Reform Wins Hundreds of Seats as Keir Starmer Resignation Debate Grows
Reform UK won hundreds of seats and took control of more councils in England this week, after local election results that party leader Nigel Farage described as a keir starmer resignation moment for Labour. Farage said the outcome in Havering showed a “truly historic shift in British politics,” after Reform won its first London borough.
The results covered more than 5,000 seats across 136 local authorities and six mayoral races. Reform also gained control of councils from Labour in Barnsley, Wakefield, Sunderland and Gateshead, while Newcastle-under-Lyme passed to Reform from the Conservatives.
Havering and the Farage claim
Farage spoke after Reform secured control of Havering, saying, “What's happened is a truly historic shift in British politics.” He added: “We've been so used to thinking about politics in terms of left and right, yet what Reform are able to do is to win in areas that have always been Conservative, but equally, we're proving in a big way that we could win in areas that Labour has dominated since the end of World War I.”
Farage also said support from voters would not be a “one-off,” calling the change “fundamental change” and saying voters “aren't just coming to us for a one-off, they're now becoming Reformers in every way.” That argument rests on more than one result: Reform won 24 out of 25 seats in Wigan when a third of the seats were up for election.
Labour and Conservative losses
Reform’s gains cut across both major parties’ territory. Barnsley, Wakefield, Sunderland and Gateshead moved from Labour control, while Newcastle-under-Lyme moved from the Conservatives. Hartlepool, Tameside, Redditch and Tamworth shifted to no overall control.
Sir John Curtice said Reform has done best in places that voted heavily for Brexit in 2016. A projected national share of the vote put Reform on 26%, ahead of the Greens on 18%, with Labour and the Conservatives both on 17% and the Liberal Democrats on 16%.
Reform’s wider reach
The scale matters because Reform was in its infancy the last time these councils were up for election, and when the national contests in Scotland and Wales took place. Last year, Reform gained control of 10 councils in England; this week’s results pushed that reach further, including the party’s first London borough in Havering.
For Labour and the Conservatives, the next test is whether those losses in council chambers translate into a broader problem at the national level. For Reform, the immediate proof point is whether the gains in Havering, Wigan and the councils it took from Labour and the Conservatives hold once those authorities start setting local policy and budgets.
