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2026 United Kingdom local elections

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2026 United Kingdom local elections
← 2025
7 May 2026
2027 →
  • 5,066 council seats in England[1][2]
  • 136 unitary, metropolitan, county, district and London councils in England[3]
  • 6 directly elected mayors in England
  • 2 council by-elections in Wales[1]
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Nigel Farage Keir Starmer Ed Davey
Party Reform UK Labour Liberal Democrats
Leader since 3 June 2024 4 April 2020 27 August 2020
Seats before 986 seats
78 up for election		 5,830 seats
2,196 up for election		 3,180 seats
663 up for election
Projected vote share[a] 26%
Decrease 4 pp		 17%
Decrease 3 pp		 16%
Decrease 1 pp
Councillors[5] 1,454 1,068 844
Councils[5] 14 28 15
Councillors ± Increase 1,452 Decrease 1,498 Increase 155
Councils ± Increase 14 Decrease 38 Increase 1
  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Leader Kemi Badenoch Zack Polanski
Party Conservative Green
Leader since 2 November 2024 2 September 2025
Seats before 4,180 seats
1,134 up for election		 914 seats
170 up for election
Projected vote share[a] 17%
Increase 2 pp		 18%
Increase 7 pp
Councillors[5] 801 587
Councils[5] 9 5
Councillors ± Decrease 563 Increase 441
Councils ± Decrease 6 Increase 5
  No overall control
  Aspire
   Labour   Conservative
  Liberal Democrats   Reform UK   Green

Local elections in the United Kingdom were held on 7 May 2026 for 5,066 English councillors[1] for 136 English local authorities[3] (all 32 London borough councils, 32 metropolitan boroughs, 18 unitary authorities, 6 county councils, 48 district councils) and six directly elected mayors in England. Most of these seats in England were last up for election in 2022. Some of these elections were postponed from 2025.[6][7]

No local elections were held in the rest of the United Kingdom, other than two by-elections in Wales. The 2026 Scottish Parliament election and 2026 Senedd election were held the same day.[8] The results were a success for both Reform UK and the Green Party (which had the largest increase in vote share), although Reform's vote share dropped since the previous election and the Greens underperformed opinion polls while Labour overperformed prior seat projections, and the vote projections showed a slight recovery for the Conservative Party. The Labour Party continued their collapse in vote share, with little change for the Liberal Democrats.The elections resulted in Reform UK gaining 1,453 councillors, while the Green Party won 587 seats, its highest number of councillors at the time.[9]

Polling expert John Curtice noted that these results further confirmed the fragmentation of the United Kingdom's politics, as none of the political parties had the significant backing of the public; according to Sky News and the BBC, Reform UK won 26% to 27% of the vote, while most of the other major parties hovered around 20% to 16% of the vote. Reform UK did well in areas with high Brexit support. Labour lost 1,498 councillors and lost control of 38 councils, triggering an internal leadership crisis that culminated in Keir Starmer announcing his resignation as Prime Minister.

Background

[edit]
Post-1998 ceremonial counties of England by year of restructuring

The English Devolution White Paper on 16 December 2024 set out the Labour government's plans for local government reorganisation, involving the remaining two-tier counties of England being abolished with elections to new unitary authorities. Some of the elections scheduled for May 2025 were delayed by a year to allow reorganisation to take place.[6][10] At least 13 of the 21 county councils asked the government to delay their elections.[11] On 5 February 2025, the government announced that elections to nine councils (seven county councils and two unitary authorities) would not take place in 2025 to allow restructuring to take place, with elections to reformed or newly created replacement authorities taking place in 2026.[7]

By November 2025, it had been announced that Surrey County Council and the districts included in it would be replaced by new unitary authorities, but the government said that other initially-scheduled 2025 elections would take place in the existing local government structure unless there was "strong justification otherwise", with the process of creating new unitary authorities delayed.[12][13] Four new combined authority mayoral elections — Greater Essex, Hampshire and the Solent, Norfolk and Suffolk, and Sussex and Brighton — were delayed to 2028, having been originally scheduled for 2026.[14]

