Nigel Farage has hailed the local election results as “the end of two-party politics” and “the death of the Conservative Party” as both Kemi Badenoch and Keir Starmer issued apologies.
All 23 councils have now been announced, with Reform UK winning 10, the Liberal Democrats three, and another 10 now under no overall control – while Reform’s Sarah Pochin also dramatically beat Labour in a by-election for Runcorn and Helsby by six votes, overcoming a majority of more than 14,000 a year ago. And Mr Farage’s party also won two mayoral elections.
Writing in the Telegraph, the Conservative leader admitted predictions the local elections were going to be a “bloodbath” for her party had been correct, as she said: “I’m deeply sorry to see so many capable, hard-working Conservative councillors lose their seats.”
Meanwhile, the prime minister wrote in The Times: “Am I satisfied with where we are? Not even close. I am acutely aware that people aren’t yet feeling the benefits. That’s what they told us last night. Until they do, I will wake up every morning determined to go further and faster.”
Across the local councils the BBC reports that Reform has gained 677 councillors, the Lib Dems 163 and the Greens 45. The Conservatives have lost 676, and Labour 186.
KEY POINTS
- Kemi Badenoch apologises for 'total bloodbath' election losses
- Tories being 'wiped out', says Farage
- Starmer vows to 'deliver' and 'go further and faster' for voters after local elections
- Boris Johnson insists Tories can win next election
- Results in full: All 23 councils and six mayors elected
Stop 'pussyfooting around' and act more like Trump, Labour's Red Wall chair tells Starmer
14:18 , Tara CobhamKeir Starmer has been accused of “pussyfooting around” by the chairman of Labour’s Red Wall group of MPs who called on the prime minister to act as decisively as Donald Trump.
Jo White’s calls for Sir Keir to demonstrate stronger leadership come after Labour suffered heavy losses in the local elections, with her comments marking the first significant statement of disaffection from within the party since the results came in.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Ms White urged the PM to “take a leaf” out of the US president’s book.
She called for inquiries into grooming gangs, a heavier-handed approach to immigration, and investment into industrial heartlands – while criticising Labour’s winter fuel policy, describing it as her party’s “poll tax”.
Labour MP criticises Starmer's 'further and faster' pledge as 'tone deaf'
13:45 , Tara CobhamA backbench Labour MP has criticised Keir Starmer’s pledge his party will keep moving “further and faster” after the local elections as “tone deaf”.
Emma Lewell, who has represented South Shields since 2013, called for a “change of plan” and said it is “tone deaf” to repeat that Labour will keep moving “further and faster”.
Farage tells council staff working on diversity or climate change initiatives to seek 'alternative careers'
13:15 , Tara CobhamNigel Farage has told council staff working on diversity or climate change initiatives to seek “alternative careers”.
A newly elected Reform UK councillor said Durham County Council would be “getting the auditors in” right away to slash spending in areas like net zero and green initiatives.
“We’re getting the auditors in to see … actually what those jobs are, and if they’re good value for money, and if they’re not, well, the answer is, ‘Yeah, goodbye’,” Darren Grimes, a Durham councillor and former GB News presenter told the Today programme.
Cash spent on such programmes is “vanishingly small” and discretionary spending for councils is mostly spent on social care, libraries and filling in potholes, Tony Travers, a professor of public policy at the LSE, told the programme.
Senior Tory MP rules out possible pact with Reform at next general election
12:45 , Tara CobhamA senior Tory MP has ruled out a possible pact with Reform UK on a national level to get Labour out at the next general election.
“There won’t be pacts. Nigel Farage has been very clear that he wants to destroy the Conservative Party,” shadow chief Treasury secretary Richard Fuller told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
He said Reform UK would soon find out there are “no simple answers” to local public finances and have to make “difficult choices”.
“Reform will find out, I think, that there are no simple answers locally to public finances at local government level, they’ll have to make some difficult choices and the local public will … hold them to account for the decisions they make,” he told GB News.
Doncaster’s Labour mayor criticises Labour government's policies upon re-election
12:13Doncaster’s Labour mayor Ros Jones criticised cuts to winter fuel allowance, hiking employers’ national insurance contributions and squeezing welfare after she was narrowly re-elected.
Her comments were echoed this morning by a Labour MP who suggested that voters shunned her party in local elections because it has failed to live up to the values the public expects from a Labour government.
Labour MP Rachael Maskell said her party has “special responsibilities” to serve the needs of people and should scrap winter fuel and welfare policies that she said are pushing voters away.
When Labour does not meet the “sweet spot” of offering support and protection in public services, voters look to “less favourable places”, the York Central MP said.
