Conservatives and Labour lose ground to Reform in local elections

The Conservatives have lost council seats to Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats, as Kemi Badenoch warned her predictions of a tough set of elections are “proving” true.
Reform have taken Lincolnshire and Staffordshire councils out of Conservative control, with Nigel Farage’s party sweeping hundreds of council seats across England, while Sir Ed Davey’s party made gains at the Tories’ expense in Devon.
Labour have also been hit at the ballot box by Mr Farage as Sir Keir Starmer conceded his party’s loss to Reform in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election was “disappointing”, with Reform also taking control of the council in Durham.
Votes were continuing to be counted in council and mayoral contests on Friday afternoon.
Mrs Badenoch insisted that the “renewal” of the Conservatives has “only just begun” as she thanked those who had campaigned.
‘Difficult’
In a post on X, she said: “These were always going to be a very difficult set of elections coming off the high of 2021, and our historic defeat last year – and so it’s proving.
“The renewal of our party has only just begun and I’m determined to win back the trust of the public and the seats we’ve lost, in the years to come.”
Reform took control in Lincolnshire on Friday, having won more than half of the 70 total seats. The Conservatives had previously led the council with 54 seats, but were down in single figures.
There were similar stories in Staffordshire and Lancashire where Reform took control from the Conservatives.
The Lib Dems narrowly failed to take control of Devon County Council, another council which had been previously Conservative-run.
However amid the council losses the Tories took a mayoralty from Labour, with victory for ex-MP Paul Bristow in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
The position had been Labour held since 2021, but their candidate Anna Smith came in third behind the Lib Dems.
Local councils
The picture on local councils has been emerging through Friday, after Reform’s victory by just six votes in Runcorn and Helsby set a new record for the smallest majority at a parliamentary by-election since the Second World War.
The contest was triggered when former Labour MP Mike Amesbury quit after admitting to punching a constituent.
Amesbury won 53% of the vote less than a year ago at the general election – and the defeat, along with Reform gains in other Labour heartlands, will cause unease in Downing Street.
Speaking to reporters during a visit to Bedfordshire on Friday following the result, Sir Keir said: “What I want to say is, my response is we get it.
“We were elected in last year to bring about change.”
He said that his party has “started that work”, such as bringing in measures to cut NHS waiting lists, adding: “I am determined that we will go further and faster on the change that people want to see.”
Labour also lost their status as the biggest party on Durham County Council, as Reform took control of the patch in the North East.
Change course
Labour MPs including Diane Abbott and Brian Leishman publicly called on the Government to change course following the Runcorn result, arguing that voters had wanted an end to austerity but faced further cuts.
“The first 10 months haven’t been good enough or what the people want and if we don’t improve people’s living standards then the next government will be an extreme right-wing one,” Mr Leishman, who was first elected last year, said.
Sir Keir was asked by reporters whether he would reconsider unpopular policy changes, such as means-testing the winter fuel payment, amid murmurs of backbench discontent in the wake of the results.
“The reason that we took the tough but right decisions in the budget was because we inherited a broken economy,” he told Sky News.
“Maybe other prime ministers would have walked past that, pretended it wasn’t there… I took the choice to make sure our economy was stable.”
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Nige is telling Durham council employees working on DEI and climate change to find another job.
So, trump fascist policies right in the UK via a trump/putin stooge. Hate and bile right there, all reform ever are and all they ever will be. Hope the legals tie him up in knots.
Popcorn time.
Not being funny but if you want to avoid that in Wales next year, if you don’t want to vote Labour but want to keep Reform to as few seats as possible, you need to vote Plaid. Anything else splits the vote and even under the supposedly proportional d’Hondt method, we end up letting reform in. Saw it in Llanelli last year. Cons vote defected to Reform. Lab vote dropped and split 4 ways. Llanelli now a 3 horse race between Lab/Ref/Plaid.
Plaid is the only sensible choice in Wales even if it’s just a loan vote to put an FM in Cardiff Bay that isn’t dancing to London Labour’s tune.
Seen the numbers that vote plaid in a few area’s? You need many thousands more not to get beaten by reform.
Why do you think I go out lnocking doors for Plaid? Why not add your shoulder to the wheel Jeff? If not now, when?
Dumb comment from me, I was thinking GE. New rules for Senedd next year.
However, I do, I vote, always have but there are a few on the ballot paper I have not voted for over the years. Plaid is not one I have avoided in the locals. However this time around it will be best effort to keep reform out but avoid Tory as well.
Looking at the latest figures, Conservative council seats have all gone to Reform while Labour’s losses have boosted the Dems and the Greens. Which just goes to show Reform are the Cons cunningly disguised with a slightly lighter shade of blue.
Labour and the Conservatives are finally facing the challenge they should have received years ago. Considering the demise of living standards under both parties over the last few decades. However, Reform are not the answer, they class themselves as the working persons party but are run by a former commodities broker worth millions. Labour – in power – need to start delivering if the Senedd is not to face the risk of being lost, next year, and 2029 too. But also Plaid. Plaid need to up a gear. They need to be the centre left opposition to Reform – a… Read more »
I’m really glad I don’t live in an area with so much hatred. Those poor brits have no idea how badly this is going to go.