British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Labour party were faced with the prospect of serious political damage as voting got under way in the council elections in England alongside the Assembly elections in Scotland, and Wales on Thursday (May 7, 2026).
More than 5,000 seats in 136 councils of England were up for grabs with the Labour Party defending 2,566 seats and the Conservatives on 1,364 seats. The last elections for these seats were in 2022, when the nativist Reform U.K. had won just two seats. Last year, Reform had won 667 seats – the largest number - that were up for elections.