Boris Johnson insists Tories can win next election
11:39 , Tara CobhamBoris Johnson has insisted that the Tories can win the next election despite the disastrous local election results for the party.
Writing in his weekly column for the Mail, the former prime minister also backed Kemi Badenoch’s leadership.
Mr Johnson argued Reform UK is only “temporarily exciting” and expressed confidence the Conservatives would still emerge victorious.
Sky News reported he criticised the Labour government as “so bad, so misguided, so fundamentally out of tune with what the public want, that in 2029, or whenever we have the next election, I think there is a real chance of a tipping point”, arguing voters will return to the Tories.
He went on to describe Ms Badenoch as "increasingly interesting and impressive”, with “the most original mind of all the current party leaders”.
Starmer vows to 'deliver' and 'go further and faster' for voters after local elections
10:57 , Tara CobhamKeir Starmer has vowed to “deliver” and “go further and faster” for voters in the wake of the local elections.
The prime minister insisted there is “tangible proof that things are finally beginning to go in the right direction” – but did admit he was not satisfied with where the country was.
Writing in The Times, Sir Keir said: “I am acutely aware that people aren’t yet feeling the benefits. That’s what they told us last night.
“Until they do, I will wake up every morning determined to go further and faster.”
He added: “We will deliver for you.”
The prime minister also warned against parties offering “some simple, ideological fix”, adding: “The lesson of these elections isn’t that the country needs more politicians’ promises or ideological zealotry.
“It isn’t that there is some easy solution, as promised by our opponents. It’s that now is the time to crank up the pace on giving people the country they are crying out for.”
Senior Tory MP insists Badenoch will still be party’s leader in year’s time
10:31 , Tara CobhamA senior Tory MP has insisted Kemi Badenoch will still be the party’s leader in a year’s time after the Conservatives lost more than 600 councillors in local elections.
Shadow chief treasury secretary Richard Fuller also ruled out a future pact with Reform UK on a national level after the party made sweeping gains.
Asked on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme how long Mrs Badenoch has to come up with answers and if we are going to see her in post in a year, he said “of course we are”.
On whether the Tories may need to look at a pact with Reform UK to get Sir Keir Starmer out at the next general election, he said: “There won’t be pacts. Nigel Farage has been very clear that he wants to destroy the Conservative Party.”
Maskell urges Labour to scrap winter fuel and welfare policies that 'are pushing voters away'
09:31 , Tara CobhamLabour MP Rachael Maskell has urged her party to scrap winter fuel and welfare policies that she said are pushing voters away.
The York Central MP told BBC Breakfast that Labour has “special responsibilities” to serve the needs of people.
She said: “We’re not any other political party, we were created to serve the needs of people across working areas of our country so that people had a real voice of the kind of change that they wanted to see.
“I think it’s now time, if Labour are going to go further faster, to pick up that voice, to put our fingers on the pulse and to understand that that responsibility that the 1945 government set out putting that safety net in place at the welfare state is on our watch and is our responsibility.
“So, scrapping these proposals to push disabled people into hardship is an absolutely crucial part of that change, showing that we’re going to be listening to the country and protecting the people at their time of need.
“Of course we want to get more people into work. Of course the changes to the health system is really crucial … but also we’ve got to help people and care for people as we go on that journey.”
She added: “People went cold last winter and that’s not what a Labour government should be doing.
“We have got that mandate, I believe, as a party to look at how we can better redistribute wealth, as opposed to taking out of the pockets of the poorest.”
Labour MP suggests local election losses due to her party failing to live up to its values
09:19 , Tara CobhamA Labour MP has suggested that voters shunned her party in local elections because it has failed to live up to the values the public expects from a Labour government.
York Central MP Rachael Maskell said Labour needs to be driven by “a framework of values, which is about protecting people, helping people to move forward in their lives and ensuring you’ve got those public services ready and working so that people can have that support when they need it”.
“That is what Labour governments do,” she told BBC Breakfast.
“I believe that when Labour does not meet that sweet spot, that expectation that people have of a Labour government, then they start to look in less favourable places for where that help comes from.
“Yesterday, many people were searching for that response, to find that protection, to get that support.
“But, sadly, if Labour were not offering that, they would look in other places.
“That’s why Labour have got to learn from the results yesterday and ensure that we do meet the needs of people in this country in very, very trying times.”
Reform will find out there are 'no simple answers', senior Tory MP warns
08:38 , Tara CobhamReform UK will find out there are “no simple answers” to local public finances and have to make “difficult choices” after the party surged in local elections, a senior Tory MP has said.
Richard Fuller, shadow chief treasury secretary, said it was now up to Nigel Farage’s party to see if they can deliver in the areas where they have won council seats and mayoral polls.
