Keir Starmer ‘not going to walk away’ despite Labour election woes

Keir Starmer insisted he would not quit despite an electoral mauling in Labour’s heartlands as Nigel Farage’s Reform UK made stunning gains.

The UK prime minister said he was hurt by “tough” results which saw Labour lose hundreds of councillors in England and suffer humiliation in Wales.

First Minister of Wales Eluned Morgan failed to win a seat in the newly-expanded Senedd, with Plaid Cymru and Reform hammering Labour.

In Scotland, the SNP looked set to remain the largest party after 19 years in power.

Farage claimed the elections illustrated a “truly historic shift in British politics”.

Labour also suffered from voters switching to the Green Party as Zack Polanski declared the era of two-party politics “is not just dying, it is dead and it is buried”.

Starmer, whose position was already under pressure over Labour’s plummeting poll ratings, acknowledged his Government had made “unnecessary mistakes” in office but added: “I’m not going to walk away and plunge the country into chaos.”

He said: “The results are tough, they are very tough, and there’s no sugar-coating it.

“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.”

Reform took Sunderland from Labour, a council containing Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson’s Westminster seat.

It also became the second largest party in Tameside as Labour lost its majority in the Greater Manchester council after an uninterrupted run of 47 years in charge – the area contains the parliamentary constituency of former deputy party leader Angela Rayner.

In Barnsley, Reform ended more than 50 years of Labour rule.

Reform’s successes also included wins in Havering, its first London borough, and taking Essex County Council – Tory leader Kemi Badenoch’s local authority – and Suffolk from the Conservatives.

Farage said: “It’s a big, big day, not just for our party, but for a complete reshaping of British politics in every way.”

In a concession speech after failing to win a seat in the Senedd, Baroness Morgan said Sir Keir’s Government had to change course.

She said: “Results across the whole of the UK have demonstrated deep frustration with the Labour Party.

“We need to go back to being the party of the working class.

“We need the Labour Government nationally to change course.”

In London, the Green Party defeated Labour mayors in Hackney and Lewisha while in Manchester the Greens gained 17 seats, illustrating the threat they pose in Labour’s former urban strongholds.

Former Cabinet minister Louise Haigh told ITV Calendar: “I think what is abundantly clear is that unless the Government delivers significant and urgent change, then the Prime Minister cannot lead us into another election.”

Richard Burgon, leader of the Socialist Campaign Group of left-wing Labour MPs, demanded Sir Keir set out the timetable for his departure.

“It is clear that Keir has fought his last election as Labour leader and, deep down, he will know it,” he said.

Burgon warned against a “stitch up” of the type that prevented Andy Burnham from standing in the Gorton and Denton by-election

The Greater Manchester Mayor is widely viewed as a potential challenger to Starmer if he can find a way to win a by-election to return to Westminster.

Andrea Egan, general secretary of the Unison union, warned “Labour faces political oblivion because it’s simply not delivering for the majority of people” and “there’ll clearly be a change of Labour leader sooner or later”.

Key developments after 90 of 136 English councils had declared full results:

– Labour had a net loss of 464 seats and 15 authorities.

– Reform gained control of six councils and added 748 seats.

– The Conservatives suffered a net loss of three councils and 269 councillors.

– The Liberal Democrats won control in Portsmouth and gained a net 46 seats across the country.

– The Green Party gained control of Norwich and put on 64 councillors.

– In Scotland after 68 first-past-the-post results, the SNP had 55 seats, with the Liberal Democrats on five, the Conservatives on four, Labour on two and the Scottish Greens on two.

– In Wales, Plaid Cymru will be the biggest party in the Senedd. After 15 of the 16 constituencies declared, Plaid Cymru had 39 seats, Reform 32, Labour nine, the Conservatives seven, the Greens two and the Liberal Democrats one.