Liberal Democrats Report Gains in English Council and Scottish Parliament Elections

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey has said his party offers an alternative to the extremes of Reform UK and the Greens as he reported gains across England and Scotland. The Liberal Democrats gained 153 councillors in England and won control of Stockport and Portsmouth councils.

The party also secured six seats in the Scottish Parliament. The gains came as support fell for both Labour and the Conservatives. In Hull, a surge in support for Reform UK resulted in the Liberal Democrats losing control of the council. Speaking during a visit to Edinburgh on Saturday, Sir Ed Davey said British politics is in flux and that the two main parties have failed.

He stated that voters seeking change face a choice between what he described as populist parties on the extremes or change from the Liberal Democrats that is true to British values. uk) Davey added that many people voted for that type of change and that he would champion it.

When asked whether his party was losing momentum, he noted it was the eighth consecutive year of net gains for the Liberal Democrats in English council elections. The party recorded its best result in nearly 20 years in Scotland. Davey said that while the populist parties had also performed well, greater exposure to their policies would lead people to view them as either pipe dreams or the politics of division.

Stockport and Portsmouth, where the Liberal Democrats were already the largest party, losses by Labour enabled the Liberal Democrats to take control of the councils despite challenges from Reform UK. The party strengthened its position in Sutton and Richmond-upon-Thames in south-west London, where it now holds every seat.

The Liberal Democrats gained from reduced Conservative support in south-east England, securing two new councils in East and West Surrey.

The Liberal Democrats increased their seats in the Scottish Parliament to 10. The party won the Edinburgh Northern and Strathkelvin and Bearsden constituency from the SNP and overturned a large SNP majority in Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch. The party lost its traditional stronghold of Shetland to the SNP.

In Wales, the Liberal Democrat leader in the Senedd returned but remains the party's only representative in the Welsh parliament.