Labour has suffered heavy losses across England, Scotland and Wales, losing ground to opponents on both the left and right in a fragmented political system. The party lost out to Reform UK and the Greens, with no respite in any of the three nations. These maps show the scale of the historic results.
In England, Labour lost ground to Reform UK on the right as well as the Greens on the left. As of 8am on Monday, there were 44 English councils where Labour had seen a record drop in the share of seats, in some cases to its lowest level of representation since the 1970s. The loss of strongholds such as Hampshire and eastern England was especially bruising for the Conservatives, who were supplanted by Reform as the biggest rightwing force in Wales and Scotland.
In Scotland, Labour suffered as the Scottish National Party capitalised on a divided vote. As Reform made gains largely at the expense of the Conservatives, Labour failed to translate discontent with the SNP into gains. The SNP retained power in Scotland.
Labour’s collapse in the Senedd seemed even more existential, having lost power for the first time since the Welsh parliament was created in 1999. The party’s vote share fell by more than half, pushing it into third place, with Plaid Cymru surging to become the largest party and Reform in second.
The maps and charts highlight how Labour is under pressure from different directions across Great Britain, with voters clearly willing to express their discontent with the government’s performance. The election has produced one of the most bruising results for the two establishment parties in history. On Friday morning, the prime minister said: “The results are tough, they are very tough, and there’s no sugar-coating it. We have lost brilliant Labour representatives across the country, these are people who put so much into their communities, so much into our party. And that hurts, and it should hurt, and I take responsibility.”
