How regional elections reshape Britain's political landscape

A man leaves a polling station after voting for local elections in London, Britain, May 7, 2026. (Photo by Ray Tang/Xinhua)

The final results point to a more fragmented political landscape, with voters moving away from the traditional Labour-Conservative contest and toward new parties such as Reform UK.

by Xinhua writers Zhao Jiasong, Yu Aicen, Larry Neild

LONDON, May 9 (Xinhua) -- Britain's latest local and regional elections have delivered a fresh blow to the ruling Labour Party, while Reform UK made major gains in England and nationalist parties strengthened their positions in Wales and Scotland.

The final results released on Saturday are seen as an important political test after Labour's landslide victory in the July 2024 general election. They also point to a more fragmented political landscape, with voters moving away from the traditional Labour-Conservative contest and toward new parties such as Reform UK.

REFORM SURGE IN ENGLAND

During this year's English local elections, voters cast ballots for more than 5,000 council seats across 136 councils, the largest set of local contests in England for three years.

Final results showed that Labour lost almost 1,500 council seats in England and surrendered control of around 40 local councils, including several traditional strongholds, while Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, emerged as one of the biggest winners of the elections, gaining more than 1,400 council seats and taking control of 14 local councils, many in traditional Labour or Conservative strongholds, better than its last year's performance.

Ian Scott, a professor with the University of Manchester, told Xinhua that Labour's losses in Hartlepool and Tameside were blows to the party's "heartland vote" in traditional areas. He said voters moving to Reform and the Greens appeared to be looking for "something different," adding that many voters increasingly saw Labour and the Conservatives as not very different from each other.

A woman walks past a polling station for local elections in London, Britain, May 7, 2026. (Photo by Ray Tang/Xinhua)

"Reform UK lacks governing experience and reliable policy proposals that have been tested in practice. Its performance at the local level will test whether it can become a mature political force," said Yang Fang, a research fellow at the Institute of European Studies of the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

Meanwhile, Reform UK's leader Farage is facing scrutiny over political finance transparency. The Guardian reported that he had received an undisclosed 5-million-pound (about 6.8 billion U.S. dollars) personal gift from a crypto billionaire in 2024. The party said the money was a personal, unconditional gift used for security purposes, and Farage later told Sky News that he had taken the money for "protection."

WESTMINSTER CHALLENGED BY NATIONALISTS

Nationalist parties also reshaped the electoral map in Britain's devolved parliaments, with Plaid Cymru becoming the largest party in the Senedd, or the Welsh Parliament, for the first time after winning 43 seats on Friday.

That result ended Labour's century-long dominance in Wales, where the party had also led the regional government since the Senedd was established in 1999.

Reform UK came second with 34 seats, while Welsh Labour dropped to third place with nine. Plaid Cymru finished six seats short of an outright majority, but party leader Rhun ap Iorwerth said the party would "take the necessary steps to form the next Government of Wales."

"We're probably in the most significant inflection point in Welsh political history since devolution began almost 30 years ago," Louis Bromfield, a researcher at Swansea University, told Xinhua. "Fundamentally, it's a completely new political landscape."

A polling station for local elections is seen in London, Britain, May 7, 2026. (Photo by Ray Tang/Xinhua)

Bromfield said a Plaid Cymru-led government would likely be quicker to challenge Westminster Labour and push for greater devolved powers and fairer funding for Wales.

Before Plaid Cymru's victory, Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan failed to win re-election in the newly created Ceredigion Penfro constituency and announced her resignation as leader of Welsh Labour.

In Scotland, the Scottish National Party (SNP) won a fifth consecutive term in government after winning 58 seats in the 129-seat parliament, according to results announced early Saturday. However, it fell short of the 65 seats needed for a majority.

Reform UK also made significant gains in Scotland, winning 17 seats, equal to Scottish Labour, while the Conservatives dropped to 12 seats. Analysts said Reform UK's breakthrough reflected growing voter dissatisfaction with traditional parties across Britain.

LABOUR'S INTERNAL FRACTURES

The results have put Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the ruling Labour Party under mounting pressure.

Starmer said Friday that he was "not going to walk away" amid Labour's projected losses in the elections. On Saturday morning, before the final ballots were counted, he appointed former Prime Minister Gordon Brown as his special envoy on global finance and cooperation, a decision BBC said was to "shore up his position" after the party's heavy election losses.

"As Britain's longest-serving Chancellor, Gordon is well-placed to work with our international allies to build a stronger Britain and boost our country's security and resilience," Starmer said on social media.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (L) and his wife leave a polling station after voting for local elections in London, Britain, May 7, 2026. (Photo by Ray Tang/Xinhua)

John Bryson, a professor with the University of Birmingham, told Xinhua that Labour could either rally behind Starmer and rapidly develop policies to improve economic growth and wellbeing, or change the prime minister nearly midway through the parliamentary term.

Bryson said a leadership change would expose Labour's internal fractures and could become "messy." He said the deeper challenge was that Britain was experiencing "a generational alteration" in its political structure, with Labour and the Conservatives challenged by new parties, especially Reform UK.

Starmer insisted that he would not shift his political course simply to counter pressure from other parties. "While we must respond to the message that voters have sent us, that doesn't mean tacking right or left," he wrote in The Guardian on Friday.

Karl Pike, a senior lecturer in public policy at Queen Mary, University of London, wrote in The Conversation that Starmer was in "a kind of lame duck political position." He said few people expected Starmer to lead Labour into the next general election, but Labour MPs remained divided over how, when and whether to replace him.

Both experts argued Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham could attract support as a potential challenger to Starmer, but noted that he is not currently an MP.

The Financial Times reported that the focus will now be on "Burnham's mooted return to Westminster." It said that more than 20 Labour MPs have now called for Starmer to "quit or set a date for his departure" after the elections, but Lucy Powell, Labour's deputy and an ally of Burnham, said, "All that would do is fire the starting gun for a very distracting and ongoing debate about leadership."