UK Local Election Results: Multi-Party Competition Emerges, Ruling Labour Party Suffers Major Defeat, Calls for Leader's Ouster Resurface
The UK local election results show a significant defeat for the ruling Labour Party, leading to renewed calls for party leader Keir Starmer's resignation. This indicates a further loosening of the traditional two-party political landscape in the UK, moving towards a multi-party competitive environment.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 9, 2026 at 10:53
- 🔍 Collected: May 9, 2026 at 11:01 (8 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 9, 2026 at 11:07 (5 min after Collected)
Central News Agency
(Central News Agency reporter Chen Yun-yu, London, 8th) The UK held local elections on the 7th. With about 95% of the votes counted, the overall situation is settled. Results show a further loosening of the traditional two-party political landscape, dominated by the Conservative and Labour parties, moving towards a multi-party competitive environment. The leader of the ruling Labour Party, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, suffered a major setback, and pressure for his ouster has resurfaced within the party.
The elections on the 7th saw a reshuffle of over 5,000 seats in 136 local councils in England, and 6 mayors, including 32 administrative districts in Greater London, but excluding the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The Scottish and Welsh Parliaments, with a total of 129 and 96 seats respectively, were also fully re-elected. Vote counting continued overnight after the scheduled voting time ended at 10 PM on the 7th.
According to current vote counts, the right-wing Reform UK was the biggest winner in England, securing over 1,440 seats, significantly surpassing the Labour Party (about 960 seats), which is positioned second and leans left on the political spectrum, and the Conservative Party (about 770 seats), which is fourth and leans right. The center-left Liberal Democrats gained about 830 seats, performing better than the Conservative Party, placing third.
In addition, the left-wing Green Party secured over 510 seats. Overall, Reform UK, the Liberal Democrats, and the Green Party all increased their seats in England compared to the previous local elections. Reform UK led by a wide margin in terms of increase, gaining over 1,400 more seats than last time, while the Green Party and Liberal Democrats gained over 370 and 150 more seats, respectively.
In contrast, the Conservative Party lost over 550 seats, and the Labour Party lost about 1,400 seats. Considering that similar changes in electoral behavior have been observed in the general election in July 2024 and subsequent local council and parliamentary by-elections, this signifies that the UK's political ecosystem, traditionally dominated by the two major parties (Conservative and Labour) for nearly a century, is further evolving towards a 'multi-party competition.' Voters are more inclined to choose between different parties, making it harder for the traditional two major parties to rely on 'loyal' voters.
Professor John Curtice, the UK's most trusted election and polling expert and political scientist, analyzed detailed voting data collected by the BBC from over 1,000 sampled constituencies. Projecting these voting trends nationwide, it can be estimated that in a hypothetical nationwide election, Reform UK would secure over 25% of the votes, ranking first, followed by the Green Party in second place. The Conservative and Labour parties would be tied for third, and the Liberal Democrats would be fourth.
However, the estimated vote shares for the Green Party, Conservative Party, and Labour Party would each not exceed 20% and would be very close.
Curtice pointed out that this represents an unprecedented deep 'fragmentation' of the UK's political landscape. Although Reform UK is estimated to get over 25% of the votes, this is still lower than last year's forecast of 30%, indicating that the 'fragmentation' of UK politics has intensified since last year.
However, it's not just fragmentation; these election results also show a trend of 'polarization' in British politics, with the right-wing Reform UK and the left-wing Green Party continuously squeezing the Labour and Conservative parties, which traditionally tend towards the center.
This puts pressure on the traditional two major parties to evolve their policies and political language towards the left and right, respectively. However, the Labour Party's performance in nearly two years of governance shows that for a center-left party, facing a strongly rising right-wing force, whether to strengthen left-leaning forces within the party or lean right is a major challenge. If a leader lacks political decisiveness and rallying power, it can lead to a dilemma where they please neither the party nor general voters.
On the other hand, the existing way of parliamentary proceedings in the UK has for many years centered around debates and confrontations between the two major parties. With increasing fragmentation of UK party politics and weaker party loyalty among politicians than in the past, it is worth noting how future UK parliamentary proceedings and the interaction between Parliament and the government will change. By convention, the next UK general election must be held no later than August 2029.
However, whether Keir Starmer can complete his term as he wishes and lead the Labour Party into the next general election remains uncertain.
Labour not only lost in England and several traditional strongholds, suffering a pincer movement from the left-wing Green Party and the right-wing Reform UK, and losing control of Birmingham, England's second-largest city, after 14 years, but also suffered a 'historic' defeat in Wales, losing Labour's dominant political position in the area for nearly a century, and Labour's 27-year rule in Wales since devolution in 1999.
Although the Scottish National Party (SNP) and Plaid Cymru have established themselves as the largest parties in Scotland and Wales respectively, aligning with the trend of rising local and nationalism in the UK, and the SNP has been governing Scotland since 2007, Labour's continuous setbacks in these two regions are putting greater pressure on Starmer.
British media have widely reported renewed calls for Starmer's resignation within the Labour Party, with similar voices emerging from both the left and right factions. Starmer has even been urged to propose a 'exit' plan himself as soon as possible and reach a consensus with the party on 'handover' steps to ensure a stable and orderly selection of the next party leader, avoiding a repeat of the previous ruling Conservative Party's chaotic succession of two leaders within a year.
Labour MP Ian Lavery said that the party's founder, Keir Hardie, was also named Keir, but now the Labour Party's history might end in the hands of another Keir. Another Labour MP Simon Opher stated that if Starmer were to lead Labour into the next election, "we would be slaughtered."
Despite over 10 Labour MPs publicly criticizing Starmer before and after the May 7th election, even accusing him of dragging down the election performance, Starmer has stated that he "will not leave" and "will not throw the country into chaos."
