After winning control of Essex County Council, Nigel Farage<\/a> said his party \u201chaven\u2019t just crushed the \u2018red wall\u2019, we\u2019ve crushed the blue wall as well\u201d. <\/p>\n Labour<\/a> suffered a crushing defeat in Wales<\/a>, where first minister Eluned Morgan lost her seat in the Senedd. The party managed to secure just nine seats, while Plaid Cymru became the largest party, with a total of 43 seats. <\/p>\n Ms Morgan\u2019s defeat marked the first time a sitting Welsh leader has lost in an election for the Welsh Parliament.<\/p>\n Labour saw heavy losses in elections in England and Wales. Sir Keir Starmer<\/a> said earlier he is \u201churt\u201d but is \u201cnot going to walk away\u201d after Labour lost hundreds of councillor seats, along with control of several councils, in the English local elections<\/a>.<\/p>\n The party lost much of its grip of historic northern English heartlands<\/a> with major losses in Tameside, Hartlepool and Wigan.<\/p>\n The Green Party has also enjoyed success, notably winning the Hackney mayoral election, ousting Labour.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/a>MP dismisses suggestions Andy Burnham would struggle to win by-election seat<\/p>\n Labour MP Connor Naismith, who has called for a change in leadership, dismissed suggestions that Andy Burnham would struggle to win a by-election to enter Parliament.<\/p>\n Greater Manchester Mayor Mr Burnham would need to win a Westminster seat if he is to challenge for the party leadership but Labour was hammered in local elections in the North West.<\/p>\n Crewe and Nantwich MP Mr Naismith said Mr Burnham would be able to defy that trend.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cAndy is the most popular Labour politician in the country. The suggestion that he wouldn\u2019t be able to win in some of the seats Labour is currently struggling to win is just wrong.<\/p>\n \u201cIronically, this is precisely why we need him back on the front line of national politics.\u201d<\/p>\n In a post on social media last night, he described Sir Keir Starmer as a “man of integrity” but said new leadership was needed to “bring together a broad coalition of voters”.<\/p>\n Amy-Clare Martin9 May 2026 08:25<\/p>\n <\/a>The Senedd results are disastrous for Labour \u2013 but the writing\u2019s been on the wall for months<\/p>\n It did not take an avid political insider to realise that Labour were in serious trouble in Wales<\/a> and had been for a long time.<\/p>\n Nearly half a million of its 3 million population are estimated to live in \u201cdeep poverty\u201d<\/a>, while the decline of its industrial base has meant that large parts of the Welsh Valleys suffer with high deprivation, an underperforming education sector and lower income levels.<\/p>\n The Independent\u2019s senior reporter Holly Evans was in Newport yesterday. You can read her full report below:<\/p>\n Nicole Wootton-Cane9 May 2026 08:15<\/p>\n <\/a>Recap: SNP by far the largest party in Holyrood – but fall short of majority<\/p>\n All the results are in from Scotland\u2019s elections, which have seen the Scottish National Party (SNP) lose seats, but remain the largest party in Holyrood.<\/p>\n While leader John Swinney declared the SNP has \u201cemphatically\u201d won the election, his party fell short of the 65 seats needed for a majority.<\/p>\n Labour lost four seats to sit at 17.<\/p>\n Reform UK, meanwhile, gained 17 seats to match Labour\u2019s numbers.<\/p>\n The Scottish Greens gained six seats to take their total to 15, and the Liberal Democrats also gained six, with a total of 10 seats.<\/p>\n The Conservatives fell by 19, and now hold just 12 seats in Holyrood.<\/p>\n Nicole Wootton-Cane9 May 2026 08:00<\/p>\n <\/a>Labour MPs continue to call for Starmer’s resignation<\/p>\n Labour veteran Clive Betts said the Cabinet should make it clear to Sir Keir Starmer he has to go \u201cin the not too distant future\u201d.<\/p>\n The Sheffield South East MP told BBC Radio 4\u2019s Today: \u201cI don\u2019t think rebooting and refreshing and renewing, and all the words that have been thrown around, are going to make any difference, unfortunately.\u201d<\/p>\n The public had \u201cstopped listening\u201d to the prime minister, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there are three scenarios: one is that Keir carries on until the next election and we lose, and we lose badly.<\/p>\n \u201cSecondly, that in the end, Keir decides to stick it out, and there is a move to get rid of him, an internal battle, and then the public don\u2019t like parties that fight amongst themselves, so that could lead to an election defeat.