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Farage Racks Up UK Election Gains as Voters Punish Starmer

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Farage delivers a speech at the National Exhibition Centre on Feb. 9.Photographer: Darren Staples/Bloomberg

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By Gabrielle Ng

May 8, 2026 at 6:23 AM UTC

Good morning. Nigel Farage’s Reform UK racks up sweeping gains in the first counts in local elections. America strikes back at Iran. And Donald Trump is set to meet Xi Jinping next week. Listen to the day’s top stories.

Nigel Farage’s Reform UK made sweeping early gains as polls closed across England, Scotland and Wales, in an early sign that voters are turning away from Keir Starmer’s Labour Party. Reform UK won 311 new seats in local elections, while Labour’s tally was down by 237.