He told GB News: “We have to acknowledge Reform did very well yesterday.
“They won the Runcorn by-election off Labour. They’ve won some mayoralties and now they will get the chance to show what they can actually do when they give them power.
“So, no longer pointing at problems, but actually there to try and find solutions, albeit on a local level, to help the people in Lincolnshire or Hull, where they have taken over the mayoralties.
“And other areas where they have taken control of the council.
“They’ll find out, Reform will find out, I think, that there are no simple answers locally to public finances at local government level, they’ll have to make some difficult choices and the local public will … hold them to account for the decisions they make.”
Main party leaders now under pressure after Reform sweeps to victory in local elections
08:18 , Tara CobhamSir Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch face pressure to reverse their parties’ fortunes after the local elections saw Reform UK make major gains across England.
Nigel Farage hailed the results as “the end of two-party politics” and “the death of the Conservative Party” as Reform picked up 10 councils and more than 600 seats in Thursday’s poll.
Conservative figures sought to deny that the results were “existential” for the party.
But, squeezed between Reform and the Liberal Democrats, the Tories lost more than 600 councillors and all 15 of the councils it controlled going into the election, among the worst results in the party’s history.
Mrs Badenoch herself apologised to the defeated Conservative councillors, adding: “I am going to make sure that we get ourselves back to the place where we are seen as the credible alternative to Labour.”
Meanwhile, several Labour figures called on the Prime Minister to change course after Reform won the Runcorn and Helsby by-election by six votes and took control of the previously Labour-run Doncaster Council.
Backbench MP Emma Lewell, who has represented South Shields since 2013, said it was “tone deaf to keep repeating we will move further and faster on our plan for change.
“What is needed is a change of plan.”
Mapped: Momentous night for Reform UK
07:30 , Alex CroftComment | It was a bad night for Labour – but even worse for the Tories
06:29 , Alex CroftIt shouldn’t make a difference to assessing Reform’s performance whether it won the Runcorn by-election by six votes or lost by six, but in practice, it makes all the difference in the world.
It confirms that a government that is still new is so deeply unpopular that it cannot hold one of its safest seats. A landslide general election win that matched the giddiness of Blairphoria just 10 months ago has turned into the humiliation of defeat at the hands of Nigel Farage.
It confirms that Morgan McSweeney, Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff and architect of his general election victory, is right to see Farage as the main threat to the Labour government – but it also shows how ineffective Labour’s attempt to fight Reform on the issue of immigration has been.
Chief political commentator John Rentoul writes:
It was a bad night for Labour – but even worse for the Tories
National vote projections give Reform large lead
06:01 , Alex CroftTwo national vote share projections, which estimate the result if the entire nation had voted in a general election yesterday, show a significant read for Nigel Farage’s reform.
The BBC’s Projected National Share had Reform on 30 per cent, with Labour the second largest party at 20 per cent.
The Lib Dems would come third with 17 per cent while the Conservatives would have dropped down to be the fourth most popular party, at just 15 per cent of the vote. The Greens would sit at 11 per cent.
Meanwhile, Sky’s National Estimated Share put Reform at 32 per cent of the vote. Labour and the Tories were the next largest parties, at 19 per cent and 18 per cent respectively.
The Lib Dems would take 16 per cent of the vote, and the Greens seven.
Local elections in pics: All smiles for Reform as Labour and Tories suffer trouncing
05:00 , Alex Croft
Farage criticises leaders aiming to 'please everybody'
04:00 , Alex CroftNigel Farage took aim at leaders who want to “please everybody” in favour of having opinions.
He told the PA news agency: “Politics is about choices, having opinions, you like an individual you like what they stand for, and over the last few years it’s become about leaders who want to please everybody and stand for nothing in particular.”
“It’s pretty straight forward where I am on nearly all issues and if people like it that’s great and if they don’t it’s called democracy.”
Comment | We are witnessing the slow death of Conservative England
03:00 , Alex CroftAssociate editor Sean O’Grady writes:
As things stand, the question of the leadership of the Conservative Party, the oldest and most successful force in democratic politics in human history, feels almost like an irrelevance – because whether Kemi Badenoch survives or who might replace her are second-order questions in the context of these more fundamental societal changes.
The Tory party, in other words, seems doomed, whoever is in charge – even if there will always be some hope it can recover. Great swathes of the country the Tories could always rely upon – Lincolnshire, and Staffordshire, for heaven’s sake – have fallen to the Farageistas.
At the general election, the Tories lost ground to Labour and the Liberal Democrats – Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire and Devon – and they’re not recovering any of it now. It's hard to see what leader or agenda could emerge that would allow them to do so; and a pact with Farage, which he feels no need to bother with, would simply be an act of surrender to the Reform insurgency.
