Friday 08 May 2026 5:30 am
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Friday 08 May 2026 8:46 am
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the results were “tough” (Stefan Rousseau/PA)
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Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has taken responsibility for what he described as a “tough” set of local election results, as the Labour Party suffered Reform gains in the North of England and braces for losses in London.
Reform UK gained hundreds of councillors on Friday morning, as party leader Nigel Farage hailed a “historic change in British politics”.
Farage’s party gained Havering, marking its first control of a council in London, as it threw its campaigning weight into boroughs on the outskirts of the capital.
“Forget left-right, there is no more left-right, it’s gone, it’s out of the window, it’s finished. As you can see we are scoring stunning percentages in traditional old Labour areas,” he said.
But Starmer’s party has held on to some key London boroughs so far, including Merton and Hammersmith, though it lost Wandsworth and Westminster in tightly-fought battles with the Tories.
More than 5,000 council seats are up for grabs, including every single council seat in London. Previously dominant in the capital, Labour could lose a raft of London boroughs as it faces bitter challenges from Reform UK on its right flank and the Green Party on its left.
Read more
Local elections 2026: Reform take control of Havering council amid wins across UK
Zack Polanski’s resurgent Greens are targeting inner-city areas like Lewisham, Lambeth and Hackney – as well as Starmer’s backyard in Camden.
Nigel Farage’s Reform, on the other hand, are hopeful they can take outer boroughs like Hillingdon, Bromley and Bexley.
Starmer’s party are defending 2,557 seats at this set of elections and some pundits have suggested they could lose up to 1,800. This would be a stunning wipeout which would send Labour reeling and put the Prime Minister in perhaps his weakest position yet.
The City is bracing for market backlash from the elections and a potential Labour leadership challenge.
Get yourself up to date with our election preview and profiles of the state of play in every single London borough.
We’ll bring you every London result as it comes in, plus key market and political reaction, so stay tuned.
Read more
What to look out for in London’s local elections
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