Prime Minister Keir Starmer vowed on Friday to fight on to deliver on his promise to bring “change” to Britain after his Labour Party suffered heavy losses in local elections that deepened doubts over his ability to govern.
Labour haemorrhaged support in areas reporting early results, including in traditional strongholds in former industrial regions of central and northern England, along with some parts of London.
The main beneficiary was the populist Reform UK party of Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, which gained more than 300 council seats in England, and could form the main opposition in Scotland and Wales to the pro-independence Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru.
My resolve is not weakened, says Starmer. Despite the losses, Starmer’s allies signalled their support for a man whose popularity ratings have sunk to among the worst for any British leader, and the prime minister visited one bright electoral spot for his party to say he would press on. “I am not going to walk away,” he told reporters in Ealing, west London, where Labour retained control of the council. He said voters were more concerned about the pace of change rather than his leadership.