Local election results live: Farage hails ‘truly historic day’ for Reform after Labour suffers huge losses in Wales – UK Times

All the results are in from Scotland’s elections, which have seen the Scottish National Party (SNP) lose seats, but remain the largest party in Holyrood.

While leader John Swinney declared the SNP has “emphatically” won the election, his party fell short of the 65 seats needed for a majority.

Labour lost four seats to sit at 17.

Reform UK, meanwhile, gained 17 seats to match Labour’s numbers.

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.

The Conservatives fell by 19, and now hold just 12 seats in Holyrood.

Labour veteran Clive Betts said the Cabinet should make it clear to Sir Keir Starmer he has to go “in the not too distant future”.

The Sheffield South East MP told BBC Radio 4’s Today: “I don’t think rebooting and refreshing and renewing, and all the words that have been thrown around, are going to make any difference, unfortunately.”

The public had “stopped listening” to the prime minister, he said.

“I think there are three scenarios: one is that Keir carries on until the next election and we lose, and we lose badly.

“Secondly, 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’t like parties that fight amongst themselves, so that could lead to an election defeat.

“Or 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.

“I think there’s 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’t carry on forever.

“There 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.”

There are still five councils left to declare results following Thursday’s election.

They are all in London: Lambeth, Lewisham, Watford, Croydon, are expected to declare at around 4pm on Saturday.

Tower Hamlets in east London is expected to be the last to declare at around 6pm.

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.

Sir Keir Starmer’s party have currently won 997 seats – and lost 1,406.

Reform UK have been the biggest winners, up 1,442 councillors to 1,444.

Results have been mixed for Kemi Badenoch’s 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.

The Green Party start the day on 515 councillors, a gain of 374. They hailed a huge victory in Hackney’s mayoral election on Friday, which had previously been held by Labour.

The Liberal Democrats have also gained councillors, up 151 to 834.

Counting in several councils continues today. We will be bringing you all the latest in this blog.

A number of Labour MPs have now broken ranks to suggest their leader must go over yesterday’s disastrous election results.

Former cabinet minister Louise Haigh said: “I 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.”

Olivia Blake, the Labour MP for Sheffield Hallam, said the PM “needs to think about his position”.

She told the BBC the party was “kidding 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”.

“We need an orderly plan,” she told The Independent.

Richard Burgon, leader of the Socialist Campaign Group of left-wing Labour MPs, said: “It is clear that Keir has fought his last election as Labour leader and, deep down, he will know it.”

Former loyalist Simon Opher, the MP for Stroud, warned Labour could allow Nigel Farage to become PM unless it changed leader, adding: “if we go into the next election with him as leader we will get slaughtered”.

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.”

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.

Asked whether he believed Sir Keir was the right person to do so, he told reporters in Redbridge: “Keir Starmer won a general election in 2024 that people thought was absolutely impossible after Labour’s crushing defeat in 2019.

“Now there’s 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’ve demanded through this set of elections.”

Following a crushing set of election results on Friday, the prime minister is facing calls to resign.

Minister have now come out in support of the prime minister, here is what they are saying:

Chancellor Rachel Reeves: “These are tough election results for Labour and I’m sorry to all of those colleagues who have lost their seats.

“Keir Starmer won a mandate to change our country. We must get on with delivering that mandate – and show how politics can improve people’s lives for the better.”

Housing secretary Steve Reed:

“The last thing the country wants is the Labour Party to talk about the Labour Party.

“The British public don’t want to hear about timelines, backroom deals and navel-gazing. Let’s get on with the job.”

Business secretary Steve Kyle:

“Reversing these results requires a collective effort, not just blaming the boss. We can’t do that by turning in on ourselves. We do it by rebuilding faith in Labour’s ability to inspire and lead our country.

“Losing our prime minister is the very opposite of that. In the days ahead, we’ll set out the ambition we have for a fairer and more prosperous Britain.”

Chief secretary to the prime minister Darren Jones:

“The election results today have clearly been tough for Labour. I’m sorry that we’ve lost so many brilliant Labour colleagues across the country, and thank them for their service. And I’m sorry that so many voters felt unable to vote Labour at these elections.

“Keir Starmer has taken responsibility and committed all of us to delivering on the mandate the country gave us at the last election. The Labour Party shouldn’t waste a minute of the time we’ve been given to get on with that job. If we turn inwards the public will think we’re walking away from that challenge.”

London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has issued a lengthy statement calling for a change of direction for Labour where he pointedly did not endorse prime minister Keir Starmer.

Labour has suffered huge losses in London with the Greens taking the mayoralties in Hackney and Lewisham as well as Waltham forest.

The Tories took back Westminster City Council while Reform won Havering.

Sir Sadiq, who is up for re-election in 2028, said: “We’re still waiting for the full picture, but there’s no doubt that these election results are bitterly disappointing for Labour in London.

“Labour is only able to deliver when we win elections, whether that be general, mayoral or local. Losing control of councils in London will limit our ability to serve the public in the way we want.”

He warned that this was not a normal mid term protest vote.

“Mid-term elections can sometimes be difficult for the party in national government, but this is different. These results speak to a far-reaching disillusionment and fracturing in our politics, which cannot be downplayed, spun or dismissed,” the mayor said.

“Labour has lost votes in London to a variety of different parties, but the biggest change has been Labour voters switching to the Greens.

“Many people who voted Labour at the last general election clearly feel angry, disappointed and let down. They want a Labour government to address the cost-of-living crisis while demonstrating the core values the party was established to promote. Too many of the government’s achievements have been overshadowed by basic mistakes and a failure to boldly assert our progressive values.

“Londoners are also frustrated with the slow pace of change and are impatient to see the delivery they were promised. London has been taken for granted for too long. This must change. We need more investment in our public services and infrastructure, which would not only boost the economy and living standards for Londoners, but lead to jobs, wealth and prosperity right across the country.”

Sir Sadiq added: “Without a change in course and an acceleration in delivery, the threat to Labour is existential. We risk a repeat in London, Wales and across England of what happened in Scotland, where we have still not recovered.

“Labour is the only party capable of delivering the change our capital city and country needs, and the only party that can unite progressives and close the door to the darkness and division of Reform. It’s time for us to be bold and show this to be true – before it’s too late.”