Labour came third in the voting after Reform and now faces losing supporters on its left and right wings in forthcoming local and devolved elections on May 7th. The Reform party should not now be assumed to be the only or main beneficiary of Labour’s loss of polling and voting support. This major setback for Starmer’s Labour comes after his serious misjudgments in the Mandelson scandal, serial shifts in his prime ministerial and advisory teams and his failure to articulate a governing purpose or strategy. Starmer’s continuing political leadership is put in deeper question by this result, not least because he prevented the Labour mayor of Manchester Andy Burnham from standing. The English local and Scottish and Welsh devolved elections on May 7th become all the more perilous for him after this defeat.

Source: The Irish Times March 02, 2026 07:01 UTC