Starmer takes responsibility for ‘tough’ election results but vows to carry on
Starmer said Labour had not given voters enough hope after the party lost 204 seats and Reform UK gained 275 councillors.
- On Friday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer accepted responsibility for Labour's "tough" local election losses, vowing to remain Prime Minister and "deliver the change that I promised" despite significant setbacks.
- Reform UK gained 275 councillors and control of Newcastle-under-Lyme as Labour lost 204 seats across 41 councils, signalling what polling expert Sir John Curtice called the "fracturing of British politics."
- Labour lost control of eight local authorities, including Westminster and Wandsworth in London. During a visit to Ealing, Starmer said, "The results are tough, they are very tough, and there's no sugarcoating it."
- Energy Secretary Ed Miliband reportedly urged a leadership departure timetable, while Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy urged members not to play "pass the parcel" with leadership. Defence Secretary John Healey said Starmer "can still turn it round."
- Labour sources noted Sir Tony Blair lost 1,100 councillors in 1999 before winning a 2001 landslide, offering historical precedent. Nigel Farage hailed the results as a "truly historic shift in British politics" with the general election three years away.
158 Articles
158 Articles
Keir Starmer's labourers suffered a historic electoral defeat in Britain on Friday, losing their Welsh fiefdom for the first time in local elections marked by the rise of the far-right Reform UK party.
Starmer admits responsibility, but won't step down as head of government
Prime Minister Starmer Refuses to Step Aside as Labor Party Loses 1,100 Seats in Regional Elections and Losses Continue Mounting
U.K Prime Minister Keir Starmer has suffered a massive defeat as the British regional election results continue to be counted. So far, Starmer’s Labour Party has lost 1,100 seats and Nigel Farage’s Reform Party has gained a whooping 1,229 seats. The results continue to be tallied as many regions and local councils have a form […]
UK PM Starmer 'takes responsibility' for Labour election losses
The ballot was the biggest electoral test for Starmer since Labour ousted the Conservatives following 14 years in power in a landslide election victory in 2024. The grim predictions made by opinion polls were borne out in results. Nigel Farage's anti-immigrant Reform UK party had gained 478 seats while Labour had lost 322 across 57 of the 136 English councils to announce results by mid-Friday.
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- 43% of the sources are Center
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