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Reform UK Ends 47-Year Labour Rule; Greens Capture Hackney Mayor

5/8/2026

36 5 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

Reform UK won every seat in Wigan and ended 47 years of Labour control in Tameside.
Nigel Farage, Reform UK leader, called the result a historic change in British politics.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he accepts responsibility for the losses and will not resign.
Labour MPs John McDonnell and Jonathan Brash urged Starmer to set a departure timetable while the Green Party won its first directly elected mayor in Hackney.

History

Historical Context

In May 1997 the United Kingdom held a general election that ended 18 years of Conservative rule under Prime Minister John Major. Tony Blair’s rebranded Labour Party won 418 seats, a 179-seat majority, while the Conservatives fell to 165 seats. The shock defeat reshaped British politics, prompting later local upsets to be seen as harbingers of national realignment.

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Story summary

Reform UK won every seat in Wigan and ended 47 years of Labour control in Tameside.
Nigel Farage, Reform UK leader, called the result a historic change in British politics.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he accepts responsibility for the losses and will not resign.
Labour MPs John McDonnell and Jonathan Brash urged Starmer to set a departure timetable while the Green Party won its first directly elected mayor in Hackney.

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