Calls are already emerging for the PM to go with results overnight showing a bloodbath for the party across English councils. A meltdown is also looming in the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Senedd later.
But the Reform leader joked that he would be “very sad” to see Sir Keir ousted – adding “he is the greatest asset we have got”.
Farage boasted of a “truly historic shift in British politics” and said he is heading for No. 10, as Reform plundered seats in previous Labour strongholds in the North and Midlands. It also seized Newcastle-under-Lyme council from the Tories.
Sir Keir said he would not “sugarcoat” the “tough” situation and it “hurt”. He admitted “unnecessary mistakes” had been made.
But he said would not “walk away” and was planning announcements in the coming days to convince the public that “things will get better”. “Days like this don’t weaken my resolve to deliver the change that I promised,” Sir Keir added.
Labour has lost control of Redditch, Hartlepool, Tamworth, Exeter and Tameside councils – the latter after 47 years – following major swings to Reform.
It shipped 15 of 16 seats it was defending on Halton Council in Cheshire to Reform, although it retained overall control.
It was a similar situation in Wigan as Farage’s insurgents scooped all but one of the 25 seats available, including 20 from Labour.
Classic ‘Red Wall’ seats in Chorley, Lancashire, Salford in Greater Manchester and Merseyside also dramatically switched. Things were little better in the South, with Labour booted out of control in Southampton and Wandsworth....<<<Read More>>>...
