Labour’s Difficult Night Amid Reform’s Rise and Other Parties’ Successes
Plaid Cymru is poised to assume power in Wales, and the Scottish National Party (SNP) is set to maintain control in Scotland, while Reform UK has made significant advances in both nations.
Election 2026 live: latest news updates and full results from England, Scotland, and Wales.
Despite poor polling and grim forecasts, including suggestions from former Labour leader Ed Miliband that the current leader should consider resigning if results were as poor as predicted, the prime minister showed no indication of stepping down as polling stations closed across Wales and many parts of England.
On Thursday night, the prime minister expressed gratitude to Labour members and volunteers on X, stating,
“To all the Labour members and volunteers who have supported local campaigns across the country: thank you. Together we will build a stronger and fairer Britain.”
However, as results came in from numerous counting centres across England, it became increasingly clear that Labour was facing a challenging night, with many results confirming the anticipated poor performance. Although Miliband’s spokesperson denied that he had urged the prime minister to consider his position, by early morning, some Labour MPs openly called for his resignation.
Jonathan Brash, the Hartlepool MP, described the night as
“terrible”for Labour, attributing the poor outcome to
“political cowardice”at the leadership level. He remarked,
“I’ve seen canvassers working night and day in this election and it’s all been for naught, and the reason has absolutely nothing to do with them … I think the very best thing the prime minister could do now is address the nation tomorrow and set out a timetable for his departure.”
Reform UK’s Significant Gains
As the night progressed, the challenge for Labour and other parties to counter the surge of Reform UK became increasingly evident. By the early hours, BBC election analyst John Curtice noted that Reform had secured 45% of all council seats declared so far.
On Friday morning, Reform UK captured control of Havering, marking its first London council victory. Nigel Farage appeared in the morning sunlight to declare the town hall
“under new management”amid cheers from supporters.
Farage asserted,
“There is no more left-right. It is gone, it is out of the window, it’s finished.”While this claim may be debated, he described the night’s results as
“a truly historic shift in British politics.”
Regarding his party’s funding, following reports by that he received £5 million from Thailand-based crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne shortly before announcing his candidacy for the 2024 general election, Farage was reticent, stating,
“Yeah, yeah, we’ll talk about that any other time you like.”
Four hours later, Reform UK took control of Essex county council from the Conservatives, gaining 52 councillors in the process. Subsequently, Suffolk and Newcastle-under-Lyme councils were also claimed from the Conservatives, and Sunderland was taken from Labour.
Reform’s Progress in Scotland and Wales
In the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Senedd, Reform UK aimed to make similarly significant advances. Early results on Friday indicated that while the SNP was set to secure an unprecedented fifth consecutive parliamentary term, Reform UK had made notable inroads for the first time.
In Wales, Plaid Cymru appeared likely to replace Labour and lead the Senedd for the first time since devolution 27 years ago, with Reform UK closely trailing in seat numbers.
Green Party and Liberal Democrats Celebrate Wins
Reform UK was not the only party marking dramatic successes. Green party activists in Hackney, north London, celebrated as Zoë Garbett became the first directly elected mayor in the party’s history. In her acceptance speech, she said,
“Across London and the country, people have made it clear that they are desperate for an alternative to this failing Labour government. It’s not old parties versus new parties. This is about a system of fear versus a movement of hope.”
Zack Polanski, the party’s leader in England and Wales, called it a historic victory, stating,
“Two-party politics is not just dying. It is dead and it is buried. It is very clear that the new politics is the Greens versus Reform.”
Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey was also optimistic following his party’s gains, including control of Portsmouth and Stockport. In south-west London, the Lib Dems now hold 51 of 55 seats on Sutton council and all 54 seats in Richmond.
Davey commented that Labour and the Conservatives were facing
“extinction-level losses”due to voter dissatisfaction with their governance. He added,
“The Lib Dems are the only party strong enough to stand up to the populist extremes and protect our country from chaos.”
Conservative Losses and Small Victories
Labour was not the only party experiencing a difficult night; the Conservatives lost more than 180 seats by Friday lunchtime. However, there was some consolation for Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch as the party regained control of Westminster and Wandsworth councils.
Badenoch interpreted these wins as a sign that
“the Conservatives are coming back”in London, though this view was not universally shared.
Calls for Labour Leadership Change
As Labour’s poor results continued to emerge throughout the morning, calls for leader Keir Starmer to resign intensified, primarily from expected quarters.
Maryam Eslamdoust, general secretary of the TSSA transport union, compared Starmer to Joe Biden for not stepping aside to allow a candidate better positioned to defeat the right. Former Labour chair Ian Lavery warned that Starmer could
“kill Labour”if he did not resign.
Unite union leader Sharon Graham, while not explicitly calling for Starmer’s resignation, cautioned that the party could face
“the beginning of the end for the party itself”unless it
“shift decisively towards the working class.”She emphasized,
“It is change or die. Now or never.”
Despite these pressures, Starmer maintained his position, stating early in the day that although the results were
“very tough,”he would not step down. He said,
“The voters have sent a message about the pace of change, how they want their lives improved. I was elected to meet those challenges. And I’m not going to walk away from those challenges and plunge the country into chaos.”
Labour’s Losses in Scotland and Wales
By early afternoon, with Labour having lost half of the English council seats it was defending, the extent of the party’s electoral losses in Scotland and Wales became clearer.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar conceded that the party had suffered a comprehensive defeat, attributing it to a
“national wave”of dissatisfaction.
In Wales, Labour anticipated winning only about 10 of the 96 seats in the expanded Senedd, marking a dramatic collapse for the party that has governed the country for nearly three decades. The sitting First Minister, Eluned Morgan, lost her seat in the significant defeat.
As Welsh constituencies continued to declare results, Reform UK closely tracked behind Plaid Cymru, which analyst John Curtice predicted would be the largest party, though possibly without an outright majority.
As Plaid Cymru considered the prospect of governing after more than a century of campaigning, a seasoned party worker remarked wryly,
“Politics is a game of perseverance.”