In December 2025, the Labour government invited 63 councils to raise capacity concerns with ongoing local government reorganisation and request a postponement of their 2026 local elections, after also postponing 6 combined authority mayoral elections that were scheduled to occur on the same day. This move prompted criticism from the Electoral Commission, which questioned the credibility of the reasoning given and said that it caused "unprecedented" uncertainty. The Commission stated that "There is a clear conflict of interest in asking existing Councils to decide how long it will be before they are answerable to voters". Opposition parties also criticised the decision, accusing Labour of denying people the right to vote.[15] By February 2026, the government confirmed that 30 of the 63 council elections had been postponed.[16][17][18] However, following a legal challenge by Reform UK, which had made major gains in the previous local elections, the government withdrew on 16 February 2026 its plans to delay elections, after receiving legal advice that the delay could be unlawful; all scheduled elections for 2026, along with the delayed elections from 2025, were now to take place.[19]

This is the second set of local elections during the premiership of Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and it occurred during a time of Reform UK and the Greens rising sharply in opinion polls. It is the first set of local elections to take place after Zack Polanski became leader of the Green Party.[20]

Campaigns

[edit]

In England, Labour were defending more than 2,500 seats, the Conservatives over 1,300 and the Liberal Democrats just under 700.[21]

Over 25,000 candidates were nominated to stand in the elections. Reform UK, Labour, the Conservatives and the Green party all stood candidates in over 95% of wards, while the Liberal Democrats had candidates in 86%. The only other party with candidates in more than 2% of wards was the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition, with 9%.[22]

Labour

[edit]

On 20 March 2026, General Secretary of Unite Sharon Graham said in a speech to refuse workers at a protest near a waste depot in Tyseley, Birmingham that Labour would be "decimated" in the upcoming local elections and should "hang their heads in shame" over its handling of the Birmingham bin strike.[23]

On 30 March 2026, Keir Starmer launched Labour's local election campaign at City of Wolverhampton College, West Midlands. According to ITV, Wolverhampton was at the time one of Labour's safest councils in the region and Keir Starmer denied Birmingham was a "lost cause".[24] The BBC said Labour was going into the elections with consistently low poll ratings.[25]

Conservatives

[edit]

On 19 March 2026, Kemi Badenoch launched the Conservative campaign for the local elections at an event at Sinfonia Smith Square in Westminster, London.[26][27]

On 6 May 2026, Kemi Badenoch declined to rule out local pacts with Reform in an interview with Sky News, suggesting she would be "happy" to see Conservative and Reform councillors collaborating to deliver right wing policies at a local level. On 7 May 2026, she rowed back on this in an interview with the The Sun, saying "We're not doing deals with Reform. I don't want to see us helping Reform... they're not serious."[28]

Liberal Democrats

[edit]

On 24 March 2026, Ed Davey launched the Liberal Democrat campaign for the local elections at an event in Lovelace Lodge, in East Horsley, Surrey.[29][30]

Reform UK

[edit]

On 1 January 2026, Nigel Farage announced he wanted to go "double or quits" by planning to spend more than £5 million over the following four months in the run-up to the local elections, saying he wanted to spend "every single penny in the bank account" on a mass direct mail and social media campaign. He called the year's set of local elections the "single most important event" before the next general election. In August 2025, Reform UK received a £9 million donation from Christopher Harborne, a British–Thai billionaire businessman.[31]

On 10 March 2026, Farage launched Reform's local election campaign at a live-streamed event with 1,500 supporters at GG's restaurant, in Newport, Isle of Wight. This was the first in a planned nationwide series of rallies.[32]

Green Party

[edit]

Following the election of Zack Polanski as Green Party leader, the party rose sharply in popularity polls.[33][34]

The Green Party launched its local elections campaign on 9 April 2026.[35] The party stated its desire to build and maintain council housing and social homes, pointing to Green-led councils in Lewes and Mid Suffolk, which built hundreds of new council homes in previous years.[35][36] It also vowed to put pressure on the Labour Party to introduce rent controls and abolish the leasehold system, "freeing five million people from the financial burden of service charges".[36]

Restore Britain

[edit]

On 1 April 2026, Rupert Lowe announced Restore Britain would not stand candidates for the local elections except in the Great Yarmouth area of the 2026 Norfolk County Council election through Great Yarmouth First, its local affiliate party, stating the election would serve as a testing ground for future Restore Britain candidacies.[37]

Independents

[edit]

