Local elections in England have seen significant gains for Reform UK as both the country's main political parties have suffered.
Typically in the UK, public favour swings between the conservative Tories or the centre-left Labour party.
However, in local elections on Friday, both parties suffered as the Conservatives lost over 600 council seats and Labour lost 190.
Meanwhile, the right-wing Reform party, headed by Nigel Farage, saw sweeping gains across England.
With this coming off the back of Labour’s recent success in the country’s general election, questions are now being raised about the party’s future, and whether the landscape of UK politics has shifted.
Broadcaster and political journalist Adam Boulton told The Anton Savage Show that these results create “a great deal of instability in British politics”.
“Not because Labour’s in danger of losing its majority in Parliament, because the [next general election] is not due to 2029,” he said.
“But because clearly the British public – or at least the English public, as far as we can tell – is ready to shop elsewhere so soon after electing a so-called ‘change’ government.”
Mr Boulton said that Labour’s promises of building more houses and stabilising the economy will take longer to achieve than the nine months they have had so far in government.
Keir Starmer talking and gesturing in the House of Commons, UK parliament in Westminster Palace. Image: Alamy / Jessica Taylor. Feb 07 2024However, he pointed out that inter-party disagreements have already begun to crop up.
“It has to be said, you don’t have to go very far before you find senior Labour politicians disagreeing with each other about the direction which Keir Starmer is taking the party,” he said.
“I mean, the problem is that he is not a very charismatic or inspiring person.
“A lot of people feel that beyond management, he doesn’t really have an idea of how he wants to transform the country.”
Meanwhile, Mr Boulton said that the Reform party has appealed to the public with promises of a socially right-wing government that is tough on immigration but “fairly socialist in terms of the benefits”.
Main image: Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage. Picture date: Wednesday April 30, 2025. Image: Jacob King / Alamy.
