Reform UK Finishes Second in Scotland and Wales Polls; Labour Support Drops in England

Reform UK took more than 1,400 councillors and control of 14 councils in England, including Sunderland, Thurrock, Suffolk, Essex, Havering and Newcastle-under-Lyme. In Scotland the party picked up its first seats at Holyrood and ended the count tied for second place with Labour. In Wales Reform came second in the expanded Senedd with 34 seats, behind Plaid Cymru on 43.

The SNP remained the largest party at Holyrood but fell short of a majority. Plaid Cymru won 43 of the 96 seats in the Senedd, which was expanded from 60 this year, but also fell short of a majority. Welsh Labour finished third. The Greens took two seats in the Senedd and the Liberal Democrats one.

Michelle O'Neill, who is vice-president of Sinn Féin, said unionism needs to start "looking to the future" when it comes to conversations about constitutional change. O'Neill said the public needed to break free from the shackles of Westminster. Gavin Robinson, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, said suggestions that the results for the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru represented a seismic change were fanciful.

"People in Scotland were voting against Keir Starmer, not against the union," Robinson said. He guaranteed that unionism will win the next Northern Ireland election if unionists cooperate. Robinson said Keir Starmer had lost support across the UK, though he added that the question of Keir Starmer's future leadership remained an internal matter for Labour.

O'Neill said whether Keir Starmer should remain as prime minister was a matter for the Labour Party.

Claire Hanna, leader of the SDLP, which is Stormont's official opposition, said the election of three nationalist first ministers was symbolic. Hanna said symbolism "doesn't put bread on anybody's table, doesn't do the work of persuasion and doesn't do the work of showing that you can use power responsibly and change people's lives."

Labour lost control of more than 30 councils in England, including Birmingham City Council which had been Labour-run for 14 years and which went to no overall control. The party lost both councils and councillors across many areas of England. The Green Party gained five councils, two mayors and hundreds of councillors, taking control in Norwich, Hackney, Waltham Forest and Hastings.

The Liberal Democrats gained control of West Surrey, East Surrey, Portsmouth and Stockport but lost Hull, while keeping three London councils. The Conservatives retained all the councils they held before the election and gained Westminster. Aspire gained Tower Hamlets.

More than 5,000 councillors were up for election across 136 councils in England.

BBC analysis suggests a five-way split in how people across Great Britain might have voted had the whole country gone to the polls on Thursday. Neither Labour nor the Conservatives would have had more than 20% of the vote according to the estimates.