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Story perspectives

Labour loses 1,000 seats, Reform UK gains 1,300.

5/10/2026

30 7 Full Breakdown

Summary

Story summary

Labour lost about 1,000 council seats while Reform UK gained about 1,300 across England, Scotland and Wales.
London remained as Labour kept Hammersmith and Fulham and beat Liberal Democrats in Merton.
Labour leader Keir Starmer said the loss hurts, pledged not to resign and vowed change.
Analysts blamed Labour’s collapse on its “hero voter” strategy, noting polling expert Sir John Curtice says no party nears 30% of the vote.

History

Historical Context

The 1997 UK general election on 1 May saw Tony Blair’s Labour win 418 seats (43 % of the vote), ending 18 years of Conservative government after the reputational damage of the 1992 Black Wednesday crisis and Labour’s modernising reforms. Current local contests, where Labour has shed around 1,000 council seats while Reform UK gains about 1,300, mirror that historic volatility.

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Story summary

Labour lost about 1,000 council seats while Reform UK gained about 1,300 across England, Scotland and Wales.
London remained as Labour kept Hammersmith and Fulham and beat Liberal Democrats in Merton.
Labour leader Keir Starmer said the loss hurts, pledged not to resign and vowed change.
Analysts blamed Labour’s collapse on its “hero voter” strategy, noting polling expert Sir John Curtice says no party nears 30% of the vote.

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