Keir Starmer’s Labour suffered a damaging night in the local elections 2026, losing more than 200 councillors as Nigel Farage’s Reform UK picked up over 300 seats and the Greens made gains across England.
Keir Starmer has endured a crushing night with Labour shedding hundreds of councillors already across local elections in England. Nigel Farage’s party emerged as the standout victor overnight, snatching more than 300 seats. Labour has dropped more than 200 as it haemorrhages support both to the left and the right of the political spectrum.
Labour began surrendering dozens of councillors from around 1am. Reform UK secured its first major breakthrough in Halton within Labour’s northern strongholds, where 16 fresh councillors were elected.
The situation continued to deteriorate for Mr Starmer from that point. At approximately 2am, Labour surrendered its first council – Redditch Borough Council – quickly followed by Hartlepool and Tamworth, with Reform UK making substantial advances across all three locations.
From that moment, matters only became increasingly bleak. Labour surrendered more than 20 councillors in Wigan – Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy’s constituency, reports the Mirror.
And at roughly 4am, Labour relinquished control of Exeter council, where the Greens made advances. Surrendering power in Tameside – Angela Rayner’s territory – represented another agonising blow to Labour, with Reform surging forward and claiming 18 councillors.
Mr Starmer’s party faces a crucial contest with the Green Party in London, which has traditionally been regarded as a Labour fortress. If Wandsworth’s overnight outcome – where Labour surrendered control – serves as any indication, Labour could be confronting a worrying series of results. Pollster Luke Tryl, a director at More in Common, described Labour’s defeats to both Reform and the Green Party as a “nightmare” for the party. He told The Mirror: “It’s their nightmare scenario as it leaves no clear direction to go.”
Sir John Curtice suggested Labour might suffer fewer than the catastrophic predictions of 1,500 losses overall – but cautioned there’s a “long way to go”.
He said the party’s evening is potentially a “little bit worse” than anticipated, acknowledging Scotland could deliver a further setback later today.
The leading polling expert told the BBC: “At nearly 4:00 in the morning, the picture from England has been as pretty much as bad as anybody expected for Labour, if not a little bit worse. Coming third in Scotland would clearly add to Labour’s woes and the pressure on 10 Downing Street.”
The Greens secured modest advances overnight, claiming councillors nationwide, including in Chorley, Salford and Exeter.
Reform UK gained its first council of this year’s local elections, taking Newcastle-under-Lyme from the Conservatives.
However, the party is anticipating far greater triumph later on Friday, when crucial Green target areas will announce their results. Party sources indicated they remain optimistic for “modest gains” in Exeter and Oxford. All attention will focus on the contest for Hackney Mayor, which would represent a major victory for the Greens.
The Liberal Democrats – who have characterised their local achievements as the “tortoise and the hare” – also enjoyed some victories overnight, seizing control of Stockport and Portsmouth councils.
Though the party also surrendered control in Hull. Key announcements in Wales and Scotland are set to be made later this afternoon. Despite nearly two decades of power marked by failure and scandal, the Scottish National Party is predicted to retain control in Scotland. Reform UK is also anticipated to achieve significant gains north of the border.
Labour is bracing for severe losses in Wales, where it has held power since devolution in 1999. Overnight, Trade minister Sir Chris Bryant – who serves as Labour MP for Rhondda and Ogmore in Wales – conceded that it’s unlikely to be a positive night for his party in Wales.
Speaking to the BBC, he said: “I’ve been knocking doors and my local team have been knocking doors for weeks and weeks and weeks. I think it will be very difficult for us to hold the place that we’ve held.”
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