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\t\tPrime Minister Keir Starmer said the results were “tough” (Stefan Rousseau\/PA)\t<\/p>\n\t\t\tFriday 08 May 2026 3:03 pm\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\tPrime Minister Keir Starmer said the results were “tough” (Stefan Rousseau\/PA)\t<\/p>\n
Good afternoon and welcome back to the City AM liveblog.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer<\/a> has resisted calls for his resignation as he takes responsibility for what he described as a \u201ctough\u201d set of local election results, as the Labour Party<\/a> suffers from a Reform surge.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to walk away and plunge the country into chaos. We were elected to deal with these challenges and that\u2019s what we will do,\u201d Starmer said.<\/p>\n But Starmer\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n Nigel Farage hailed a \u201chistoric change in British politics\u201d as Reform gained Havering, its first London council, as well as a swathe of seats in the North of England.<\/p>\n In an early sign of Greens\u2019 popularity in metropolitan areas across the capital city, London Assembly member Zoe Garbett was elected mayor in Hackney. <\/p>\n Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said her party is showing \u201csigns of renewal\u201d despite losing 80 council seats so far.<\/p>\n 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<\/a> on its right flank and the Green Party<\/a> on its left.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRead more<\/p>\n \t\t\tUK borrowing costs waver as Starmer insists he will not \u2018walk away\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n Zack Polanski\u2019s resurgent Greens are targeting inner-city areas like Lewisham, Lambeth and Hackney \u2013 as well as Starmer\u2019s backyard in Camden. <\/p>\n Nigel Farage\u2019s Reform, on the other hand, are hopeful they can take outer boroughs like Hillingdon, Bromley and Bexley.<\/p>\n Starmer\u2019s 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n The City is bracing for market backlash from the elections and a potential Labour leadership challenge. <\/p>\n Markets have held their nerve so far on Friday, but analysts have warned the \u201cwoo-woo\u201d bond market could fall into chaos as the political aftermath of the elections takes hold.<\/p>\n Get yourself up to date with our election preview<\/a> and profiles<\/a> of the state of play in every single London borough.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll bring you every London result as it comes in, plus key market and political reaction, so stay tuned.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRead more<\/p>\n