Currently, no cabinet officials have publicly called for Starmer's resignation. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall stated that voters care about their own future, not that of officials or MPs; if officials or MPs only talk about themselves in the coming months, then it is certain.
(Central News Agency reporter Chen Yun-yu, London, 8th) The UK held local elections on the 7th. With about 95% of the votes counted, the overall situation is settled. Results show a further loosening of the traditional two-party political landscape, dominated by the Conservative and Labour parties, moving towards a multi-party competitive environment. The leader of the ruling Labour Party, Prime Minister Keir Starmer, suffered a major setback, and pressure for his ouster has resurfaced within the party.
The elections on the 7th saw a reshuffle of over 5,000 seats in 136 local councils in England, and 6 mayors, including 32 administrative districts in Greater London, but excluding the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The Scottish and Welsh Parliaments, with a total of 129 and 96 seats respectively, were also fully re-elected. Vote counting continued overnight after the scheduled voting time ended at 10 PM on the 7th.
According to current vote counts, the right-wing Reform UK was the biggest winner in England, securing over 1,440 seats, significantly surpassing the Labour Party (about 960 seats), which is positioned second and leans left on the political spectrum, and the Conservative Party (about 770 seats), which is fourth and leans right. The center-left Liberal Democrats gained about 830 seats, performing better than the Conservative Party, placing third.
In addition, the left-wing Green Party secured over 510 seats. Overall, Reform UK, the Liberal Democrats, and the Green Party all increased their seats in England compared to the previous local elections. Reform UK led by a wide margin in terms of increase, gaining over 1,400 more seats than last time, while the Green Party and Liberal Democrats gained over 370 and 150 more seats, respectively.
In contrast, the Conservative Party lost over 550 seats, and the Labour Party lost about 1,400 seats. Considering that similar changes in electoral behavior have been observed in the general election in July 2024 and subsequent local council and parliamentary by-elections, this signifies that the UK's political ecosystem, traditionally dominated by the two major parties (Conservative and Labour) for nearly a century, is further evolving towards a 'multi-party competition.' Voters are more inclined to choose between different parties, making it harder for the traditional two major parties to rely on 'loyal' voters.
Professor John Curtice, the UK's most trusted election and polling expert and political scientist, analyzed detailed voting data collected by the BBC from over 1,000 sampled constituencies. Projecting these voting trends nationwide, it can be estimated that in a hypothetical nationwide election, Reform UK would secure over 25% of the votes, ranking first, followed by the Green Party in second place. The Conservative and Labour parties would be tied for third, and the Liberal Democrats would be fourth.
However, the estimated vote shares for the Green Party, Conservative Party, and Labour Party would each not exceed 20% and would be very close.
Curtice pointed out that this represents an unprecedented deep 'fragmentation' of the UK's political landscape. Although Reform UK is estimated to get over 25% of the votes, this is still lower than last year's forecast of 30%, indicating that the 'fragmentation' of UK politics has intensified since last year.
However, it's not just fragmentation; these election results also show a trend of 'polarization' in British politics, with the right-wing Reform UK and the left-wing Green Party continuously squeezing the Labour and Conservative parties, which traditionally tend towards the center.
This puts pressure on the traditional two major parties to evolve their policies and political language towards the left and right, respectively. However, the Labour Party's performance in nearly two years of governance shows that for a center-left party, facing a strongly rising right-wing force, whether to strengthen left-leaning forces within the party or lean right is a major challenge. If a leader lacks political decisiveness and rallying power, it can lead to a dilemma where they please neither the party nor general voters.
On the other hand, the existing way of parliamentary proceedings in the UK has for many years centered around debates and confrontations between the two major parties. With increasing fragmentation of UK party politics and weaker party loyalty among politicians than in the past, it is worth noting how future UK parliamentary proceedings and the interaction between Parliament and the government will change. By convention, the next UK general election must be held no later than August 2029.
However, whether Keir Starmer can complete his term as he wishes and lead the Labour Party into the next general election remains uncertain.
Labour not only lost in England and several traditional strongholds, suffering a pincer movement from the left-wing Green Party and the right-wing Reform UK, and losing control of Birmingham, England's second-largest city, after 14 years, but also suffered a 'historic' defeat in Wales, losing Labour's dominant political position in the area for nearly a century, and Labour's 27-year rule in Wales since devolution in 1999.
Although the Scottish National Party (SNP) and Plaid Cymru have established themselves as the largest parties in Scotland and Wales respectively, aligning with the trend of rising local and nationalism in the UK, and the SNP has been governing Scotland since 2007, Labour's continuous setbacks in these two regions are putting greater pressure on Starmer.
British media have widely reported renewed calls for Starmer's resignation within the Labour Party, with similar voices emerging from both the left and right factions. Starmer has even been urged to propose a 'exit' plan himself as soon as possible and reach a consensus with the party on 'handover' steps to ensure a stable and orderly selection of the next party leader, avoiding a repeat of the previous ruling Conservative Party's chaotic succession of two leaders within a year.
Labour MP Ian Lavery said that the party's founder, Keir Hardie, was also named Keir, but now the Labour Party's history might end in the hands of another Keir. Another Labour MP Simon Opher stated that if Starmer were to lead Labour into the next election, "we would be slaughtered."
Despite over 10 Labour MPs publicly criticizing Starmer before and after the May 7th election, even accusing him of dragging down the election performance, Starmer has stated that he "will not leave" and "will not throw the country into chaos."
Currently, no cabinet officials have publicly called for Starmer's resignation. Technology Secretary Liz Kendall stated that voters care about their own future, not that of officials or MPs; if officials or MPs only talk about themselves in the coming months, then it is certain.