UK Prime Minister Starmer Vows to Listen to Voters After Labour Election Losses

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised on Saturday he would listen to voters after his Labour party suffered major losses in local and regional elections held on Thursday. The balloting represented Starmer's largest electoral test since Labour ousted the Conservatives from power in the 2024 general election.

Starmer, who has faced calls to resign, wrote in the Guardian newspaper that the right lesson is to listen to voters but it does not mean tacking right or left. Disillusioned voters supported hard-right and nationalist parties in the elections. With almost all votes counted, the outcomes showed sharp declines for Labour in several parts of the country.

In Wales, Labour lost control of the devolved government for the first time since the parliament in Cardiff was established 27 years ago. In Scotland, the Scottish National Party remained the largest party but fell short of a majority after losing six seats compared with the 2021 election.

Reform UK, an anti-immigrant party, secured nearly 1,500 of the 5,000 council seats contested in England and made gains across England, Scotland and Wales. The Greens also recorded strong results, adding more than 500 seats. Labour lost almost 1,400 council seats and gave up control of several local authorities, although its performance in London was better than some forecasts had indicated.

Just two years after Labour achieved a landslide victory in the general election that removed the Conservatives from government, the party has faced criticism over its record on delivering economic growth. It has also encountered policy missteps and scandals while an enduring cost-of-living crisis has persisted across Britain.

Insurgent parties gained support amid those conditions, according to the election results reported by AFP.