Dissatisfied over the Labour government's position on the Gaza war, a large number of Muslim candidates stood as independents, campaigning exclusively on pro-Gaza sentiments.[38] Many among them were endorsed by the Your Party[39] and The Muslim Vote.[40] In Birmingham, significant controversy erupted over the candidature of Shahid Butt, a British Pakistani who had been convicted in a plot of bombing the British consulate, an Anglican Church and a Swiss-owned hotel in Yemen in 1999,[41] who campaigned on an explicitly new antisemitic platform.[42]

Results

[edit]
Candidates and party agents watching the count for the 7 May 2026 Camden Council elections in Highgate ward

Overview

[edit]

With all 136 councils being declared, Reform UK took 1,453 councillor positions, an increase of 1,451 seats. Labour took 1,068 seats, a decrease of 1,496 seats. The Tories took 801 seats, a decrease of 563 seats. The Liberal Democrats took 844 seats, an increase of 155. The Green Party took 587 seats, an increase of 411. Independent-orientated candidates won 212 seats, up 34 seats. The Residents' Association won 36 seats, a decrease of 31.[43]

Labour lost control of 38 councils, Reform UK gained 14 councils, Conservatives lost 6 councils, the Liberal Democrats gained 1 council, Green gained 5 councils, and 23 councils switched to being in a state of no overall control by a political party.[43]

London boroughs

[edit]

Elections for all councillors in all thirty-two London boroughs have been held in 2026 in line with their normal election schedule. The previous elections to London borough councils were held in 2022, which saw Labour win its second-best result in any London election and the Conservatives return their lowest-ever number of councillors in the capital.[8]

Metropolitan boroughs

[edit]

There are thirty-six metropolitan boroughs, which are single-tier local authorities. Thirty-two of them had an election in 2026 (Doncaster, Liverpool, Wirral and Rotherham do not). Of these, Birmingham City Council and St Helens Council hold their elections on a four-year cycle from 2022, so were due to hold an election in 2026. In 2025 Barnsley Council held a public consultation regarding the permanent adoption of the whole council election cycle, with the result that Barnsley will hold its elections on a four-year cycle starting from 2026.[45]

The remaining twenty-nine councils generally elect a third of their councillors every year for three years with no election in each fourth year, on the same timetable which included elections in 2026. Thirteen of these metropolitan borough councils had all of their councillors up for election in 2026 rather than the usual one-third, following ward boundary changes from their LGBCE electoral review. All thirteen will likely be reverting to thirds in 2027, 2028 and 2030.

Elections for all councillors

[edit]

Elections for one third of councillors

[edit]

Other unitary authorities

[edit]

Most of these unitary authorities elect councillors in thirds, with councillors elected in 2022 up for reelection in 2026. Swindon and Milton Keynes elect councillors by thirds, but had all seats up in 2026 due to new ward boundaries. Thurrock and Isle of Wight both had all-up elections delayed from 2025. East Surrey and West Surrey are both newly-created councils with all councillors to be elected.

Elections for all councillors

[edit]

Elections for one third of councillors

[edit]

Mayors

[edit]

Local authorities

[edit]

County councils

[edit]

All of these elections were delayed from 2025.

District councils

[edit]

Elections for all councillors

[edit]

Elections for half of councillors

[edit]

Elections for one third of councillors

[edit]

Standalone by-elections

[edit]

On the same date, some by-elections took place in councils with no scheduled elections.

Post-election vacancies

[edit]

A number of seats remained vacant following the elections resulting in a number of post election vacancies:[53]

Analysis

[edit]

Fragmentation

[edit]

Psephologist John Curtice said the results "confirmed the fragmentation of our politics" and that the projection was that Reform UK was ahead of the rest of parties and that each received similar levels of support; he noted that the results were "bleak" for Labour and the political parties do not have the "support of a substantial section of the public".[65] The Projected National Share was calculated to show the support of the parties nationwide.[66]

According to Sky News's 2026 National Equivalent Vote, Reform UK won 27% of the vote, the Conservatives won 20%, Labour won 15%, the Greens and Liberal Democrats each won 14%, and independents won 10%. Sky News added that these results were an improvement for the Conservatives from the previous year's local elections, while Reform "slid backwards slightly".[67] If applied to the House of Commons, it was projected that Reform UK would have 284 seats, Labour 110, Conservatives 96, Liberal Democrats 80, SNP 36, Plaid Cymru 13, Green 13, and others 18.[67] The BBC's Projected National Vote, a similar projection, put party support at Reform with 26%, Greens 18%, Labour 17%, Conservatives 17% and Liberal Democrats 16%.[4]

