Britain's Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer speaks to Labour Party members at Kingsdown Methodist Church Hall, in Ealing, west London, on May 8, 2026, a day after the local elections. STEFAN ROUSSEAU / AP
UK leader Keir Starmer said on Friday, May 8, that he took responsibility for "very tough" local election results that saw the insurgent hard-right make big gains, but vowed to carry on as prime minister. "I'm not going to walk away and plunge the country into chaos," Starmer said, after his ruling Labour party lost hundreds of councilors in England. Labour was also braced for humiliating results in voting for the devolved parliaments in Scotland and Wales due to be announced later in the day.
"The results are tough, they are very tough, and there's no sugarcoating it," Starmer said. "We have lost brilliant Labour representatives across the country, these are people who put so much into their communities, so much into our party."
"And that hurts, and it should hurt, and I take responsibility," he added. The ballot is the biggest electoral test for the beleaguered Starmer since Labour ousted the Conservatives following 14 years in power in a landslide election victory less than two years ago. Grim results for Labour predicted by opinion polls appeared to be being borne out in some areas first to declare.
