Britain08 May, 20262 min read
Nigel Farage Hails Reform UK Gains in Essex as Labour Loses More Than 1,000 Councillors
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Reform UK gains across England, Scotland and Wales, more than 1,400 councillors in England. Nigel Farage hailed results, saying Reform UK is on course for a general election win.
Reform surges in Britain
Nigel Farage hailed Reform UK’s local election gains in Essex as “truly astonishing,” saying his party was “directly taking votes from patriotic old Labour” in Labour’s Red Wall heartlands. Reform UK won more than 1,000 councillors in England while Labour lost more than 1,000 in Thursday’s ballots, as the Prime Minister faced calls to quit from within his own party.
In Wales, Plaid Cymru won 43 seats in the Senedd with all constituencies declared, while Reform came in second with 34 seats and Labour limped into third place with just nine seats in a 96-seat parliament. The BBC reported Reform UK home affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf saying the party would “never take voters for granted,” after what he described as a “historic set of results for the country.”
Starmer under pressure
Labour MP Tony Vaughan told the Daily Express there should be an “orderly transition of leadership” before next year’s local elections, arguing the party was “hamstrung” by Sir Keir Starmer’s association with Labour’s mistakes in office including winter fuel cuts, benefits reform and the Lord Mandelson appointment.
In the Guardian’s live coverage, Starmer replied to questions about standing as prime minister at the next election: “Yes. There’s a five-year term I was elected to do. I intend to see that through.”
The Times reported trade unions calling for an “urgent meeting” with Sir Keir Starmer, with Sharon Graham of Unite telling the BBC: “It is change or die, now or never.”
GB News quoted Labour unions affiliated to Labour demanding an “urgent meeting” with Sir Keir Starmer and calling for “RADICAL new direction,” while Reform leader Farage celebrated majority control in Sunderland, Gateshead and South Tyneside.
What’s at stake next
The BBC said Reform UK’s gains included taking control of councils from Labour such as Barnsley, Wakefield, Sunderland and Gateshead, and shifting Hartlepool, Tameside, Redditch and Tamworth to no overall control. In the Guardian’s round-up, Nigel Farage said the election results reflected a “truly historic shift in voting patterns” after his Reform party won more than 1,000 councillors and won control of at least seven councils.
The Times said Labour has lost Birmingham as the council goes to no overall control, with 79 of the 101 seats declared and a majority requiring 51 seats, while Reform led with 17 councillors and Labour had 15. NBC News said the vote symbolized a “clear break with the longstanding dominance” of Britain’s two establishment parties, noting that Britons voted in more than 5,000 local government elections in England and votes for the Welsh and Scottish parliaments as the overall picture piled pressure on Starmer.