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Polls open in UK local elections seen as a verdict on Keir Starmer's ...
Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer and wife Victoria arrive at a polling station in central London, Thursday, May 7, 2026 to cast their votes in the local elections.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth) LONDON (AP) — British voters cast ballots Thursday in local and regional elections that could shake up the country's politics and deliver a heavy blow to embattled Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Starmer’s center-left Labour Party is bracing for big losses in polls that will choose about 5,000 local councilors and a handful of mayors across England, as well as semiautonomous parliaments in Scotland and Wales. They are the biggest set of elections since Labour swept to power in a landslide in July 2024, and Starmer’s opponents have painted them as a midterm referendum on the prime minister. Polls opened at 7 a.m. and will close at 10 p.m. (2100 GMT). Some local authorities will count ballots overnight, but the bulk of the results are likely to be declared on Friday afternoon. A rout could trigger moves by restive Labour lawmakers to oust a leader who led them to power less than two years ago. Even if Starmer survives for now, many analysts doubt he will lead the party into the next national election, which must be held by 2029. Starmer’s popularity has plunged after repeated missteps since he became prime minister in July 2024. His government has struggled to deliver promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of living — tasks made harder by the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, which has choked off oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. The prime minister has been further hurt by his disastrous decision to appoint Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as Britain’s ambassador to Washington. Labour is defending about 2,500 seats on English local councils, and party members are apprehensive it may lose many of them. Starmer already survived a crisis in February, when some Labour lawmakers, including the party’s leader in Scotland, urged him to quit over the Mandelson appointment. He has vowed to serve out his five-year term, but a bad result could spark a challenge from a high-profile rival such as Health Secretary Wes Streeting, former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner or Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham. Alternately, Starmer could face pressure from the party to set a timetable for his departure after an orderly leadership contest. Hard-right Reform UK expected to win big Luke Tryl of pollster More i...
Polls open across the UK in major test for Keir Starmer and Labour
Polling has opened across England, Scotland and Wales in a series of local, mayoral and parliamentary contests – the biggest electoral test Keir Starmer and the Labour government have faced since the 2024 general election.As millions of people across Britain go to the polls on Thursday, party leaders are poised for a set of results that could fundamentally change the political landscape nationally and across local authorities in England.The results will be closely watched by all parties, and are seen as the first major political test of an increasingly multiparty system. They come after months of Labour and the Conservatives languishing in the polls, and the growing popularity of smaller parties such as Reform UK, the Greens and the Liberal Democrats.The elections cover the Scottish and Welsh parliaments and 136 local councils in England, where 5,014 seats are being contested, including every one on all of London’s 32 borough councils, more than a dozen borough councils, six unitary councils, six county councils and three district councils. A further 73 councils are holding elections for half or a third of the seats available.There are also six mayoral contests – in Croydon, Hackney, Lewisham, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Watford.The polls for local elections will be open between 7am and 10pm, with the first results expected at about 12.30am on Friday, and a glut of further results from about 3am onwards.About a third of councils should have declared results by around 7am, while the most significant results – including the mayoral results in London boroughs, and council results in Manchester and Leeds – starting to come in at lunchtime.Reform UK leader Nigel Farage talks to members of the media during a photo call at College Green, Westminster. Photograph: Henry Nicholls/AFP/Getty Images Britain's main opposition Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch. Photograph: Adrian Dennis/ AFP via Getty Images By the end of Friday about 80 more councils will have declared results, but the final councils – including Croydon and Tower Hamlets in London and Hastings in Sussex – won’t declare until Saturday afternoon.Results in Scotland and Wales should become clear by about 4pm on Friday, with more local election results announced in the late afternoon and early evening.Counting for mayoral elections will only begin on Friday, with Hackney and Newham expected to declare at 1pm, Watford at 2pm, Lewisham at 3pm, Croydon at 4pm and Tower Hamlets at 6pm.After the May 2025 loc...
Starmer faces test as millions vote in UK local elections - RTÉ
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing a test at the ballot box as millions head to polling stations to cast their vote in crucial elections.
UK Local Elections 2024: Blow to Starmer, Finance and Political Impact
Millions voted in UK local elections expected to impact Keir Starmer and Labour. Investors react as political uncertainty raises borrowing costs.
