Labour suffers historic local election setbacks under bankrupt Starmer

Starmer on February 28 -- Number 10, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

In the May 8, 2026 local elections, the reactionary Labour Party under Keir Starmer suffered massive, historic setbacks, losing over 1,300 to nearly 1,500 councillor seats and control of up to 38 councils. These losses marked one of the worst local election performances for the party in recent history, with Labour’s vote share hitting record lows across multiple regions.

The big winner was far-right Reform UK, which made unprecedented gains, securing over 1,400 council seats and taking control of approximately 14 councils. The Green Party and Liberal Democrats also made gains. In the case of the Green Party this is significant as it has shifted to the left and faced disgraceful and absurd attacks and accusations of "antisemitism" despite its leader Zack Polanski being Jewish.

Regionally the breakdown is as follows:

England: Labour lost traditional strongholds, including councils in London and Northern England, while Reform UK supplanted both Labour and the Conservatives in several areas.

Wales: Labour lost power for the first time in 27 years, falling behind Plaid Cymru and Reform UK, triggering a potential political realignment.

.

Scotland: Labour underperformed, with the SNP maintaining dominance and Reform UK gaining some inroads.

These results reflect widespread voter dissatisfaction with Starmer's Labour Party. Starmer now faces a major internal revolt.

In a statement the Communist Party of Britain noted:

In "England, Scotland and Wales voters delivered a stark verdict on British politics. The clear message that comes through from the highly fragmented electoral results is an overwhelming rejection of the politics and personnel of the current government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Voters want change, and for any future change to occur Starmer must go, along with him his crew of Blairites and Mandelson lackeys.

Starmer’s legacy from yesterday's results is that the far-right in British politics, in the form of Reform UK and its various splinter groups, has moved from the fringes to the centre ground of politics in England. From the north-west to the home counties, the reactionary right is occupying the vacuum where a party of the working class should be."

They stated further that "Yesterday’s election results are a devastating indictment of Starmer’s government and leadership. By facilitating a clique of corporate interests to ban progressive politics and destroy democracy in their own ranks, the Labour Party has invited its own demolition. It is now evident that the architects of this defeat are politically bankrupt. Their project has encouraged and nourished the far right. They are now the primary obstacle to the recovery of the working class and labour movement."

Full statement:

.