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The Guardian Politics9 May 2026

Why Welsh voters turned their backs on the Labour party

Disregard from UK Labour and struggling public services are just some of reasons behind ‘astonishing’ collapse UK politics live – latest updates By Friday night, Keir Starmer and much of the Westminster Labour group were quietly relieved that the local election results in England hadn’t been quite as bad as feared. In Wales, however, Labour’s collapse in the Senedd was even more total than the most pessimistic predictions. For more than 100 years, Welsh Labour was the democratic world’s most s

Politics
The Guardian Politics9 May 2026

Starmer brings in Gordon Brown and Harriet Harman to ease pressure on him to resign

Brown to advise on global finance, while Harman will focus on social and economic improvements for women and girls UK politics live – latest updates Full results from England, Scotland and Wales Keir Starmer has brought in Gordon Brown and Harriet Harman as advisersin a move to ease the mounting pressure on the prime minister to resign after the disastrous election results for Labour. Brown, the former prime minister and long-serving chancellor under Tony Blair, has been made Starmer’s envoy

PoliticsEconomy
The Guardian Politics9 May 2026

British leader Keir Starmer under pressure after heavy election losses

Labour party loses more than 1,400 English council seats and crashes out in Welsh and Scottish parliament votes • UK politics live – latest updates Keir Starmer, the British prime minister, is facing increasing pressure to set a date for his departure after elections across much of the country resulted in massive losses for his ruling Labour party. With the bulk of results now counted after voting on Thursday, Labour had lost more than 1,400 representatives from English councils, the local gover

Politics
The Guardian Politics9 May 2026

Pressure grows on Starmer as more Labour MPs call for resignation – UK politics live

Several frontbenchers told the Guardian they agreed the prime minister’s time in office should not go beyond the end of the year 2026 elections mapped: how Labour lost ground in different directions In the wake of the local election results, Keir Starmer faced calls to stand down after voters handed a damning verdict on the Labour party. Starmer took responsibility after Labour lost hundreds of councillors in England and suffered humiliation in Wales, but he made clear that he would not quit,

PoliticsHousing
The Guardian Politics9 May 2026

Starmer’s unpopularity was insurmountable for Scottish Labour – and a boon for Reform

Amid public apathy and frustration, Labour and Reform tie for second behind the SNP, while Greens claim ‘seismic’ fourth place Long before the final votes were counted in Scotland, veteran Labour politicians said it was a defeat made in Downing Street. When the Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, strode into the Glasgow count arena on Friday afternoon flanked by sombre-faced activists, the scene was a mirror image to the same venue in 2024, when his resurgent party won 36 seats from the Scottis

PoliticsDefenceEnvironment
The Guardian Politics8 May 2026

These election results don’t mean tacking left or right, but delivering for the whole country | Keir Starmer

In the coming days I will be setting out our path to break with the status quo once and for all by building a stronger and fairer UK These were very tough election results. It hurts to lose brilliant local candidates and leaders – friends and colleagues who represent the best of the Labour party. I take responsibility for that and feel it very deeply. It is right we reflect and learn the right lessons. While the results will understandably lead to much debate about what’s changed in British poli

Politics
The Guardian Politics8 May 2026

Labour loses control of Birmingham city council after 14 years of leadership

Reform, Greens and pro-Gaza independents make significant gains, although no party has yet won majority Elections mapped: how Labour lost ground in different directions Latest news updates and analysis from election night The Labour party’s 14-year leadership in Birmingham has come to an end after Reform, Greens and pro-Gaza independents made significant gains in the UK’s second-largest city. No party has yet won an overall majority at Birmingham city council, one of Europe’s largest local au

PoliticsEnvironmentHousing
The Guardian Politics8 May 2026

Keir Starmer under pressure to agree exit plan after election mauling

Senior Labour MPs urge prime minister to step down within year as party suffers loss of hundreds of English council seats and humbling in Wales Election 2026 live: latest news updates Full results from England, Scotland and Wales Keir Starmer is under pressure to set out a timeline for his departure after a crushing defeat in elections across Britain prompted senior Labour MPs to call for him to step down within a year. In a disastrous set of results, Labour lost hundreds of council seats in

Politics
The Guardian Politics8 May 2026

2026 elections mapped: how Labour lost ground in different directions

Keir Starmer’s party lost out to Reform and the Greens, with no respite in Scotland, Wales or England. These maps show the scale of the historic results Election 2026 live: latest news updates Full results from England, Scotland and Wales Labour has suffered heavy losses across England, Scotland and Wales, losing ground to opponents on the left and the right in a fragmented political system. The graphics below show where Labour’s losses were most severe, and how the electoral landscape has ch

PoliticsEnvironmentHousing
The Guardian Politics8 May 2026

Cracks showing for Labour close to back yards of Starmer’s top team

Reform makes gains in Labour’s working-class heartlands while Greens chip away at party’s progressive base Keir Starmer hates to lose. Unsurprisingly, he refused to walk away and end his premiership as Labour’s local election losses began to trickle in on Friday morning. Upon entering Downing Street in July 2024 after leading Labour to a historic general election victory, Starmer promised the public that his government would “fight every day until you believe again”. Now, Starmer is faced with

PoliticsEnvironment
The Guardian Politics8 May 2026

Reform wins across northern England overturn decades of Labour control

Sunderland, Barnsley, Gateshead and South Tyneside among councils reporting gains for Farage’s party • Full results from England, Scotland and Wales Nigel Farage chose Sunderland for the launch of Reform UK’s local election campaign because, he said, it was where he had first sensed the “big political earthquake” underfoot. A decade ago next month, the city was the first to declare its vote in the Brexit referendum – a thumping 61% opting to leave the EU – and the aftershocks are still being fe

PoliticsReform
The Guardian Politics8 May 2026

The Guardian view on Britain’s fractured politics: a revolt against the status quo | Editorial

Sir Keir Starmer faces a deepening crisis of authority as election losses suggest disappointment with Labour has already curdled into cynicism If you are Sir Keir Starmer, the results of the local and devolved elections make for grim reading. Thursday’s ballot gave almost two-thirds of Britain’s electorate the chance to vote. Fragmentation is no longer the future of British politics. In many places it is its present. After a quarter-century in which Labour and the Conservatives dominated elector

Politics