Performances

[edit]

Reform UK performed significantly well in areas where the vote for Brexit was high; in areas where Brexit reached over 55% support, Reform UK won 47% of the vote, while they won 36% in areas between 45–55%, and 19% in areas where support for Brexit dipped below 45%.[67] Reform took many seats from Labour in their heartlands.[68] In the case of the Conservatives, they lost the most support in areas that strongly supported them in elections beforehand, losing 12% in areas that gave them 35% of the vote share.[67]

The Conservatives performed better than expected, even when suffering extensive losses, which led to Kemi Badenoch claiming that the Conservatives are "coming back".[69] The BBC reported that there was no pressure to challenge Badenoch within leadership, even with these losses, and she also said that "good strategy takes time."[70] Tony Travers, a local government expert at the London School of Economics, said that the "Tories have done surprisingly well" in places such Bexley, Westminster, and Wandsworth.[69] Political analyst Peter Kellner also noted the Conservatives had a loss rate of 68% in 2025's elections, compared to 44% in 2026's elections.[69] Political commentor Henry Hill pushed back against these interpretations, saying the Conservative Party is still going backward and "its councillor base is being eviscerated."[69] The Conservative Party saw its fifth consecutive election where it lost seats.

The Labour Party suffered large losses in the councils that they controlled.[71] In London, Labour performed particularly poorly.[72] Labour lost control of Lambeth and Lewisham to the Green Party of England and Wales.[73] In Northern England, Labour lost seats to Reform UK.[74]

A record number of 466 Muslim candidates were elected to local government positions during these elections. Although most of them came from the Labour Party (199), the party in overall performed poorly in areas like Bradford, Birmingham, Blackburn with Darwen, Tower Hamlets, Newham and Redbrige that house large Muslim populations,[75] where independents and the Green Party significantly eroded Labour's Muslim support base due to their singular-minded (and sometimes overtly antisemitic) campaign on the Gaza war (with many Muslim candidates from the Green Party making antisemitic statements),[76][77] in addition to Islamist policy platforms like funding reconstruction in Gaza, boycotting Israeli technology and criminalising depiction of Muhammad & desecration of the Quran ‐ a phenomenon described by Policy Exchange as 'Islamopopulism'.[78]

Opinion polls

[edit]

Seat projections

[edit]

Aftermath

[edit]

Labour government

[edit]

Asked whether he would resign, Keir Starmer called the election results "tough" but said, "I'm not going to walk away from those challenges and plunge the country into chaos".[81] On 9 May 2026, Labour MP and former government minister Catherine West gave an interview in which she called on a cabinet minister to challenge Starmer for the leadership, in default of which she said that she would run against him.[82]

Over the weekend following the election results, approximately 30 Labour MPs publicly called for a change within the leadership or a timetable for Starmer to resign as Prime Minister.[83] Many other Labour MPs have also called on Starmer to resign.[84]

On 11 May 2026, Catherine West pulled back from her challenge.[85] Joe Morris, a ministerial aide to Wes Streeting, said that "regrettably, it is now clear that the prime minister no longer has the trust or confidence of the public". By that night, six Labour MPs had quit or been replaced as ministerial aides, and 72 MPs had publicly urged Starmer to either resign immediately set a timetable for his departure.[86][87]

On 14 May, the Health Secretary Wes Streeting resigned from the Cabinet saying he had 'lost confidence' in Starmer's leadership. Later on the same day, Labour MP Josh Simons announced his resignation as Member of Parliament, triggering the 2026 Makerfield by-election so that the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham can return to parliament and stand for the Labour leadership.[88]

Opposition parties

[edit]

Reform

[edit]

Nigel Farage hailed Reform UK's results during this election as a "historic shift in British politics", also noting that this was a "complete reshaping of British politics in every way." Reform UK's home affairs spokesperson, Zia Yusuf, said that if these results were "replicated in the general election, Kemi Badenoch would lose her seat," referring to the current Tory leader.[89]

Green

[edit]

