Labour Faces Major Losses in UK Local Elections as Reform UK Gains Ground

The United Kingdom's ruling Labour Party heads for a major defeat in Thursday's local elections, with Nigel Farage's right-wing Reform UK surging in support and prompting calls for Prime Minister Keir Starmer to resign.

British local elections serve as a de facto referendum on the ruling party's popularity. Labour has posted a net loss of nearly 500 local council seats with just over half the councils counted. Multiple Labour MPs now say Starmer must set a timeline for leaving office.

"Many, many Labour voters that I represent, I guess, in the north of England and elsewhere [say] that the direction the government has taken has not delivered the change that they thought they voted for," Labour MP Jon Trickett said. "They’re angry, they’re upset, they feel let down, they’ve sent us a clear message: The party, the leadership, must change with immediate effect if we want to recover."

Starmer has taken responsibility for the losses but rejected immediate resignation calls. He said he was "not going to walk away and plunge the country into chaos." He has not ruled out a managed exit.

Farage, an ally of President Trump, told supporters: "Personally, I’ll be very sad to see the Prime Minister go. I will be very, very sad indeed. He’s the greatest asset we’ve got."

The elections covered more than 5,000 seats across 163 local councils and six mayorships. Scotland and Wales also held elections for their semi-autonomous parliaments on Thursday.

Labour lost seats to parties on both the right and left. Reform UK, with a net gain of about 650 seats so far, made strong advances in post-industrial areas of northern and central England, including the "Red Wall" constituencies that have long backed Labour.

Farage's party campaigned on a hard line against immigration, tax cuts and repeal of environmental policies seen as barriers to economic growth.

Labour also dropped seats in urban centers and university areas to the far-left Green Party and independent candidates, many of them Muslim. Green leaders attacked Labour's Gaza policy as too close to Israel.

Zach Polanski, the Green Party deputy leader, said on election day that "Palestine is one of the elements on the ballot."

A pre-election poll showed about 60 percent of Muslim voters open to backing pro-Palestinian independents to block Labour wins locally. Half considered the Greens for the same reason. Muslim voters ranked Palestinian support above the economy.

Independent and Green candidates hold a net gain of about 90 seats so far.

Labour's traditional rival, the Conservatives, face heavy losses too, with a net drop of roughly 300 seats as counts continue.