In these local and council elections, we've witnessed another seizure in the slow death of Conservative England – and it’s not going to be the last.
Tory capitulation laid bare as Badenoch's party trounced in former strongholds
02:01 , Alex CroftA devastating day for the Conservative Party has seen it so far lose 650 councillors.
Here are some of the worst drops in support the Tories have suffered.
- Kent: down 51 council seats, from 56 to five
- Lincolnshire: down 40, from 54 to 14
- Lancashire: down 38, from 46 to eight
- Devon: down 33, from 40 to seven
- Cornwall: down 32, from 39 to seven
- Warwickshire: down 32, from 41 to nine
- Leicestershire: down 25, from 40 to 15
- Nottinghamshire: down 16, from 33 to 17
Watch: New Reform mayor Andrea Jenkyns storms out of Sky News interview
01:14 , Alex CroftReform’s new mayor Dame Andrea Jenkyns Greater Lincolnshire has stormed out of a Sky News interview after being questioned about her claims that migrants should be put in tents and hitting out at her opponent over their South African accent.
“People come here illegally, they should be put in tents like they do in France,” she said.
Questioned on her remarks about her opponent’s accent, she said: “The irony of saying someone who’s been parachuted in who is not even from the country. I went to school, college, university [in Lincolnshire].”
Pressed whether she believes that someone with a different accent cannot be from Britain, the new Reform mayor said: “I’m not even going to answer any more of your questions.
“Your questioning is quite divisive, you’re looking into things when it was a little play with words, a little joke because of the irony – do you not understand irony?”
Is Reform here to stay? John Rentoul answers your questions
Saturday 3 May 2025 00:30 , Alex CroftWith both Labour and the Tories struggling, Farage now claims Reform is poised to replace the Conservatives as the main opposition.
In a live Q&A for The Independent, chief political commentator John Rentoul answered your questions on Reform’s rise, what it means for the more traditional parties, and whether Farage’s success can last.
Topics ranged from Reform’s long-term prospects and Starmer’s strategy, to the risks of Farage’s leadership and the broader implications for British politics.
Farage: Reform will 'resist' having migrants placed in counties it controls
Friday 2 May 2025 23:45 , Alex CroftNigel Farage has said that Reform will “resist” having migrants placed “in these counties that we now control”.
Speaking from County Durham on Friday afternoon, the Reform UK leader said: “The number of people I’ve met in the north, just so enraged because they get up early in the morning, they go to work, they pay their taxes, and they see young men crossing the English Channel, being dumped into the north of England getting everything for free.”
He later added: “It is unfair, it is irresponsible, it is wrong in every way and I don’t believe Starmer has got the guts to deal with it but (…) we at national level have got the guts to deal with it and we will resist central government plonking scores, hundreds of these young men in these counties that we now control.”
Analysis | The most under-estimated reason why Nigel Farage is rejoicing
Friday 2 May 2025 23:22 , Alex CroftHere is some further analysis from our political editor David Maddox:
While winning seats and power is important for a political party there is another important reason to win council seats which many people do not consider.
Having hundreds of councillors in swathes of the country means that a party has an army of canvassers, leaflet posters, door knockers and local campaigners.
It makes the difference between winning and losing seats and will in this case give Nigel Farage the ground campaign he has always needed for a general election but never had before at Ukip, the Brexit Party or Reform.
National campaigns certainly make a difference but the significant narrow margins come with local campaigns, especially in “get the vote out” operations.
One of the reasons historically that Labour lost Scotland to the SNP in 2007 and beyond was that in 2003 they agreed to switch to a proportional voting system for councils which meant their grip on hundreds of council seats was lost.
The same now will be true for places like Lincolnshire, Staffordshire, Durham and Kent where the Tories in particular look like they face destruction.
Watch: Farage warns council staff to look for other jobs
Friday 2 May 2025 23:03 , Alex CroftLocal elections 'most significant' day of Farage's career
Friday 2 May 2025 22:45 , Alex CroftLocal election results are the “most significant day” of Nigel Farage’s career, the Reform leader said.
Arriving by helicopter to Hop Farm In Kent on Friday night, Mr Farage admitted he was surprised by the extent of his party’s successes.
He told the BBC: “I’ve experienced winning European elections, I’ve done that a couple of times, referendums yeah I’ve had some big ups and big downs.”
“I think this is the most significant day of my career, I think this completely changes the landscape of British politics.”
Election results: All 23 councils and six mayors announced
Friday 2 May 2025 22:27 , Alex CroftAll 23 council and mayoral elections have now been announced.
As dawn broke today, the country woke up to headlines of a Reform victory in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election, overturning a Labour majority of nearly 15,000 votes from less than a year ago.