Zack Polanski, the leader of the Green Party, said that "two-party politics is not just dying, it is dead and it is buried," adding that he believes that Starmer "needs to go." He also said that "it's very clear that the new politics is the Green Party versus Reform."[90]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. 1 2 All vote shares are projected national vote shares calculated by the BBC.[4] Cite error: The named reference "VoteShareNote" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  2. ↑ Led by a Conservative Mayor
  3. ↑ no overall control (Alliance Group (independents + Green + Our Island) minority coalition)
  4. 1 2 3 New electoral boundaries
  5. ↑ Includes a seat vacated shortly before the local elections following the death of the Conversative councillor

References

[edit]
  1. 1 2 3 4 Keeling, Peter (29 April 2026). "2026 local election data summary". Democracy Club. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  2. ↑ Of the 5,066 council seats, the election for 7 of them was rescheduled for 18 June and 3 of them for 25 June
  3. 1 2 "Open Council Data UK – compositions councillors parties wards elections emails". Open Council Data.
  4. 1 2 Curtice, John (8 May 2026). "BBC projected national vote share puts Reform on 26%". BBC News. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "England Local election results 2026". BBC.
  6. 1 2 "Some local elections could be delayed by up to a year, says Angela Rayner". Sky News. 16 December 2024. Archived from the original on 16 December 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  7. 1 2 Whannel, Kate (5 February 2025). "Council shake-up sees elections delayed in nine areas". BBC News. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
  8. 1 2 Shear, Michael D. (8 May 2026). "Starmer's Party Suffers Stark Losses in U.K. Local Elections". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  9. ↑ "Local Elections". election2029.uk. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  10. ↑ "Counties given 'extraordinary' deadline to cancel elections". Local Government Chronicle. 17 December 2024. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
  11. ↑ Mason, Rowena (10 January 2025). "Tory party accused of 'bottling' May elections as county councils seek delay". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 January 2025.
  12. ↑ "Suffolk County Council elections 'will go ahead in May 2026'". BBC News. 5 November 2025. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
  13. ↑ "Local Government Reorganisation (LGR) Timeline". LGIU. 28 August 2025. Retrieved 29 October 2025.
  14. ↑ Maddox, David (3 December 2025). "Labour expected to postpone mayoral elections by two years amid continued Reform poll lead". The Independent.
  15. ↑ Clarke, Jennifer (11 February 2026). "Which elections are taking place in England, Scotland and Wales on 7 May?". BBC News. Retrieved 29 April 2026.
  16. ↑ "Electoral Commission responds to potential election postponements". Electoral Commission. 19 December 2025. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  17. ↑ "The government's decision to delay mayoral elections cannot be justified on democratic or fairness grounds". Institute for Government. 5 December 2025. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  18. ↑ Morton, Becky (19 December 2025). "Watchdog hits out at potential local election delays". BBC News. Retrieved 1 January 2026.
  19. ↑ "Government abandons plans to delay 30 council elections". BBC News. 16 February 2026. Retrieved 16 February 2026.
  20. ↑ Fitzpatrick, Kevin (16 February 2026). "Gorton and Denton by-election 'too close to call'". BBC News. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  21. ↑ "Is there an election in my area?". BBC News. Retrieved 27 March 2026.
  22. ↑ "2026 local election data summary". Democracy Club. Retrieved 24 April 2026.
  23. ↑ Gohil, Neha (20 March 2026). "Labour will be decimated in May local elections, Unite leader says". The Guardian.
  24. ↑ Howlett, Tom. "PM denies Birmingham is a 'lost cause' as he launches local election campaign in Wolverhampton". ITV News Central. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  25. ↑ Whannel, Kate. "PM launches Labour's local election campaign with focus on cost of living". BBC News. Retrieved 31 March 2026.
  26. ↑ Whannel, Kate (19 March 2026). "Tories only party with a plan, says Badenoch as she launches election campaign". BBC News. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  27. ↑ "Kemi's plan to Get Britain Working Again". Chorley Conservative Association. 19 March 2026.
