Keir Starmer has pledged to continue as prime minister despite early local election results showing Labour suffering significant losses, many to Nigel Farage's Reform UK. The prime minister struck a defiant tone on Friday morning, rejecting calls from some Labour MPs to resign and insisting he remains committed to delivering on his election promises.
Labour has lost control of councils in key heartlands across northern England and the Midlands, including Hartlepool, Tameside, Redditch and Tamworth. The party has lost about half the council seats it contested, with the worst results in former 'red wall' seats that were crucial to Labour's 2024 victory. Starmer admitted the results were 'tough' and 'very tough', saying: 'There's no sugarcoating it.' He added: 'I take responsibility.'
Reform UK has won 327 seats so far and taken control of its first London council, in Havering. Farage described it as 'a big, big day' for British politics. The Conservatives also suffered heavy losses, confirming a fragmentation of the electorate, though they performed better in London, regaining Westminster council from Labour.
Labour MPs including John McDonnell and Jonathan Brash have called for Starmer to resign. Brash urged the prime minister to 'address the nation tomorrow and set out a timetable for his departure'. However, senior figures such as David Lammy and John Healey backed Starmer, with Healey saying: 'I think he can still deliver, he can still turn it round.'
Labour performed more resiliently in London, retaining control in Ealing and Hammersmith and Fulham, but lost Wandsworth and Westminster. West Midlands mayor Richard Parker called for 'a reset and a refocus' for the government. Andy Burnham, a potential leadership rival, declined to comment on the results.
