Local elections 2026: Labour loses first councils as Reform surges

Daily Telegraph 08/05/26 Labour has lost control of its first five councils following a surge in support for Reform UK.

Sir Keir Starmer’s party no longer has a majority on councils in Tameside, Exeter, Redditch, Hartlepool or Tamworth. The Prime Minister is expected to face calls to resign should Labour perform as badly as predicted in the run-up to polling day. Tameside, which covers Angela Rayner’s constituency of Ashton-under-Lyme, had been under Labour control for 47 years. Reform won all 12 of the seats up for election in Hartlepool, a traditionally safe Labour “Red Wall” territory, with Sir Keir’s party losing seven. Both parties now have 15 seats on the council. Reform also gained all nine seats up for election in Tamworth. Out of nine of the 27 seats on Redditch Council up for election, Reform won eight. Six of those were from Labour, which will now have to govern as a coalition or minority administration. A Reform spokesman said: “It’s clear that Labour voters are switching directly to Reform. “We are penetrating the Red Wall in a way the pollsters and experts simply didn’t predict. Britain wants Reform.”