  28. ↑ "May elections: Badenoch rows back on Reform pacts as millions cast their votes – as it happened". Guardian. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  29. ↑ "BBC News – Liberal Democrats Launch Local Election Campaign". BBC. 24 March 2026. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  30. ↑ Wingate, Sophie (25 March 2026). "Ed Davey launches election campaign in Surrey and discusses 'dangerous' Greens". Surrey Live.
  31. ↑ "Nigel Farage promises Reform UK spending blitz on May's local elections". PA News Agency. 1 January 2026. Retrieved 2 January 2026.
  32. ↑ "Nigel Farage kicks off Reform's local election campaign". BBC News. 10 March 2026.
  33. ↑ "Voting Intention Polls and Trends | Ipsos". www.ipsos.com. 7 April 2024. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  34. ↑ "POLITICO Poll of Polls — British polls, trends and election news for the United Kingdom and Scotland". POLITICO. 15 February 2022. Archived from the original on 23 January 2026. Retrieved 23 January 2026.
  35. 1 2 "Zack Polanski launches Green Party local election campaign with affordable housing pledge". greenparty.org.uk. Green Party of England and Wales. 13 April 2026. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  36. 1 2 McKiernan, Jennifer (9 April 2026). "Greens launch local election campaign with focus on housing". BBC News. Retrieved 15 April 2026.
  37. ↑ Hill, Dave (2 April 2026). "Barking & Dagenham: The great fragmenting Right show". OnLondon.co.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2026.
  38. ↑ Luhnow, David; Colchester, Max (7 May 2026). "The Surprising X Factor in Britain's Local Elections: Gaza". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  39. ↑ Adu, Aletha (2 April 2026). "Your Party to focus local election efforts on backing independent candidates". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  40. ↑ tmv-sm (7 May 2026). "TMV 2026 Local Elections Endorsements | The Muslim Vote". Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  41. ↑ "Shahid Butt defends Birmingham election candidacy despite bomb plot past". www.bbc.com. 8 February 2026. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  42. ↑ "Muslims shouldn't be friends with Jews, said convicted terrorist council candidate". Yahoo News. 1 February 2026. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  43. 1 2 "Local election results 2026 in England". BBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  44. ↑ The election for two councillors in Hillingdon West ward was rescheduled for 18 June
  45. ↑ Full Council Report – Change to Election Cycle – Barnsley Council
  46. ↑ Stanczyszyn, Kathryn; Adams, Bridie (5 June 2026). "Lib Dem Roger Harmer new Birmingham City Council leader". BBC News. Retrieved 6 June 2026.
  47. ↑ The election for three councillors in Idle & Thackley Centre ward was rescheduled for 18 June
  48. ↑ The election for two councillors in St Helens Town Centre ward was rescheduled for 25 June
  49. ↑ The election for one councillor in Moorside ward was rescheduled for 18 June
  50. ↑ The election for one councillor in Chelmsford Springfield ward was rescheduled for 18 June
  51. ↑ "Suffolk Council Composition: Latest".
  52. ↑ The election for one councillor in Wilnecote ward was rescheduled for 25 June
  53. ↑ Mendonça, Susana (22 May 2026). "Ineligible Greens may cost up to £250,000 for new by-elections". BBC News. Retrieved 23 May 2026.
  54. ↑ Docker, Georgie (16 April 2026). "Bury ward local election cancelled after death of Reform candidate". BBC News. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  55. ↑ Heath, Martin (30 April 2025). "Higham Ferrers election postponed after candidate dies". BBC News. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  56. ↑ Dedman, Simon (22 April 2026). "Chelmsford Lib Dem councillor Mike Mackrory dies suddenly". BBC News. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  57. ↑ Dedman, Simon (11 May 2026). "Reform UK councillor in Essex quits after social media claims". BBC News. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  58. ↑ Russell, Sam (11 May 2026). "Reform UK councillor accused of making racist posts resigns days after being elected". The Independent. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  59. ↑ Gawne, Ewan; Docker, Georgie (17 April 2026). "St Helens council ward election called off after candidate's death". BBC News. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  60. ↑ "Hillingdon West poll postponed after candidate's death". Hillingdon and Uxbridge Times. 20 April 2026. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  61. ↑ Rowe, Georgia (18 May 2026). "Fifth newly-elected Green Party councillor steps down as cost of by-elections set to total £100k". LBC. Retrieved 18 May 2026.
