Votes are still being tallied after Britain's local authority elections, but it seems clear that it has been a bit of a bloodbath for the ruling Labour Party.
Labour has gone from 65 councils to just 28. Most of them were converted into "no party majority", but several Labour councils went directly to the surging hard-right Reform UK party (and a handful to the Green Party). Reform ended up with a majority in 14 councils, and the Greens with 4, both up from zero in the last election. The centrist Liberal Democrats also had a good showing, increasing its count from 1 to 15 councils. The Conservatives continued their down-and-out status, losing most of the few councils they used to control.
In Wales, once-dominant Labour lost 26 of its 35 seats, and the Conservatives lost 15 of their 22, with ascendant Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru becoming the largest party, although Reform UK also did better there, taking 34 seats (up from zero). In Scotland, the Scottish National party retained their dominance (although just short of an outright majority), despite a surge from Reform and the Greens, with the Conservatives seeing the biggest flops.
However, although Reform UK has clearly made significant gains in these local elections, it was maybe not as dramatic as expected by many, and there is some speculation that Reform's support may have already peaked. Reform leader Nigel Farage, of course, is claiming a "historic change in British politics" and asserting that Reform UK is on track for a general election victory, but this was probably not the landslide he had been hoping for in his heart of hearts.
Either way, overall, Labour was the big loser, and almost everyone is saying that the single biggest reason was national Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, even though he has nothing really to do with regional municipal politics. Maybe it makes no logical sense, but this election was in essence a referendum on Keir Starmer's leadership (and on the extent of Reform UK's surge).
The man is REALLY unpopular, and has been for some time, in spite of his broadly popular stance on the Iran war. Not only has be failed to deliver on what he mainly campaigned on in the last election - improving Britain's public services, which are creaking and all but moribundnafter years of Tory neglect - Starmer is just seen as bland, prevaricating and weak. A skit on SNL UK last week says it all about how the British people look on the once-popular Sir Keir Starmer.
For all that he insists that he is not going anywhere, there doesn't seem any way he can extricate himself from this situation, and many Labour MPs and voters are already looking ahead to a new leader, on the grounds that there is no way Labour can win another election with Starmer in place. (As of today, at least 90 of his own Labour MPs are calling for Starmer to stand down, and at least three cabinet ministers have tendered their resignations, so there doesn't seem to be any way back for him now.) Britain has burned through five prime ministers in the last seven years - that may soon turn into six.
As for who might replace Starmer, Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham is many people's favourite to replace Starmer, although Burnham is not an elected MP (a pre-requisite for the leadership position). Another popular choice is Health Secretary Wes Streeting, with one-time deputy prime minister Angela Rayner as a longer shot.
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