss locally and regionally electionscounting the protests so far, reflecting the deep anger of voters with his government and raising new doubts about his future just two years after a landslide election victory.

The anti-immigration Reform UK party, led by Nigel Farage and whose popularity has grown over the past two years, is the biggest beneficiary of Labour’s losses so far.

Elections for the 136 council seats in England, as well as in the devolved parliaments of Scotland and Wales, are the most important test of the United Kingdom’s public opinion ahead of the general election, due in 2029.

Here’s a look at the results so far, and why they matter.

What do the election results show so far?

As the countdown continues, the anti-immigration UK party led by Nigel Farage has been sweeping council seats across the country. It won 382 council seats in England, and could form the main opposition party in Scotland to the independent Scottish National Party (SNP) and in Wales to Plaid Cymru.

Although it has won seats on many councils, it only controls two so far – Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council in the north and Havering council, in east London.

With 45 out of 136 councils announcing results by 9am (08:00 GMT), the Labor Party had already lost 258 seats, leaving it with 253 so far. Labor has so far retained 10 councils, but failed to control eight councils.

Interestingly, Reform has made the most progress in the “Red Wall” areas of the North of England and the Midlands – traditionally Labor heartlands – including Wigan, Bolton, Salford and Halton.

In Hartlepool, Tameside, Redditch and Tamworth, Labor has lost all control of councils as Reform takes seats.

“The picture has been as bad as anyone expected for Labor, or worse,” John Curtice, the UK’s most respected pollster, told Reuters.

The old Conservative Party also lost heavily – losing 158 seats so far, mainly to Reform candidates, in several areas – leaving it with 250. It has also taken control of the Westminster Council from Labour, however.

The Green Party won 27 seats, giving them a total of 51, while the Liberal Democrats won 35 seats, giving them 241.

How important are the results?

The early results show the continued erosion of the UK’s two-party system into multi-party democracy, which experts say is one of the biggest changes in British politics in recent years.

The former ruling Labor and Conservative parties are losing large numbers of votes to Reform and, at the political end, to the left-wing, conservative Green Party, while national parties are expected to win elections in the Scottish and Welsh parliaments.

Farage said the results so far were “the best” he had hoped for on Reform and represented a “momentary change in British politics”.

The task is completed in the most visible results.

The party lost control of Tameside council in Greater Manchester for the first time in nearly 50 years, after Reform took all 14 seats that Labor had been defending.

Nearby in Wigan, a former mining area that Labor has ruled for more than 50 years, it lost every 20 seats it was defending to Reform, and in Salford, the party only had three of the 16 seats it was defending.

The results were “devastating for lives,” said Rebecca Long-Bailey, Member of Parliament for Salford.

Although incumbent governments often struggle in midterm elections, pollsters predict Labor could lose more council seats in local elections than former Conservative Prime Minister John Major lost more than 2,000 in 1995, when his government was plagued by chronic corruption.

Should Starmer resign as Prime Minister over this?

MPs from the Labor Party have indicated that if the party does not do well in Scotland, loses power in Wales, and fails to have the majority of the 2,500 council seats it is protecting in England, then Starmer will be forced to resign or implement a plan to leave.

Starmer, a former barrister, was elected in 2024 by one of the most senior parliamentarians in modern British history, hoping to bring stability, rather than influence, after years of political turmoil and 14 years of Conservative rule.

But his time in office was marked by numerous U-turns, changing advisors and bad appointments. Peter Mandelson as the UK ambassador to the United States. Mandelson was sacked nine months after being linked to the late US convicts Jeffrey Epstein. The debate over Mandelson’s nomination has been raging for months.

Critics say Starmer has not done enough to tackle the rise of the far-right Reform UK party, which is endorsed by YouGov. prioritize all groups in terms of popularity with voters this time last year.

Starmer insists he will lead Labor into the next election, however, and the party has never successfully unseated a prime minister in its 125-year history.

The Prime Minister is supported by the fact that the two front-runners to replace him if he goes – Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham and Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner – are not in a position to step up to the leadership, experts say, and some potential rivals seem unwilling to challenge him at this time.

On Thursday, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband denied a report in The Times that he had advised Starmer to consider leaving Downing Street.

What happened?

Most of the election results – including seats in the Scottish and Welsh elections – are due to be announced on Friday afternoon and evening. Full results may not be known before 18:00 GMT.

As Labor stumbles, the Greens have gained power since then Zack Polanski He became leader in September and shifted the party to the left. However, Polanski is currently battling anti-Semitic claims within his own party over his views on Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza.

Through the party’s cultural policy, Polanski has called for higher taxes on the rich, rent control and drug legalization, and for the UK to withdraw aid to Israel.

Polanski, 43, has shown himself to be a progressive on behalf of Keir Starmer’s Governing Labor Party.