- Labour lost over 1,300 councillor seats and its century-long Welsh majority, while Reform UK gained 1,400+ seats, up from just two previously held.
- Trump-backed British politician Nigel Farage and his Reform UK became the largest party nationally
- The results could signal the end of the traditional Labour-Conservative two-party system, with leaders declaring "two party politics is dead and buried."
Early election results from Thursday and Friday indicate historic losses in local elections for the United Kingdom’s Labour Party, the country’s predominant left-leaning political party.
With the elections coming to a close, Labour is set to lose more than 1,300 councillor seats. Reform U.K., a right-leaning party established in 2018, will gain more than 1,400 seats per BBC.
Labour has also lost its majority in Wales, which it had controlled since 1922.
Keir Starmer, the U.K.’s current prime minister and leader of the Labour Party, said “The results are tough, they are very tough, and there’s no sugarcoating it.”
Nigel Farage, leader of Reform U.K. and a Trump ally, said, “What’s happened is a truly a historic shift in British politics.”
The results of this week’s elections represent a shift away from the two-party system in the United Kingdom, traditionally dominated by the Labour and Conservative parties.
Starmer faces pressure to resign
Starmer came into power in parliamentary elections in July 2024 with sweeping Labour Party victories across the U.K.
Since then, Starmer has become increasingly unpopular among British voters with 70% saying that he is performing “poorly,” per YouGov.
Several British Labour members of Parliament (MPs) have begun calling for Starmer’s resignation.
Despite these substantial losses and calls for resignation, Starmer has no plans to resign anytime soon.
“I am not going to walk away from [these] challenges and plunge our nation into chaos,” the prime minister said Friday.
Who is Nigel Farage?
One of the biggest beneficiaries of this election is Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform party. Farage has been a political presence in the U.K. for decades and was instrumental in leading the country to exit the European Union in 2018.
Celebrating their victories, Farage spoke outside of Havering Town Hall, the first London Borough to be won by Reform.
Farage said that the common trend has been Reform filling Labour seats across the country.
“And what you’re going to see later today,” added Farage, “is the Conservative Party being wiped out in their heartlands.”
President Donald Trump has repeatedly praised Farage and called him a close friend and an ally.
Historic political shifts in Wales
Labour has dominated Wales since 1922 and has had a majority of seats in every election since the formation of their National Assembly in 1997.
Labour now sits as the country’s third most popular party.
The shift in Wales is emblematic of the U.K.’s broader election results, showing that even traditionally Labour-dominated areas are open to change.
Plaid Cymru, a Welsh party in favor of seceding from the U.K., will now be the country’s largest party.
The next largest party in Wales, ahead of Labour, is likely to be Reform U.K.
The future of the two-party system in the U.K.
The substantial wins by new, less traditional parties in the U.K., demonstrate a shift away from the traditional two-party system that has controlled the U.K. for the last 100 years.
Other parties benefitting from these elections are the centrist Liberal Democrats and the left-leaning Scottish Greens.
Many have speculated that this could be the end of the two-party system in the U.K.
The Scottish Greens leader, Zack Polanski, said “Two party politics is not just dying, it is dead and it is buried.”
Prior to these elections, Reform held two councillor seats.
“I am convinced that its a fundamental change,” said Farage, “these are the most significant set of elections between now and the general election.”