UK elections: Labour vote collapses as Reform surge in England

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has described England's local election results as a "truly historic shift in British politics" as his party gained hundreds of seats across the country. The right-wing party made gains across the country – taking control of at least five councils, including Newcastle-under-Lyme, Essex, Havering, Suffolk, and Sunderland. By contrast, it was a devastating night for Labour, which lost hundreds of seats in return, including in its traditional northern heartlands. "This is a big big day. Not just for our party but for a complete reshaping of British politics in every way," Farage said from Havering on Friday morning. The Conservatives also suffered defeats in the hundreds while the Liberal Democrats are on track for an historic eighth consecutive set of local election gains. The Green party also saw councilor gains across the country, including taking the Hackney mayoralty, with the election of Zoe Garbett and Lewisham with Liam Shrivastava. Speaking from Hackney, the Green's Polanski celebrated his own party's results, describing them as a total rejection of Keir Starmer and the old two-party system. Labour lost over 15 local authorities by Friday evening, including Southampton, Westminster, Tameside, Tamworth, Hartlepool, Redditch, Exeter, Oxford, and Wandsworth. Sir Keir Starmer said he took responsibility for the "tough" results, but insisted he would carry on as prime minister. "Days like this don’t weaken my resolve to deliver the change that I promised," he said on Friday. He continued: "The results are tough, they are very tough, and there’s no sugarcoating it. "We have lost brilliant Labour representatives across the country, these are people who put so much into their communities, so much into our party. That hurts, and it should hurt, and I take responsibility." The initial results paint a bleak picture for the prime minister and are sparking calls for him to step down. Labour MP Jonathan Brash, whose wife Pamela Hargreaves lost her Hartlepool council seat to Farage’s party, said he was "looking for change at the top of the Labour Party. "It’s clear to me that the prime minister should take this opportunity to set out a timetable for his own departure, and then allow for the widest possible leadership election that includes all the talents of our party," he said. "As you can imagine, I’m really angry about tonight, because Labour politicians are delivering really big things, but we need a leadership of the party that is on the side of the British people," Brash continued. Diane Abbott MP, who sits on the left of the Labour Party wrote on X: "There is no denying that these election results are going to be very bad for Labour. "Yes, Keir Starmer is very unpopular. But it is the policies that drive that unpopularity. "Simply changing the leader without changing the policies will not avert disaster in 2029." Louise Haigh, the former transport secretary, who resigned after it was revealed she had previously pleaded guilty to a fraud offence involving a stolen phone, said Labour's defeat was down to the national politics of the party in Westminster. She added that it was "abundantly clear, unless the government delivers change, the prime minister cannot lead Labour into next election". Nigel Farage's party has seen a set of spectacular gains across the country, winning close to 1,000 council seats with 93 of the councils declared. Speaking on Friday morning, he claimed the elections illustrated a “truly historic shift in British politics”. Reform took Sunderland from Labour, a council containing Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson’s Westminster seat. It also became the second largest party in Tameside as Labour lost its majority in the Greater Manchester council after an uninterrupted run of 47 years in charge – the area contains the parliamentary constituency of former deputy party leader Angela Rayner. Reform’s successes also included wins in Havering, its first London borough, and taking Essex County Council – Tory leader Kemi Badenoch’s local authority – and Suffolk from the Conservatives. Farage said: “It’s a big, big day, not just for our party, but for a complete reshaping of British politics in every way.” He went on to claim voters for his party see the election victories as a “stepping stone”. • Subscribe to ITV News on YouTube: http://bit.ly/2lOHmNj • Get breaking news and more stories at http://www.itv.com/news Follow ITV News on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@itvnews?lang=en Follow ITV News on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itvnews/ Follow ITV News on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itvnews/ Follow ITV News on X: https://twitter.com/itvnews