Nigel Farage hailed the result - but it’s not the only to emerge with yesterday also seeing six mayoral contests and 23 local council elections.
Here are the results we have so far:
Mayoral elections:
North Tyneside - Labour hold with Karen Clark beating the second-placed Reform candidate by just 444 votes
Doncaster - Labour hold with Ros Jones seeing off the second-placed Reform candidate by 698 votes.
West of England - Labour hold with Helen Godwin coming ahead of the second-placed Reform candidates by 5,949 votes.
Greater Lincolnshire - Reform win with Dame Andrew Jenkyns beating the second-placed Tory candidate by almost 40,000 votes.
Hull & East Yorkshire - Reform win with Olympic medallist Luke Campbell beats Lib Dems by eight per cent margin.
Cambridge and Peterborough - Paul Bristow holds onto the mayoralty for the Tories.
Local councils:
Devon, Cornwall, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, Northumberland, Warwickshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire, Buckinghamshire, and Gloucestershire councils - No overall control
Durham, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Lancashire, Kent, Nottinghamshire, Doncaster, West Northamptonshire and North Northamptonshire councils: Reform wins control
Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire and Shropshire: Liberal Democrats win control
Councillors (gains/losses):
Reform: +677
Conservative: -676
Labour: -186
Independent: -20
Lib Dem: +163
Green: +45
Kemi Badenoch apologises for 'total bloodbath' election losses
Friday 2 May 2025 22:16 , Alex CroftKemi Badenoch has apologised for the dismal local election results suffered by the Tories, in which they lost at least 676 councillors and all 15 councils which they previously controlled.
Writing in the Telegraph, the Conservative leader recalled a conversation with a long-serving MP soon after she took the leadership role in May.
“The party is split seven different ways, headquarters is exhausted, and the May 2025 locals are going to be a total bloodbath,” the MP told her.
But she described the Conservative party as an “oasis of calm” despite Reform winning by-elections with “protest in the air”.
“We are making progress,” Ms Badenoch added. “The Conservative Party has stayed united since I took over. The shadow cabinet and shadow ministers are working together to hold this failing Labour Government to account.”
In pictures: Farage celebrates in Staffordshire
Friday 2 May 2025 21:57 , Alex Croft
Tories are being 'wiped out' Farage says as he celebrates local election victory
Friday 2 May 2025 21:46 , Holly EvansNigel Farage heralded Reform UK’s success as “the death of the Conservative Party” as he spoke to supporters in Kent on Friday night.
“This is the death of the Conservative Party and they did it to themselves,” he told the crowd.
Speaking to press before he went on stage, Mr Farage said: “They’re being wiped out in the shires, I mean here in Kent but if you go up to your Staffordshires, your Worcestershires places like this where they’ve always been the governing party.
“What this result does is continues the process of the hollowing out of the party, the membership’s been falling, the donations have been falling and it’s really the councillors who keep the voluntary party going.”
Before the fireworks began, Mr Farage brought “the new face” of Reform UK on stage, in new Runcorn MP Sarah Pochin and new Greater Lincolnshire mayor Dame Andrea Jenkyns, to cheers from his supporters.
Labour would 'welcome' contest with Reform - Pat McFadden
Friday 2 May 2025 21:45 , Alex CroftLabour would “welcome” a contest with a Reform party that wants to “rewind the clock”, Pat McFadden has said.
Pointing to comments from Dame Andrea Jenkyns, who said Reform UK would “reset Britain to its glorious past”, Mr McFadden said: “We’re in a fast-changing world, we’ve got a changing security situation here in Europe, a changing trade picture, massive technological change.
“If the battle in the future is one side saying they want to rewind the clock, and another side saying we’re going to lead you into the future, we will make the most of these changes, we’re going to try to have Britain best placed in this changing world, then that’s a battle that we will welcome.”
Watch: Richard Tice defends Andrea Jenkyns comment that migrants ‘should be put in tents’
Friday 2 May 2025 21:34 , Alex CroftReform wins control of West Northamptonshire from Tories
Friday 2 May 2025 21:56 , Alex CroftReform UK won control of West Northamptonshire after winning 39 of the 76 seats on the council, which previously had a Conservative majority.
It means that Reform UK end the elections controlling 10 councils, with the Liberal Democrats enjoying a majority in three, and the other 10 under no overall control.
The Tories lost all 15 councils which they previously held.
Tory capitulation laid bare as Badenoch's party trounced in former strongholds
Friday 2 May 2025 21:21 , Alex CroftA devastating day for the Conservative Party has seen it so far lose 650 councillors.
Here are some of the worst drops in support the Tories have suffered.
