Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on as prime minister despite early results in local elections showing his party suffering heavy losses, many at the hands of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. Starmer struck a defiant note on Friday morning in the face of calls from some of his MPs for him to quit, insisting he remained as determined as ever to deliver on the promises on which he was elected less than two years ago.
With Labour having lost control of councils in its heartlands across northern England and the Midlands, the prime minister faced calls to resign from Labour MPs, including the former shadow chancellor John McDonnell and the Hartlepool MP, Jonathan Brash. Starmer admitted the results were tough, stating: ‘The results are tough, they are very tough, and there’s no sugarcoating it.’
Reform UK made significant gains, winning 327 seats in early counting and taking control of their first London council, in Havering. Farage said: ‘It’s a big, big day, not just for our party, but for a complete reshaping of British politics in every way.’ The Conservatives also suffered heavy losses, confirming the splintering of the British electorate.
By Friday morning, Labour had lost about half the council seats it was contesting, losing control of councils in Hartlepool, Tameside, Redditch and Tamworth. Some of the biggest losses came in the ‘red wall’ former industrial seats. The party was more resilient in London, retaining control in Ealing and Hammersmith and Fulham, but losing control of Wandsworth and Westminster.
Starmer added: ‘I accept that the results reflect voters don’t feel that their lives have changed enough or quickly enough… I’m not going to walk away from that responsibility and plunge the country into chaos.’ However, some Labour figures called for a reset, with Richard Parker, the West Midlands mayor, saying: ‘We need a reset and a refocus.’
