U.K. election results: Starmer’s Labour suffers huge losses as hard-right Reform gains

Early results Friday from nationwide elections in Britain suggested a historic drubbing for Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party and sweeping gains for hard-right Reform U.K., led by Trump ally Nigel Farage.

LONDON — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is under pressure after his Labour Party faced a historic drubbing in local and regional elections that delivered sweeping gains for hard-right Reform UK, led by Trump ally Nigel Farage.

Subscribe to read this story ad-free

Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.

Labour shed hundreds of local councillors across England, facing humiliation as it lost control of key authorities across its traditional heartlands, squeezed on all sides by Reform, the populist left-wing Green Party, and a loose coalition of anti-establishment independents angered over Gaza.

In Wales, the party has lost power for the first time, with Plaid Cymru, the left-wing, pro-Welsh independence party, coming first and Reform second.