Early local election results show major Labour losses to Reform UK, prompting calls for Keir Starmer’s resignation amid vows to stay the course.
MISRYOUM Politics News — Keir Starmer’s Labour government is pressing ahead with its campaign to “stay the course” even as early local election results point to sweeping losses, especially in parts of northern England where Reform UK has surged.
Defence Secretary John Healey said the prime minister would remain in office despite the prospect of significant setbacks for Labour on the council map.. Speaking to Sky News on Friday morning. Healey framed Starmer’s response as both determined and duty-bound. arguing that the government was still within its first stretch of what is meant to be a five-year term.
Healey acknowledged that “too many” Labour councillors have lost their seats. and he conceded that national political sentiment toward the Labour government has made the challenge harder for local candidates.. “What’s happened here is that we’re less than two years into a five-year term of a national government. ” he said. adding that Starmer would recognize that Labour needs to deliver more than it has so far.
He also argued that voters need a stronger sense of hope and that the party must be “bolder” in its approach. insisting the government can still turn things around.. To support that argument. Healey looked back to Labour’s own history. recalling that the party lost more than 1. 100 councillors in the 1999 local elections just two years after its 1997 landslide general election victory. before going on to win the 2001 and 2005 general elections.
The early results so far underline how sharp that challenge is expected to be.. While many outcomes were still pending at the time of writing. declared results show Reform UK making major gains in areas that have traditionally backed Labour. including Hartlepool and Wigan.. The pattern, as reported, also extends across parts of the north of England and into the Midlands.
In Tameside. a borough that includes the constituency of former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner. control has moved from longstanding Labour dominance to “no overall control” after Reform gains.. The shift signals that Labour’s losses are not confined to symbolic defeats; the party appears at risk of losing ground that has been built over many election cycles.
Wigan is another focal point.. Reform won 24 of 25 seats up for grabs, and the result lands in the constituency of Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy.. In both Wigan and Tameside. the Greens increased their vote share significantly. a sign that Labour is being squeezed from more than one political direction and not solely by a rightward insurgency.
The blow to Labour is particularly stark in Hartlepool.. Labour MP Jonathan Brash has called for Starmer to resign after Reform took all 12 seats up for grabs in the local election.. Brash said Labour lost its majority on the council after taking control in May 2024. and he attributed the outcome to what he described as a failure of leadership at the top of the party.
Brash urged the prime minister to “set out a timetable” for his resignation as quickly as possible. while also characterizing the result as a “terrible” one for Labour in Hartlepool.. His comments reflect how quickly local election outcomes can translate into national pressure inside governing parties. especially when the losses appear concentrated in seats Labour had been relying on.
Other Labour figures, however, are trying to cool the internal calls for a change at the top.. Justice minister Sarah Sackman said she expects Starmer to lead the Labour Party into the next general election. telling Sky News that Brash’s pressure was being issued even before Friday’s results fully landed.
Sackman said she disagreed with the idea that the prime minister should respond “with a mood. ” arguing instead that leadership should be grounded in a plan.. She also criticized what she called the “psycho drama” of a revolving door of prime ministers. saying people want stability rather than constant leadership churn.
Even so, Sackman said Labour cannot ignore what voters are signaling. She said the government needs to “tell a better story,” and that progress should be “proudly” rooted in Labour’s identity, while emphasizing clear direction and visible leadership.
To respond to the concerns voters are raising. Sackman pointed to existing government initiatives. including investments in clean energy and the move to bring the Renters’ Rights Act into force. arguing they should be given a chance to work.. She also stressed that Labour should heed voter messaging on cost of living and everyday conditions. framing the need for further action as a matter of listening and delivering.
Beyond Labour. the early council results are also being read as confirmation that Reform is attracting support from across the political spectrum.. The Conservatives were reported as showing signs of bleeding support to Reform. leaving them at risk of losing councils such as Essex. Hampshire. and Norfolk later on Friday.
Still, there are mixed signals. The Conservatives won Westminster Council and became the biggest party in Wandsworth, suggesting London could become a key battleground as part of Kemi Badenoch’s broader effort to rebuild Conservative fortunes.
The Liberal Democrats also appear to be experiencing uneven momentum. They won control of some councils in both the north and south of England, but they lost Hull City Council to Reform UK, reinforcing that Reform’s advance is not only a two-party contest.
Most council results are expected to be declared through Friday and into Saturday, with election outcomes in Wales and Scotland also in focus. Voters will also be casting ballots for the Senedd and Holyrood, meaning the political picture could shift further once results are fully tallied.
With the calendar still unfolding, the central question for Labour is whether Healey’s call to “work our way back”—and Sackman’s insistence on stability and a planned course—can withstand the immediate shock of seat losses and the growing intensity of pressure from within the party and beyond it.
Keir Starmer John Healey Labour election losses Reform UK local council results Hartlepool Wigan