Farage Calls Local Elections a Referendum on Starmer at Reform Launch

Nigel Farage formally launched Reform UK's campaign for the May 7 polls at the Sunderland Live Arena in Houghton-le-Spring on Thursday, telling supporters that the vote was not really about local government at all. "This effectively becomes, even though they're local elections, a referendum on Keir Starmer's premiership," Farage told reporters at the event.

The crowd cheered when Farage said voters could deliver a "decisive blow" that would mean "Starmer would be out of office by the end of May." He pressed the argument further, saying national politics play a "massive impact" on local elections: "I do think there are lots of people, including many loyal Labour voters for generations, who really don't think Keir Starmer is the right man to lead the country. I think this becomes a referendum on him."

Reform is targeting councils across England in what the Clacton MP framed as an existential contest for Labour in the North East. "It's going to be a straight fight, us against the Labour Party in these areas like Sunderland, in these areas like Gateshead," Farage said, noting that Labour are "defending far more seats in these elections than we are" and have "dominated" Sunderland's local government and Westminster parliamentary elections for a century. He said support for Reform at local government level on 7 May would act as a "stepping stone to change in national government."

On the practical pitch to voters, Farage kept it tight: "We'll cut expenditures, we'll find waste, we'll keep your council tax rises to a minimum." Central to his argument was Reform's claim to have identified £700 million in savings across its 12 councils, which Farage said had been delivered "without touching frontline services." Those figures have been disputed by opposition councillors, however, with Labour pointing to care homes and adult education services closing in Reform-run Derbyshire and criticising the party for increasing council tax despite pre-election promises to cut the levy.

By February 2026, the government had confirmed that 30 of 63 council elections would be postponed, but following a legal challenge by Reform UK, the government withdrew its plans to delay the elections. The reversal cleared the way for around 5,000 seats across 136 local councils to go to voters on 7 May as originally scheduled. On the same day, there will also be devolved elections to the Senedd and the Scottish Parliament.

Reform continues to lead in the polls and is expected to do well in May, adding to the 677 councillors it won in last year's local elections. Farage said his party would be "competitive" in some areas and in others he "genuinely thinks we've got a chance of winning." He had previously announced plans to spend more than £5 million in the run-up to the local elections, calling this year's set of polls the "single most important event" before the next general election.