Labour’s election catastrophe is over as party loses more than 1,400 councillors

The final results have been declared – and the damage to Keir Starmer’s party stands at 1,496 seats

Labour’s local election catastrophe is over as the final results from every poll have now been announced.

Keir Starmer’s party lost 1,496 seats and control of 38 councils across England in what is thought to be its worst local election performance in history. The Conservatives also suffered, losing 563 councillors and control of six town halls.

The big winners were Reform UK, which gained 1,451 seats, nearly as many as Labour lost. Nigel Farage’s party also gained control of 14 councils.

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The Greens gained 441 seats and five authorities, while the Liberal Democrats added 155 councillors to their total and one extra council – Stockport.

Three Greater Manchester councils which were Labour-led are now in no overall control: Tameside, Bolton, and Oldham. The party also suffered heavy defeats in Manchester, Salford, Rochdale, and Wigan, where MP Jo Platt said. ‘voters gave us a kicking’.

She told the M.E.N. on Friday (May 8): “It is about the voters. They wanted to give us a kicking and they have.

“This is about the voters. This is about listening and that’s what we’ve got to take stock of locally and nationally. We have got to listen to what they said and it starts tomorrow.”

Despite the disaster, Keir Starmer has vowed to fight on as Prime Minister. He said: “I’m not going to walk away and plunge the country into chaos.

“The results are tough, they are very tough, and there’s no sugar-coating it.

“[On] tough days like this, they don’t weaken my resolve to deliver the change that I promised at the general election – they strengthen my resolve to do so”.

Nigel Farage called the results ‘historic’, adding: “We have absolutely torn the most massive historic chunk out of the Labour vote in the north of England.”

Mayor Andy Burnham has stayed relatively tight-lipped on the results. That has not stopped speculation mounting he will challenge Keir Starmer for the party leadership in the coming days or weeks.