- Kent: down 51 council seats, from 56 to five
- Lincolnshire: down 40, from 54 to 14
- Lancashire: down 38, from 46 to eight
- Devon: down 33, from 40 to seven
- Cornwall: down 32, from 39 to seven
- Warwickshire: down 32, from 41 to nine
- Leicestershire: down 25, from 40 to 15
- Nottinghamshire: down 16, from 33 to 17
Comment | It was a bad night for Labour – but even worse for the Tories
Friday 2 May 2025 21:09 , Alex CroftIt shouldn’t make a difference to assessing Reform’s performance whether it won the Runcorn by-election by six votes or lost by six, but in practice, it makes all the difference in the world.
It confirms that a government that is still new is so deeply unpopular that it cannot hold one of its safest seats. A landslide general election win that matched the giddiness of Blairphoria just 10 months ago has turned into the humiliation of defeat at the hands of Nigel Farage.
It confirms that Morgan McSweeney, Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff and architect of his general election victory, is right to see Farage as the main threat to the Labour government – but it also shows how ineffective Labour’s attempt to fight Reform on the issue of immigration has been.
Chief political commentator John Rentoul writes:
It was a bad night for Labour – but even worse for the Tories
Mapped: Momentous election sees Reform seize nine councils so far
Friday 2 May 2025 20:55 , Alex CroftConservatives lose control of West Northamptonshire, Reform in striking distance
Friday 2 May 2025 20:43 , Alex CroftThe Conservatives lost control of West Northamptonshire after a Reform UK surge that put Nigel Farage’s party in striking distance of winning the council.
Previously the Tories had 60 of the 93 seats on a council that has been reduced in size after boundary changes.
A current tally puts Reform on 28 seats, with 39 needed to secure a majority. There are still 18 wards to be declared.
Election results: Where we stand and what is to come
Friday 2 May 2025 20:40 , Alex CroftAs dawn broke today, the country woke up to headlines of a Reform victory in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election, overturning a Labour majority of nearly 15,000 votes from less than a year ago.
Nigel Farage hailed the result - but it’s not the only to emerge with yesterday also seeing six mayoral contests and 24 local council elections.
Here are the results we have so far:
Mayoral elections:
North Tyneside - Labour hold with Karen Clark beating the second-placed Reform candidate by just 444 votes
Doncaster - Labour hold with Ros Jones seeing off the second-placed Reform candidate by 698 votes.
West of England - Labour hold with Helen Godwin coming ahead of the second-placed Reform candidates by 5,949 votes.
Greater Lincolnshire - Reform win with Dame Andrew Jenkyns beating the second-placed Tory candidate by almost 40,000 votes.
Hull & East Yorkshire - Reform win with Olympic medallist Luke Campbell beats Lib Dems by eight per cent margin.
Cambridge and Peterborough - Paul Bristow holds onto the mayoralty for the Tories.
Local councils:
Devon, Cornwall, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, Northumberland, Warwickshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire, Buckinghamshire, and Gloucestershire councils - No overall control
Durham, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Lancashire, Kent, Nottinghamshire, Doncaster and North Northamptonshire councils: Reform wins control
Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire and Shropshire: Liberal Democrats win control
Councillors (gains/losses):
Reform: +659
Conservative: -655
Labour: -185
Independent: -20
Lib Dem: +160
Green: +44
No overall control in Buckinghamshire
Friday 2 May 2025 20:27 , Alex CroftThe Conservatives have lost control of another council in Buckinghamshire, despite winning the most seats.
Reform gained just three new councillors, results show after 92 out of 97 wards have been declared.
The Liberal Democrats came second with 26 seats, an upswing of 18, while Labour and the Greens sit at five and three respectively.
Here are the results after 92 out of 97 seats were declared:
- Conservative: 42 (-30)
- Liberal Democrats: 26 (+18)
- Independent: 13 (+6)
- Labour: 5 (+1)
- Green: 3 (+2)
- Reform: 3 (+3)
Reform wins North Northamptonshire council
Friday 2 May 2025 20:14 , Alex CroftResults have just emerged from North Northamptonshire, and Reform have taken control of their ninth council after winning 35 seats.
The Conservatives previously had 48 seats on the council, with Labour on 16 and Reform just four.
Here are the results after 53 of 66 seats have been declared:
- Reform: 35 (+35)
- Conservative: 10 (-29)
- Green: 5 (+4)
- Labour: 2 (-10)
- Independent: 1 (0)
Comment | We are witnessing the slow death of Conservative England
Friday 2 May 2025 20:00 , Alex CroftAssociate editor Sean O’Grady writes:
As things stand, the question of the leadership of the Conservative Party, the oldest and most successful force in democratic politics in human history, feels almost like an irrelevance – because whether Kemi Badenoch survives or who might replace her are second-order questions in the context of these more fundamental societal changes.