<\/p>\n \u201cOr in the end, Keir recognises, for the good of the country and the government, he has to step down at some point in the not too distant future.<\/p>\n \u201cI think there\u2019s now a responsibility on the Cabinet to talk to Keir and to recognise, as they obviously are picking up on the doorstep, that this can\u2019t carry on forever.<\/p>\n \u201cThere has to be a timetable. There has to be a way to actually bring in a new leader in a proper and constructive manner in the next few months.\u201d<\/p>\n Nicole Wootton-Cane9 May 2026 07:50<\/p>\n <\/a>Which councils have yet to declare?<\/p>\n There are still five councils left to declare results following Thursday\u2019s election.<\/p>\n They are all in London: Lambeth, Lewisham, Watford, Croydon, are expected to declare at around 4pm on Saturday.<\/p>\n Tower Hamlets in east London is expected to be the last to declare at around 6pm.<\/p>\n Nicole Wootton-Cane9 May 2026 07:40<\/p>\n <\/a>Where each party stands on Saturday morning in England<\/p>\n It has been a torrid 24 hours for Labour in England, who have lost overall control on a number of councils it had previously controlled for decades.<\/p>\n Sir Keir Starmer\u2019s party have currently won 997 seats – and lost 1,406.<\/p>\n Reform UK have been the biggest winners, up 1,442 councillors to 1,444.<\/p>\n Results have been mixed for Kemi Badenoch\u2019s Conservatives, who took Westminster City Council back from Labour, but lost a long-standing majority in Essex to Reform. They have lost 557 councillors so far.<\/p>\n The Green Party start the day on 515 councillors, a gain of 374. They hailed a huge victory in Hackney\u2019s mayoral election on Friday, which had previously been held by Labour.<\/p>\n The Liberal Democrats have also gained councillors, up 151 to 834.<\/p>\n Counting in several councils continues today. We will be bringing you all the latest in this blog.<\/p>\n Nicole Wootton-Cane9 May 2026 07:18<\/p>\n <\/a>Recap: Labour MPs break ranks to call for Keir Starmer to set out a timetable for his departure<\/p>\n A number of Labour MPs have now broken ranks to suggest their leader must go over yesterday\u2019s disastrous election results.<\/p>\n Former cabinet minister Louise Haigh said: \u201cI think what is abundantly clear is that unless the government delivers significant and urgent change, then the prime minister cannot lead us into another election.\u201d<\/p>\n Olivia Blake, the Labour MP for Sheffield Hallam, said the PM \u201cneeds to think about his position\u201d.<\/p>\n She told the BBC the party was \u201ckidding ourselves if we think that Keir Starmer will be leading us into the next election. There needs to be a plan now for what comes next\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need an orderly plan,\u201d she told The Independent.<\/p>\n Richard Burgon, leader of the Socialist Campaign Group of left-wing Labour MPs, said: \u201cIt is clear that Keir has fought his last election as Labour leader and, deep down, he will know it.\u201d<\/p>\n Former loyalist Simon Opher, the MP for Stroud, warned Labour could allow Nigel Farage to become PM unless it changed leader, adding: \u201cif we go into the next election with him as leader we will get slaughtered\u201d.<\/p>\n And Anneliese Midgley, Labour MP for Knowsley, told the Guardian: “Unless that changes significantly and quickly it’s clear the PM can’t lead us into another election.\u201d<\/p>\n Kate Devlin9 May 2026 07:00<\/p>\n <\/a>Streeting won’t say if Starmer should go<\/p>\n Wes Streeting declined to say on Friday night whether he believed Keir Starmer was the right person to lead Labour into the next general election.<\/p>\n Asked whether he believed Sir Keir was the right person to do so, he told reporters in Redbridge: \u201cKeir Starmer won a general election in 2024 that people thought was absolutely impossible after Labour\u2019s crushing defeat in 2019.<\/p>\n \u201cNow there\u2019s no doubt that with the message that the voters have sent us across England, Wales and Scotland, that the government bears a huge degree of responsibility for good Labour people losing, we have to take that on the chin, we have to respect the voters, and we have to show that Labour can still be the change that people are crying out for, the change that they voted for at the last general election, the change that they\u2019ve demanded through this set of elections.\u201d<\/p>\n Harriette Boucher9 May 2026 06:30<\/p>\n![\"Labour](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/PA-30716494.jpg\")
Labour veteran Clive Betts (PA)<\/p>\n