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  "path": "/partner/uk-starmer-vows-listen-voters-election",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-09T13:31:53.000Z",
  "site": "https://nukta.com",
  "tags": [
    "Keir Starmer",
    "Reform UK",
    "Nigel Farage"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\n\nBritish Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised Saturday he would \"listen to voters\" after Labour suffered a historic defeat in local and regional elections, losing nearly 1,400 council seats across England.\n\nThe hard-right Reform UK party led by Nigel Farage made sweeping gains, while calls within Labour for Starmer to resign grew louder.\n\n#### How badly did Labour lose in the UK local elections?\n\nLabour lost almost 1,400 council seats and ceded control of several local authorities, with its worst results coming in Wales, where the party lost control of the devolved government for the first time since the Cardiff parliament was established 27 years ago. Reform UK picked up nearly 1,500 of the 5,000 council seats available in England.\n\nThe Greens also gained more than 500 seats. The results in London were not as bad as predicted for Labour.\n\n#### What did Starmer say in response to the election results?\n\nWriting in The Guardian, Starmer said \"the right lesson is to listen to voters,\" while insisting that did not mean \"tacking right or left.\" He admitted his government had \"made unnecessary mistakes\" and failed to give the public \"hope\" or sustain trust that Labour was doing enough to deliver change.\n\nHe has vowed to remain as prime minister and is expected to attempt a reset of his leadership in a major speech on Monday, ahead of the State Opening of Parliament on Wednesday, when King Charles III will outline the government's legislative agenda.\n\n#### Are Labour lawmakers calling for Starmer to resign?\n\nClive Betts, Labour's joint longest-serving member of Parliament and not considered one of Starmer's obvious critics, urged the cabinet to act. \"There has to be a timetable.\n\nThere has to be a way to actually bring in a new leader properly and constructively in the next few months,\" he told BBC Radio. Despite growing pressure, no immediate move was made to challenge Starmer's leadership and cabinet colleagues publicly rallied around him.\n\nRobert Ford, professor of political science at the University of Manchester, was blunt about Starmer's prospects.\n\n\"There's just literally no example, zero example of a prime minister recovering from the kind of opinion poll ranking he has now,\" he told AFP. \"The public has decided they don't like it. I doubt they're going to change their mind.\"\n\n#### What happened in Scotland and Wales?\n\nIn Wales, Plaid Cymru, the nationalist party that seeks Welsh independence, emerged as the biggest party, with Reform second and Labour third.\n\nIn Scotland, the Scottish National Party remained the largest party but failed to win a majority, taking six fewer seats than in 2021. U.S. President Donald Trump congratulated SNP leader and Scottish First Minister John Swinney on his Truth Social platform, calling him a \"good man.\"\n\nTrump made no reference to Starmer, with whom relations have become strained over support for the president's war with Iran.\n\n#### How did Reform UK perform and what does it mean for British politics?\n\nReform UK, led by populist politician Nigel Farage, made gains across England, Scotland and Wales, cementing its position as a major force in British politics.\n\nThe results represent a significant shift toward hard-right and nationalist parties among a disillusioned electorate.\n\nTo shore up his position, Starmer enlisted party heavyweights Harriet Harman, who will take on an advisory role focused on combating violence against women and girls, and former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who will serve as a special envoy on global finance.",
  "title": "UK's Starmer vows to 'listen to voters' after election drubbing"
}