Britons set to punish Starmer’s Labour in local polls

AFP | London

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Britons voted yesterday in local elections set to heap more pressure on beleaguered Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer and energise the rise of hard-right and left-wing populists.

The ballot across Scotland, England and Wales is Starmer’s biggest electoral test since his July 2024 general election landslide victory over the Conservatives.

Opinion polls predict grim results for Labour, which could amplify calls for Starmer, 63, to resign or face a long-rumoured party leadership challenge.

The prime minister and his wife voted at a polling station near parliament in Westminster. Nigel Farage’s anti-immigrant Reform UK and the left-wing Greens, led by self-described eco-populist Zack Polanski, are expected to benefit from widespread disillusionment.

Melanie Garson, associate professor of politics at University College London, said the vote was a “huge barometer for how the country is feeling about this political establishment”.

“We’ve got, for the first time, significant pressure on the main political parties across every single council.”

Polls closed at 10:00 pm (2100GMT). Some results were expected overnight, but most will not come until today