UK
Starmer Vows to Stay On as Farage Gains in Labour Heartlands
Keir Starmer in London, left, and Nigel Farage in Romford, on May 8.
Source: Getty Images, Bloomberg
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he had no plans to step aside as Labour leader after early results in local elections showed Nigel Farage’s populist Reform UK racking up sweeping gains over Britain’s governing party.
With more than 60% of English councils declared, Reform had logged a net gain of 890 seats, claiming control of local governments in traditional Labour and Conservative strongholds. While Labour’s tally was down by 679, the governing party’s losses were still below the pace of some of the worst-case predictions.