Photo: UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer
According to BBC News, after counting votes in 131 out of 136 local councils in England, Reform UK won 1,444 seats, an improvement of 1,442 seats on the previous election. Labor lost 1,406 seats and reduced representation to 997 mandates.
The Liberal Democrats also strengthened their position with 834 seats and the Green Party of England and Wales with 515 seats. The Conservative Party lost 557 seats and gained 773 seats.
Elections were also held in the Scottish Parliament and the Senedd – the parliaments of Scotland and Wales.
In Scotland, the Scottish National Party won with 58 seats out of 129. Reform UK passed the Scottish Parliament for the first time, winning 17 seats – the same number as Labor.
In Wales, the Welsh Party led for the first time, winning 43 seats out of 96. Reform UK came second with 34 seats and also entered the Welsh parliament for the first time. Labor won nine seats.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called the results “a historic shift in British politics.” He said the party was able to succeed both in traditionally conservative regions and in areas that had been dominated by Labor for decades.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer acknowledged his party’s failure. “The results are tough, very tough, and there’s no sugarcoating it,” he said on May 8. Starmer also said he takes responsibility for the defeat but has no intention of resigning.
It should be noted that Reform UK has been in existence since 2018. At first it was known as the Brexit Party and promoted Britain’s exit from the European Union without an agreement with it. It received its current name in 2021. Its founder and leader Nigel Farage was a member of the European Parliament from 1999 to 2020, and from 2006 to 2016, intermittently – the leader of the right-wing Conservative United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP).
The Labor Party came to power in July 2024, winning an overwhelming majority of seats in the House of Commons – 411 out of 650. According to Politico, Labor’s support now stands at 17%, putting them in third place. They are ahead of Reform UK with 25% and the Conservatives, who have 18%. By comparison: On July 4, 2024, when the last general election was held, Labor had 34% support by the same measure, and Reform UK was in third place with 17%.
