All the key places Labour has lost so far as Starmer faces growing calls to step down
The party has ceded hundreds of seats with losses across the country in the local elections, from key battlegrounds to classic Labour strongholds.
Labour has suffered a bloodbath defeat at the polls as pressure grows on Sir Keir Starmer to resign as leader.
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The party has ceded hundreds of seats with losses across the country in the local elections, from key battlegrounds to classic Labour strongholds.
With results not yet fully counted, Labour is slated to lose as many as 2,000 seats across the UK in a disastrous result for the Prime Minister.
Of the first 40 of 136 councils declared, Labour had lost more than 200 councillors as well as losing control of nine local authorities.
There are also fears that Labour could lose control of the Welsh Senedd for the first time ever.
Sir Keir has taken responsibility for the “tough” local election results, but has vowed not to "weaken my resolve".
He now finds himself under pressure following the catastrophic results as Nigel Farage claimed Reform UK is on course to win the next general election.
Read more: Calls grow for Starmer to resign as Labour faces devastating losses in local elections
Here are all the key places Labour has lost so far
Hartlepool, Tamworth, Redditch, Tameside, Southampton, Wandsworth, Exeter and Westminster have all flipped.
The Tameside result will come as a particular shock to Labour as it ceded its majority over the council after an uninterrupted run of 47 years.
The party lost 14 of the 15 seats it was defending – enough to deprive it of a majority and leave the council with no group large enough to have overall control.
The new state of the parties is Labour 25 seats, Reform 19, independents eight and the Conservatives five.
Red Wall seats in the North have also switched hands in another blow for Labour, with huge losses in Chorley, Lancashire, Salford in Greater Manchester and Merseyside.
In Southampton, Labour lost seven seats while Reform gained seven and the Greens gained four.
Labour has also lost south-west London Wandsworth Council to no party majority after shedding six seats, leaving it with 28.
In Wigan, where the MP is Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy, all the 22 seats Labour was defending were snatched up by Reform.
It was a huge win for Labour in 2022 when it took control of Westminster Council from the Tories for the first time since the 1960s.
But the London borough became the ninth local authority to slip from Labour's grasp, with the Conservatives winning it back.
The council, covering Downing Street and Buckingham Palace, was symbolic for the Tories and the very centre of London had been under the party's control since London's current local government structure was created more than 60 years ago.
Ahead of yesterday's elections, Labour had a majority of eight on the council.
Taking the council back from Labour showed the Tories are “coming back in London”, a party spokesperson said.
More results from London are yet to come, where voters have been choosing councillors across all 32 boroughs, including key contests in places such as Bromley and Barking & Dagenham.
Welsh Labour expect to be reduced from 29 to around 10 members in the Senedd, with a party spokesperson saying they are “deeply disappointed” they will not lead the government.
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said his party is “hurting” after it “didn’t win the argument” in the Holyrood election.
His comments came as SNP leader John Swinney said he expected his party to go on and win a record fifth consecutive term in power in the Scottish Parliament.
The Prime Minister faces further heavy losses as vote counting continues throughout Friday in both English local elections and contests for the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Senedd.
Sir Keir has already faced speculation about his leadership, with the Times reporting Energy Secretary Ed Miliband had urged the Prime Minister to set out a timetable for his departure.
But Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy urged his party not to play “pass the parcel” with the leadership in response to the election results.
Labour sources pointed to poor local election results under previous prime ministers, including Sir Tony Blair who lost 1,100 councillors in 1999 but went on to win re-election in a landslide in 2001.
Meanwhile, Mr Farage hailed early results from Thursday’s local election as a sign his party was on course for victory at a general election that is still up to three years away.
A jubilant Mr Farage heralded a “historic change in British politics,” telling reporters “there is no more left-right” as his outfit was “scoring stunning percentages in traditional old Labour areas”.