Reform UK Surges as Labour Suffers Heavy Losses in 2026 Local Elections: What the Results Mean

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Thursday’s local elections across England delivered a political earthquake. Reform UK made dramatic gains across the country, Labour lost hundreds of councillors and control of multiple councils, and the Conservatives continued their slow bleed; all pointing to a fundamental reshaping of British politics less than two years into Keir Starmer’s government.

Reform’s Historic Breakthrough

Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, recorded gains of roughly 367 councillors in what commentators are calling a historic realignment in English local politics. The party took control of councils including Havering in outer east London, Newcastle-under-Lyme, and Suffolk County Council — the last of which had been in Conservative hands for decades. Having held no councils at all before yesterday, Reform now controls at least one outright.

Farage described the night as a “historic shift” for British politics. His party’s strategy of targeting working-class areas in England’s north and midlands — traditionally safe Labour territory — appears to have paid off in a big way. Seats that Labour won comfortably in 2022 when it polled 35% nationally are now falling to a party polling above 27%.

Labour’s Bruising Night

Labour shed over 254 councillors and lost control of at least eight councils. The losses stretched from northern strongholds like Rochdale, Blackburn with Darwen, and Bolton, to symbolically painful defeats in places like Tameside — where former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner has her constituency — and Sheffield, where Labour lost 13 seats in a single night.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer acknowledged the results were “very tough” but insisted he would not resign. Speaking on Friday morning with about a quarter of votes counted, Starmer said voters had sent a message about the pace of change. Senior figures within the party and allied unions are already calling for a reckoning over leadership and direction.

Starmer’s popularity has fallen sharply since Labour’s general election victory in 2024. His government has struggled to deliver on growth and public services, and has faced repeated controversies — most notably his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, who has been linked to Jeffrey Epstein, as the UK’s ambassador to the United States. Welfare reform U-turns, a difficult relationship with unions, and ongoing cost of living pressures have all added to a sense that Labour has lost the plot faster than most expected.

Conservatives: Mixed Picture, Some London Bright Spots

For the Conservatives, the story was complicated. The party lost 146 councillors overall and ceded ground to Reform in Leave-voting areas, but leader Kemi Badenoch pointed to pockets of recovery in London boroughs as evidence that the party is capable of rebuilding. Whether that’s enough to reassure a party that lost the Kevin Bentley — the leader of the Conservative group on the Local Government Association — his own county seat to Reform is a question the party will be wrestling with for some time.

Lib Dems and Greens Make Quiet Progress

The Liberal Democrats gained 35 councillors and took control of one additional council, with strong performances in southern England and outer London. In the London Borough of Sutton, they held firm with 51 seats. The Greens added 27 councillors and won the Hackney mayoralty — a first for the borough — and made notable gains in Cambridge, Sheffield, and several inner-London areas, building on momentum from their recent Gorton and Denton by-election victory.

What Does This Mean for the Next General Election?

Professor John Curtice of the University of Strathclyde summed up the mood of many political observers when he said Britain is entering a new era in which “none of the parties are very big.” The fragmentation on show in yesterday’s results — with votes splitting across five or six parties in many areas — is a long way from the two-party battles that defined British elections for most of the 20th century.

For Labour, the immediate pressure is on Starmer’s leadership. Names being floated as potential successors include Health Secretary Wes Streeting, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, and former Deputy PM Angela Rayner — though Rayner’s own council falling to no overall control last night may complicate her position.

For Reform, the task now is turning a local government breakthrough into a sustainable national movement. Nigel Farage has been building towards this moment for years, and the results suggest his party now has an activist base and a local presence that could translate into serious parliamentary gains at the next general election. The political map of England is being redrawn — and the pace of change is faster than almost anyone predicted.