Labour loses council seats the length and breadth of the country in local elections

Reform UK has made dramatic gains in English council elections, including across the West Midlands, with results still coming in (at 4pm on Friday, May 8) pointing to a seismic shift in British politics. A shift away from the traditional two-party paradigm.

With results from around 55 of the 136 councils declared, Reform had gained more than 450 seats and taken control of three councils: Newcastle-under-Lyme, Essex and Havering in east London. The party ended the Conservatives’ two-decade reign over Essex County Council.

In the West Midlands, Reform UK swept Newcastle-under-Lyme outright and took all nine contested seats in Tamworth, pushing it to no overall control. Dudley and Redditch also fell into no overall control with heavy Reform gains. At the time of writing, Cannock Chase results were still awaited, but the indications were that Reform had made massive gains. 

Farage zig-zagging Britain in his celebratory helicopter

Nigel Farage, who spent Friday zig-zagging across the country in his chopper to bask in the glow of various electoral triumphs, while reportedly chinning the occasional negroni, said the results were a “truly historic shift in British politics.” 

Reform was now “the most national of all parties” and “competitive in every part of the country,” he said.

Labour hammered

Labour lost hundreds of seats, including in its traditional northern heartlands. By mid-morning, after 45 of the 136 results had been declared. 

Labour held 10 councils, down eight on what it had going into polling day. In Dudley, Reform won 22 seats, making gains from the Conservatives, Labour and the Lib Dems. 

Viewpoint: What will the final tally of lost Labour council seats eventually be? Estimates range from 1,200 to 1,600. Either way, a terrible outcome, sending a clear message to the current occupant of 10 Downing Street: Time to go, Keir.

Starmer says he won’t resign – but he should

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, meeting Labour members in Ealing, West London, insisted he would not resign, saying he took responsibility for the “very tough” results and that he would not “plunge the country into chaos” by quitting. 

A number of Labour MPs publicly called for him to set a timetable for his departure. 

Viewpoint: While Starmer says he won’t go, he should. If Labour is to avoid a similar carpet-bombing at the 2029 general election, a new leader needs to be installed now. WM News favours Al Carns, Minister for the Armed Forces and MP for Birmingham Selly Oak.

Further Tory losses – but Kemi in denial

The Conservatives also suffered, losing more than 160 seats, including control of Hampshire County Council. 

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch insisted her party had “done brilliantly” and would win back lost seats.

Green gains – ‘two-party politics is dead and buried’

The Green Party won its first ever elected mayor, with Zoe Garbett taking Hackney from Labour. 

Green leader Zack Polanski said two-party politics was “not just dying, it is dead and buried”. 

Lib Dem gains

The Liberal Democrats also recorded gains, with their deputy leader Daisy Cooper describing the results as a “record-breaking winning streak.”

Counting is continuing, with results from Scotland and Wales expected later on Friday.