  62. ↑ Lonsdale, Jo (19 May 2026). "Gateshead Reform councillor resigns 10 days after local elections". BBC News. Retrieved 20 May 2026.
  63. ↑ "£20,000 by-election on way as Reform councillor quits after 25 days (and one meeting)". Norwich Evening News. 2 June 2026. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
  64. ↑ Iqbal, Aisha (17 June 2026). "Why is there another local election in Bradford?". BBC News. Retrieved 18 June 2026.
  65. ↑ "Election results 2026 live". BBC News. 9 May 2026. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  66. ↑ "Understanding the Local Elections Projected National Share (PNS) in 2026". Elections Etc. 7 May 2026. Retrieved 10 May 2026.
  67. 1 2 3 4 Jennings, Will; Sky News Data & Forensics Team (8 May 2026). "Elections: Analysis in maps and charts, and find out the result from your seat". Sky News. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
  68. ↑ Ducourtieux, Cécile (8 May 2026). "Reform UK records historic breakthrough in local elections that mark Labour's collapse and the end of two-party politics". Le Monde.
  69. 1 2 3 4 Topping, Alexandra (8 May 2026). "Badenoch claims Tories 'coming back' despite widespread losses in local elections". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  70. ↑ "No leadership pressure on Badenoch despite Tory losses". www.bbc.com. 8 May 2026. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  71. ↑ "Labour appears to haemorrhage seats as first local election results roll in". The Northern Echo. 8 May 2026. Retrieved 10 May 2026.
  72. ↑ "Green Party take huge gains in London as Labour vote sinks". www.bbc.com. 8 May 2026. Retrieved 10 May 2026.
  73. ↑ Stokes, Tim; Ford, Nicky. "Labour lose Lambeth and Lewisham as Green support surges in London". BBC News. Retrieved 10 May 2026.
  74. ↑ Halliday, Josh (8 May 2026). "Reform wins across northern England overturn decades of Labour control". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 May 2026.
  75. ↑ "EXCLUSIVE: Over 450 Muslim councillors elected in England's local polls as Labour bleeds urban seats - Muslim News UK". muslimnews.co.uk. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  76. ↑ Iqbal, Jawad (7 May 2026). "The special relationship between Muslims and Labour is over". The Spectator. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  77. ↑ "Sectarian politics is here to stay". The Telegraph. 9 July 2026.
  78. ↑ "Islamopopulism Part 2". Policy Exchange. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  79. ↑ Walker, Ben (28 April 2026). "Labour faces a local election wipeout in England". New Statesman. Retrieved 30 April 2026.
  80. ↑ "May 7 Briefing – A pre-election webinar by More in Common" (PDF). More in Common. Retrieved 21 April 2026.
  81. ↑ "U.K. election results mark "historic shift in British politics," Trump ally Farage says as big parties reel – CBS News". www.cbsnews.com. 8 May 2026. Retrieved 10 May 2026.
  82. ↑ Morton, Beth. "West: 'We can't go on with our main spokesperson being Keir'". BBC News. Retrieved 9 May 2026.
  83. ↑ "Challenge Starmer by Monday or I will, Labour MP tells cabinet". BBC News. Retrieved 10 May 2026.
  84. ↑ Mason, Chris; Watson, Iain (8 May 2026). "Many Labour MPs are blaming Starmer for elections body blow". BBC News. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  85. ↑ Whannel, Kate (11 May 2026). "Catherine West says Keir Starmer should go but pulls back from leadership challenge". BBC News. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  86. ↑ Bosotti, Rorey; Thompson, Angus (11 May 2026). "Three ministerial aides quit as more than 50 Labour MPs call for Starmer to resign". BBC News. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
  87. ↑ Paul, Mark (11 May 2026). "Keir Starmer clings on as Labour ministers call on him to resign". The Irish Times. Retrieved 12 May 2026.
  88. ↑ "Andy Burnham to try to run for Parliament after Labour MP says he'll stand down for him". BBC News. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  89. ↑ Quinn, Ben (8 May 2026). "Nigel Farage hails 'historic shift in politics' after Reform UK election gains". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 May 2026.
  90. ↑ "Green Party election gains shows two-party politics 'dead', says Polanski". www.bbc.com. 8 May 2026. Retrieved 10 May 2026.
  91. Adu, Aletha (2 April 2026). "Your Party to focus local election efforts on backing independent candidates". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
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