Britain · 08 May, 2026 · 3 min read
Nigel Farage Says Reform UK Wins Havering, Wigan, and Newcastle-Under-Lyme in UK Local Elections
Reform UK captured Havering, its first London borough, signaling a major local shift. Reform UK gains triggered historic shifts with Labour and Conservative losses across England.
What the election results mean for British politics.
9 of 11 outlets skipped it: RTE discusses how first-past-the-post shaped 2024 Labour seat share..
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BBC emphasizes political realignment; RTE emphasizes electoral-system mechanics.
Labour hit as Reform surges
In local elections across the United Kingdom, Nigel Farage said Reform UK’s gains amount to “a truly historic shift in British politics,” after the party won control of its first London borough in Havering and took control of more councils in England. The BBC reported that Reform’s successes included winning 24 out of 25 seats in Wigan, with Labour’s majority on the council reduced, and that control of Newcastle-under-Lyme passed to Reform from the Tories. BCBS News said the governing Labour Party and the opposition Conservative Party took “a gut punch” in the local elections, with Labour losing more than half of its seats on local councils even as votes were still being counted in Scotland and Wales.
“"What's happened is a truly historic shift in British politics."”
CBS News also said Starmer quickly acknowledged the scale of the setback, calling the results a “tough,” clear warning to his government from voters, while rejecting calls to step down. The BBC described Farage’s argument that voters were not only “coming to us for a one-off,” but “now becoming Reformers in every way,” as Reform expanded beyond areas “that have always been Conservative” and into areas Labour had dominated since the end of World War I.B
Quotes, pressure, and debate
Starmer said he would not quit after the losses, telling British media, “I'm not going to walk away from those challenges and plunge the country into chaos,” as calls for him to resign intensified. The BBC quoted Farage saying “We've been so used to thinking about politics in terms of left and right,” and argued Reform could win “in areas that have always been Conservative,” while also proving it could win in areas Labour had dominated. BAl Jazeera reported that Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said the party was seeing “Labour … being wiped out” in “many of their most traditional areas,” while the outlet said Labour had lost control of 35 councils and more than 1,300 seats in England at the time of publishing.
Al Jazeera also quoted James Mitchell, a professor at the University of Edinburgh, saying Reform “will have to turn their attention to the more challenging business of governing,” after building a base in local government. NBC News said Labour MP Louise Haigh argued Starmer “cannot lead us into another election” without “urgent change,” while MP Connor Naismith said “with regret, it is clear to me that we need new leadership.”
What’s at stake next
The elections were framed as a barometer of the national mood and an opening for smaller parties, with CBS News saying the local voting gave voters “an opportunity to express their opinions on the current government between general elections.” CBS News said the results would help determine local matters including “trash collection, road maintenance, social care and public housing,” while also setting up a new political landscape ahead of a next UK general election expected to be held by 2029. Al Jazeera reported that Reform UK would “mount a serious challenge to Labour in the next UK general election expected to be held by 2029,” and said the party would have to confront “problems” that come with governing.
The BBC described Farage’s projected national share of the vote for Britain, suggesting Reform was on 26% ahead of the Greens on 18%, Labour and the Tories both on 17% and the Liberal Democrats on 16%. BNBC News said the scale of Labour’s losses could heap pressure on Starmer, with speculation that colleagues may move against him, and noted that with no general election expected until 2029, the vote symbolized “a clear break with the longstanding dominance of Britain’s two establishment parties.”