ISLAMABAD: Labour suffered heavy losses in early UK local election results on Friday, as Nigel Farage’s Reform UK made major gains across England and Prime Minister Keir Starmer came under renewed pressure, British media reported.

The Independent reported that Labour had lost control of eight councils, including traditional strongholds such as Tameside, Hartlepool and Wigan, as results from Thursday’s elections continued to come in.

Early tallies showed Reform winning 290 council seats, a gain of 270, while Labour had 229, down 202. The Liberal Democrats had 217 seats, up 29, the Conservatives 159, down 61, and the Greens 47, up 23.

PM Starmer acknowledged the scale of Labour’s setback, saying the results were “very tough” and that there was “no sugarcoating it.” He said Labour had lost dedicated councilors and added that he took responsibility.

Reform’s strongest early performances came in former Labour areas. In Hartlepool, the party won all 12 contested seats, while Labour lost seven and control of the council.

Reform also took Newcastle-under-Lyme from the Conservatives, its first council gain of the 2026 local elections. BBC reported that Reform won 27 seats there, underlining the party’s breakthrough in areas where it previously had little local representation.

Farage described the results as evidence of “historic change in British politics” and said Reform was making gains in traditional Labour areas. The party also claimed Labour voters were switching directly to Reform.

The results triggered fresh questions about Starmer’s leadership. Labour MP Jonathan Brash said the prime minister should step down, while Defence Secretary John Healey rejected that call and said Starmer remained the right person to turn the party’s position around.

Polling expert Sir John Curtice, who leads the BBC’s results analysis, said Reform was winning at least a third of declared seats and performing especially well in areas that backed Brexit. He said Reform appeared to have taken from the Conservatives the coalition that supported Boris Johnson in 2019.

The Conservatives also lost ground, although they pointed to some gains as evidence of resilience.

The Liberal Democrats and Greens both made gains, adding to signs of a more fragmented electoral landscape.

More results are expected throughout Friday from councils in England, along with devolved elections in Scotland and Wales.

Local Elections

Reform UK surges as Labour suffers heavy local election losses