UK Local Elections Kick Off with Reform UK Challenging Labour and Tories in Scotland, Wales

Voters across Scotland and Wales head to the polls Thursday morning to choose leaders for their devolved governments. Polling stations will also open in many parts of England for contests over more than 5,000 seats on 136 councils and six mayoral vacancies.

Plaid Cymru, which seeks an independent Wales, competes with Reform UK to become the largest party in the expanded Senedd, the Welsh Parliament. Plaid claims it is the only party able to defeat Reform and hopes to draw voters opposed to a Reform victory. Reform leaders express confidence in topping the Senedd.

In Scotland, the Scottish National Party anticipates a fifth straight win in devolved elections. Like Plaid, the SNP positions itself as the best choice to beat Nigel Farage's Reform UK. Reform takes satisfaction in competing strongly in a nation that backed Remain in the Brexit referendum 10 years ago.

Labour and the Conservatives struggle not only in Scotland and Wales. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer defends his 2026 decision to keep the UK out of America and Israel's war on Iran as serving national interests. Labour highlights efforts to bolster the health service and strengthen workers' rights. Starmer urges his party to stop discussing his future and potential successors, both publicly and privately.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch tours London boroughs by taxi where her party sees promise. Like Starmer, she braces for tough results. Badenoch calls Conservative plans detailed and funded, a dig at Reform UK, and pledges to scrap business rates in England and Wales.

The weaknesses of Labour and the Conservatives open doors for other parties. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey targets frustrated voters and positions his party as Reform UK's main rival in areas like Hull, Stockport, Surrey and Hampshire. He stresses local fixes such as church roof repairs and river sewage cleanup. The Liberal Democrats no longer lead as the default alternative to Labour and the Tories in many spots, thanks to Reform UK and the Greens.

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage embraces his disruptor role while addressing a £5 million gift from British billionaire Christopher Harborne that he did not declare. Farage says he was not required to; opponents say he was. The parliamentary standards commissioner and Electoral Commission will rule.

Farage aims for Reform to post strong results in England, Wales and Scotland to claim status as Labour's chief opponent across Great Britain. He calls the elections a test of the prime minister's leadership.

The Green Party of England and Wales, led by Zack Polanski, seeks gains from Labour in urban England and a Senedd breakthrough. Polanski presents the Greens as the real left-wing option against a Labour Party he says has shifted right.