Starmer faces quit calls after Labour losses, Daly and Kay split

The local elections were held on Thursday 7 May across England, with contests also taking place in Scotland and Wales. Several reports said Labour lost control of eight councils: Westminster, Southampton, Exeter, Redditch, Wandsworth, Hartlepool, Tamworth and Tameside. The scale of the losses made the votes look less like a routine local setback and more like an unofficial referendum on Starmer and the direction of the Labour Party.

Starmer moved quickly to blunt talk of a wider collapse. He said he took responsibility for the “very tough” results, but he would not resign and would carry on as Labour leader. Reuters reported that he vowed to remain in post, while Associated Press said he accepted the results as his own burden without conceding that his leadership was finished.

The strength of Reform UK’s showing added to the pressure. Nigel Farage’s party emerged as one of the clearest beneficiaries of the local vote, underlining a shift in parts of the electorate that Labour had hoped to consolidate after the general election. The results in places such as Wandsworth and Westminster carried particular weight because they suggested that even areas with strong political histories were open to protest or realignment. For Labour, the question is no longer just how many councils were lost, but whether those losses point to a deeper loss of trust in the government’s message and pace.