The Tory party, in other words, seems doomed, whoever is in charge – even if there will always be some hope it can recover. Great swathes of the country the Tories could always rely upon – Lincolnshire, and Staffordshire, for heaven’s sake – have fallen to the Farageistas.
At the general election, the Tories lost ground to Labour and the Liberal Democrats – Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire and Devon – and they’re not recovering any of it now. It's hard to see what leader or agenda could emerge that would allow them to do so; and a pact with Farage, which he feels no need to bother with, would simply be an act of surrender to the Reform insurgency.
In these local and council elections, we've witnessed another seizure in the slow death of Conservative England – and it’s not going to be the last.
National vote share estimate puts Reform at 32 per cent
Friday 2 May 2025 19:57 , Alex CroftA national vote share projection based on today’s results has put Reform at 32 per cent of the vote.
Sky’s National Estimated Share, a projection of how the entire country would have voted if the trends from today’s results were translated into a general election, has Labour at 19 per cent and the Tories at 18 per cent.
An earlier projection by the BBC had Reform at 30 per cent.
Here is Sky’s estimate in full:
- Reform: 32% (+17)
- Labour: 19% (-16)
- Conservatives: 18% (-6)
- Lib Dem: 16% (+3)
- Green: 7% (0(
- Other: 8% (+1)
Farage hits out at 'woke' Conservative councillors in Staffordshire
Friday 2 May 2025 19:33 , Alex CroftStaffordshire County Council under the Conservatives was “very woke”, Nigel Farage has said.
Speaking to reporters at Staffordshire County Showground on Friday, the Reform leader said: “Here in Staffordshire we are now in charge.
“I have been perfectly clear about the excesses of expenditure, about the different areas that this very woke county council under the Conservatives have been involved in.
“County councils are there to perform basic functions for taxpayers. We want to slim down the size of local government and re-prioritise it on what its job really is.
“And you will judge us, quite rightly, on how we do.”
Reform's successes 'spell the end of two-party politics' - Farage
Friday 2 May 2025 19:12 , Alex CroftReform’s successes in the local elections “spell the end of two-party politics”, leader Nigel Farage has said.
Mr Farage visited Staffordshire to congratulate Reform UK’s newly-elected councillors on Friday and celebrated the party taking control of the county council with Champagne.
He told councillors: “The result clearly spells the end of two-party politics as we’ve known it all our life.
“But actually there is something much more significant happening in these shires. Here in the heart of England and in many other places too, these are the areas the Conservative Party has relied on forever,
“These are the areas where they have councillors, these area are where the activists work with the councillors, areas where they have strong fundraising, strong branches, strong membership.”
He added: “We are witnessing the death of a party that has been around for almost 200 years. They cannot, they will not recover from that position.”
Nigel Farage's Reform UK stun Labour in local elections
Friday 2 May 2025 19:08 , Alex CroftMap: Where have Reform performed best in local council elections?
Friday 2 May 2025 19:02 , Alex CroftA clear winner has emerged from the 2025 local elections: Nigel Farage’s Reform party.
Results are still being counted and not all councils have declared, but Reform has already swept up seats across all local councils.
At time of writing, Reform has over 600 seats; hundreds of seats more than the next party, the Liberal Democrats.
“[This is the] beginning of the end of the Conservative Party”, Mr Farage said today in Durham, celebrating his party’s wins.
Data correspondent Alicja Hagopian reports:
Map: Where in the UK have Reform performed best in local council elections?
Conservative Party is 'finished', says Farage
Friday 2 May 2025 19:01 , Alex CroftThe Conservative Party is “finished” and will never be able to recover, Reform leader Nigel Farage said told new Reform councillors in Staffordshire.
Speaking at Staffordshire County Showground on Friday evening, the Reform UK leader said: “Forty three years ago today, the British submarine sunk the pride of the Argentinian fleet, the Belgrano.
“Yesterday, a motor torpedo boat with me at the helm and all of you on the back, sunk HMS The Conservative Party.
“They are over, they are finished, they have literally been gutted in these counties, it is a position from which they will never, ever recover.
“Up north what we have seen is that if you vote Conservative, you get Labour.
“We clearly are now the second place party, we clearly are the challengers to the government, so that is something we will be pushing over the course of the next couple of years.”
Reform win Doncaster Council from Labour
Friday 2 May 2025 18:56 , Alex CroftReform UK have won control of Doncaster Council from Labour, in another blow to Sir Keir Starmer in his party’s traditional heartlands.
Reform have taken 29 seats on the council, with Labour on three and Conservatives two, with several results still to be declared.
