"Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on as prime minister despite early results in local elections that show his party suffering heavy losses, many at the hands of Nigel Farage's Reform UK. Starmer struck a defiant note on Friday morning in the face of calls from some of his MPs to quit, insisting he remained as determined as ever to deliver the promises on which he was elected less than two years ago."
"Starmer admitted on Friday morning the results were looking bad for his party. The results are tough, they are very tough, and there's no sugarcoating it, he said. We have lost brilliant Labour representatives across the country, these are people who put so much into their communities, so much into our party. And that hurts, and it should hurt, and I take responsibility."
"But he added: I accept that [the results] reflect voters don't feel that their lives have changed enough or quickly enough, and that's been going on for a long time. We were elected to deal with that, and I'm not going to walk away from that responsibility and plunge the country into chaos. By Friday morning, Labour had lost about half the council seats it was contesting, losing control of councils in Hartlepool, Tameside, Redditch and Tamworth."
"Reform's successes meanwhile look set to confirm its place as England's most popular party and underline the decline of the two-party domination of British politics. Some of the biggest losses came in the red wall former industrial seats that held the key to the Tories' election win in 2019, and to an extent Labour's victory in 2024. The party was proving more resilient in London, however, where it retained control in Ealing, and Hammersmith and Fulham."
Keir Starmer said he would continue as prime minister despite early local election results showing major losses for his party. Labour lost control of councils in several areas including Hartlepool, Tameside, Redditch, and Tamworth, with losses concentrated in former industrial “red wall” seats. Starmer acknowledged the results were very tough and said he would not walk away from responsibility or plunge the country into chaos. He accepted that voters felt their lives had not changed enough or quickly enough, and he said the losses reflected long-running concerns. Reform UK gained strongly, reinforcing its position as England’s most popular party and signaling a decline in traditional two-party dominance. Labour retained control in some London councils such as Ealing and Hammersmith and Fulham.
Read at www.theguardian.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]