Keir Starmer Refuses To Quit After Labour Loses Power In Wales, Reform UK Gains

Keir Starmer insisted he will not quit after local elections delivered heavy losses for Labour and major gains for Reform UK, as he warned he would not “plunge the country into chaos.”

“Glasgow, United Kingdom – Voters in England’s local council elections have delivered a damning verdict of Labour, in what is seen as another major blow for Prime Minister Keir Starmer”

Al Jazeera

The BBC said Labour lost power in Wales, ending its 27 year-long rule, while the SNP appeared likely to remain the largest party in Scotland.

Al Jazeera

In England, Reform UK emerged as the biggest winner, with the BBC projecting Reform as the largest party on 26% of the vote share, ahead of the Greens on 18% and Labour and the Conservatives neck-and-neck in third on 17%.

The BBC also reported Labour lost more than 1,100 English council seats, while the results in Scotland and Wales were still shaping pressure on Starmer’s leadership.

AP reported Starmer took responsibility for the “very tough” results, saying he was “not going to walk away” despite calls from some lawmakers for him to resign.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage framed the outcome as Labour being “wiped out” in “many of their most traditional areas,” as Al Jazeera described sweeping gains in England’s local council elections.

Al Jazeera said Reform secured more than 1,350 seats and 13 councils while Labour had lost control of 35 councils and more than 1,300 seats in England.

AP News

The Guardian described a trickle of calls from Labour MPs for Starmer to name an exit date that “turned into a steady stream,” with Lou Haigh urging him to change course before it became necessary.

Even so, the Guardian said the momentum for a decisive challenge stopped short of sweeping through the cabinet, and it highlighted the absence of an outright challenge from Andy Burnham, who maintained his silence.

The BBC reported that as of late Friday evening, 22 Labour MPs had publicly called for Starmer to stand down or set a timetable for his exit, while cabinet allies backed him for now.

With Reform UK’s local-government momentum building, Al Jazeera said the party would “mount a serious challenge to Labour in the next UK general election expected to be held by 2029.”

“Starmer under pressure, as Labour suffers heavy elections losses Sir Keir Starmer has insisted he will not quit as prime minister and "plunge the country into chaos", as Labour reels from significant election losses”

BBC

The BBC said Starmer planned an attempt to reset his premiership next week, once the dust had settled on the elections, and it reported he wrote a piece in Saturday’s Guardian vowing to stay on course and build unity.

The Guardian said Starmer will not be relaxing over the weekend as MPs digest the results and assess what the losses will mean for their longer-term electoral chances, while it described the possibility of a challenge emerging intentionally or by accident.

In Wales, the BBC reported Plaid Cymru became the biggest party in the devolved parliament, with Reform as the main opposition, and AP said the elections were widely seen as an unofficial referendum on Starmer.

In Scotland, the BBC said the SNP was expected to be the largest party but fall short of an overall majority, while AP reported Labour and Conservatives had both taken “a gut punch” in the local elections as the political landscape fragments.