Labour previously controlled the council with 41 seats, with Conservatives on 11 and independents on three.
Davey: We are on track to beat Tories at next general election
Friday 2 May 2025 18:46 , Alex CroftThe Lib Dems are on track to defeat the Conservatives at the next general election, leader Sir Ed Davey has said.
Voters have “chosen our community politics over the Conservative Party’s neglect and disdain”, he added.
Sir Ed said: “We have overtaken the Conservatives at these local elections, putting us on track to overtake them at the next general election too.
“From Wiltshire to Oxfordshire, from Shropshire to Devon, the Liberal Democrats have replaced the Conservatives as the party of middle England.
“Lifelong Conservative voters have put their faith in the Liberal Democrats because they are appalled by the Conservatives lurching to the extremes and cosying up to Nigel Farage.
“Kemi Badenoch sneered at the Liberal Democrats for being the party that will fix your church roof. Today voters across the country have chosen our community politics over the Conservative Party’s neglect and disdain.”
Lib Dems gain majority in Shropshire from Conservatives
Friday 2 May 2025 18:38 , Alex CroftThe Liberal Democrats have gained a majority in Shropshire Council.
After 67 of the 74 seats have been declared, the Tories appear to have capitulated their former control of the council.
Here are the current results, according to the BBC.
- Liberal Democrats: 39 (+26)
- Reform: 14 (+14)
- Conservative: 6 (-33)
- Green: 4 (0)
- Labour: 4 (-4)
- Independent: 0 (-3)
Pictured: Durham turns turquoise
Friday 2 May 2025 18:20 , Alex Croft
'Change of plan' needed for government, says Labour MP
Friday 2 May 2025 18:17 , Alex CroftA “change of plan” is needed for the government, a long-serving Labour MP has said.
Emma Lewell, who has represented South Shields since 2013, said in a post on X: “Trust matters. If you promise people that you will be focused on serving the public and then do not listen to them, do not expect them to vote for you.
“Withdrawal of winter fuel, denial of compensation for the Waspi women, and proposed disability cuts, have all broken that trust.”
She added: “It is tone deaf to keep repeating we will move further and faster on our plan for change.
“What is needed is a change of plan.”
Labour, Lib Dems and Reform are all threats to the Tories - Badenoch
Friday 2 May 2025 18:09 , Alex CroftLabour, the Liberal Democrats and Reform are all threats to the Conservatives, Kemi Badenoch has said.
The Tory leader told reporters: “This is a very competitive political environment, all of the parties have always been competitors to us.
“They are all threats, whether it’s Labour, Lib Dem or Reform, and the way we win is by making sure that people can see that this is an authentic Conservative Party that stays true to its principles and its values, and that those values reflect the values of the majority of people in the country.”
Election results: Where we stand and what is to come
Friday 2 May 2025 17:59 , Alex CroftAs dawn broke today, the country woke up to headlines of a Reform victory in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election, overturning a Labour majority of nearly 15,000 votes from less than a year ago.
Nigel Farage hailed the result - but it’s not the only to emerge with yesterday also seeing six mayoral contests and 24 local council elections.
Here are the results we have so far:
Mayoral elections:
North Tyneside - Labour hold with Karen Clark beating the second-placed Reform candidate by just 444 votes
Doncaster - Labour hold with Ros Jones seeing off the second-placed Reform candidate by 698 votes.
West of England - Labour hold with Helen Godwin coming ahead of the second-placed Reform candidates by 5,949 votes.
Greater Lincolnshire - Reform win with Dame Andrew Jenkyns beating the second-placed Tory candidate by almost 40,000 votes.
Hull & East Yorkshire - Reform win with Olympic medallist Luke Campbell beats Lib Dems by eight per cent margin.
Local councils:
Devon, Cornwall, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, Northumberland, Warwickshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire, and Gloucestershire councils - No overall control
Durham, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Lancashire, Kent and Nottinghamshire councils: Reform wins control
Cambridgeshire and Oxfordshire: Liberal Democrats win control
Councillors (gains/losses):
Reform: +584
Conservative: -580
Labour: -161
Independent: -24
Lib Dem: +141
Green: +42
Lib Dems take control of Cambridgeshire County Council
Friday 2 May 2025 17:53 , Alex CroftThe Liberal Democrats have taken control of Cambridgeshire County Council after gaining 11 seats.
The Conservatives lost 18 councillors, and now hold just 10. Labour holds five seats, after losing four.
Here are the full results for the council:
- Liberal Democrats: 31 (+11)
- Conservative: 10 (-18)
- Reform: 10 (+10)
- Labour: 5 (-4)
- Green: 3 (+3)
- Independent: 2 (-2)
