Local election results live: Starmer turns to Gordon Brown as pressure mounts over losses

The Wales Green Party is “open to having conversations” with Plaid Cymru over the next Welsh government, the party leader has said.

In a statement, Anthony Slaughter said: “We welcome the defeat of Reform and congratulate Plaid Cymru on their result – this is a victory for everyone who wanted to keep Reform’s divisive, Trumpian politics out of Wales.

“We are a welcoming nation – and Wales needs to stay a place where everyone is treated with respect and dignity, and can thrive.

“When it comes to the next government of Wales, we are open to having conversations, but no decisions have been made at this point.

“In any negotiations we will be looking to deliver on the Green objectives that people voted on in this election – including action to address the cost-of-living crisis, protecting our NHS, fixing the renting crisis and restoring our natural environment.”

Labour MP Tony Vaughan said there should be an “orderly transition of leadership” before next year’s local elections.

The Folkestone and Hythe MP said the party was “hamstrung” by Sir Keir Starmer’s association with Labour’s mistakes in office including winter fuel cuts, benefits reform, the prime minister’s comments on Gaza and appointment of Lord Mandelson.

He said: “We must give the public a Labour leader with a clear vision, conviction and the ability to inspire if we are to stand any chance of turning things around.

“So, I strongly believe that there must be an orderly transition of leadership well before the local elections next year. Otherwise, we are conceding defeat to (Nigel) Farage before we have even started.”

Based on full results from 129 of the 136 councils in England that held elections on Thursday, Labour won 47 per cent of the seats it was defending, while the Conservatives won 63 per cent of the seats they were defending, according to Press Association analysis.

These figures are a comparison with seats the parties held just before the elections took place.

Using the same calculation, at last year’s local elections in England both Labour and the Tories won 33 per cent of the seats they were defending.

Reform UK has won 31 per cent of the seats in which it stood candidates this year, while the Greens have won 12 per cent.

Last year Reform won 42 per cent of the seats it contested and the Greens won 7 per cent.

Nigel Farage has said Labour are “doomed” as he reacted to the news of Gordon Brown being brought back into government.

Posting on X, the Reform UK leader wrote: “An unpopular Prime Minister who lost a general election is now seen by Starmer as being the saviour. Labour are doomed.”

Independence should be a priority for John Swinney’s newly-returned Scottish government, one of his MSPs has insisted.

Stephen Gethins pointed to the record 73 MSPs elected on Thursday who support independence – with the SNP winning 58 seats and the Greens taking 15.

The SNP will now go on to form the next government at Holyrood, despite its tally of MSPs being down from the 64 the party won in 2021.

While Mr Gethins said that tackling the cost-of-living crisis would be a priority for Mr Swinney when he begins a new term as first minister, he also said independence should be another key focus.

Throughout the election campaign, Mr Swinney said repeatedly he was seeking to win an overall majority for the SNP so he could press the case again for another referendum on Scotland’s future as part of the UK.

Former prime minister Gordon Brown has been appointed as a special envoy on global finance.

Downing Street said Sir Keir Starmer has committed to boosting the country’s security and resilience and “in this role, Gordon Brown will advise on how global finance cooperation can help to achieve this”.

Former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown has arrived at Downing Street amid reports he is being brought back into government.

Downing Street has yet to confirm what role he has been given, if any.

A cabinet minister has blamed Labour’s winter fuel allowance U-turn for one of the reasons the party returned such poor results in local elections this week.

Speaking to Sky News, environment secretary Emma Reynolds said there was “no sugarcoating” Labour’s results.

“We’ve had bad results in England, Wales and Scotland, and I think the public are sending us a message and we need to listen and reflect on that, which is what we’re doing, that they are dissatisfied with the pace of change,” she said.

“I think there’s a real sense of impatience, which I totally get about the scale and the pace of change, and we’ve got to make sure that we step up a gear and start delivering that change for people’s lives.”

When asked what mistakes Labour made leading into the elections, Ms Reynolds said: “I think the winter fuel allowance and the changes to that – which we since corrected – were the wrong thing to do.”

The majority of Labour party members do not believe Sir Keir Starmer can reverse the party’s poor showings in Thursday’s local elections, a new poll has found.

Data from The Guardian shows 45 per cent of Labour members say the prime minister should step down.

The most popular choice to replace him was Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham, who was chosen by 42 per cent of members.

The poll of more than 1,000 party members showed soaring dissatisfaction with Sir Keir’s leadership among members – in October just 28 per cent said the prime minister should resign if Labour suffered poor election results in May.

The local elections have shattered the two-party system – but not everyone who wants to punish Labour wants to vote for Nigel Farage. It’s time for a change, says Andrew Grice.