Politics: Counting of votes continues in the local elections in Britain, with early results giving the Reform UK party a lead.
So far, 46 councils have declared results in England, with 90 still to go. Here’s a look at the numbers:
Reform UK: The party has gained around 400 councillors. While that’s a big win in terms of seat numbers, it has only translated into them taking control of two new councils so far: Havering and Newcastle-under-Lyme.
That’s in part because for most councils which counted overnight, only a third of the seats were up for grabs – there will be more opportunities for gains throughout the day.
Labour: It’s down around 260 seats and has lost control of eight councils so far. Seven of those have fallen into no overall control. Further losses are expected.
Liberal Democrats: It’s been a mixed bag of results. The party is up by almost 40 seats, and have taken control of Stockport and Portsmouth. But they’ve lost control of one council – Hull – with Reform gains pushing it into no overall control. The party is hoping for more gains later.
Conservative: Down around 170 seats, the party so far lost control of two councils: Hampshire and Newcastle-under-Lyme.
But the Tories have won Westminster from Labour. And in Wandsworth, although they haven’t won an outright majority, they removed Labour’s, and are now the biggest party by a razor-thin margin. Both were seen as good prospects for the party – further gains will be more challenging.
The Green Party: It has picked up almost 30 more seats overnight, but the party’s key targets, in inner London, and the areas where they probably have the best chance of winning control of the council – Hackney and Lewisham – are not due to declare results until later.
Starmer: “I’m not going to walk away and plunge the country into chaos,”
“I’m not going to walk away and plunge the country into chaos,” he says, after the first results in England showed losses for Labour.
He points to Labour’s landslide victory in the July 2024 general election: “I led our party to that victory, that is a five-year mandate to change the country.”
Starmer says that “in the coming days”, he’ll “set out the further steps” that Labour will take to convince the electorate.
Asked if he will stand in the next general election, he replies: “Yes. Itwas a five-year term I was elected to do, I intend to see that through.”
These are tough results for Labour. There’s no sugarcoating it. We’ve lost brilliant Labour representatives who’ve stood up for their communities.
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) May 8, 2026
People are still frustrated. Their lives aren’t changing fast enough. We haven’t offered enough hope or optimism for the future.
I… pic.twitter.com/fX70cmFKpQ
On the other political field, Nigel warmly greeted by Reform UK supporters, as he says early results in England show a “truly historic shift”.
Farage says Havering town hall is now “under new management” – Reform has just surpassed the 28-seat majority needed to take control of the council.
"It's a big, big day," Nigel Farage says
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) May 8, 2026
It's a "complete reshaping of British politics", the Reform UK leader adds
Follow live results and analysis: https://t.co/xrJch3u7Mf pic.twitter.com/qq3xwm1sj9
Source: BBC
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