Labour members criticise Keir Starmer’s leadership after party loses over 1,000 seats

Members of the Labour Party have criticised Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership and questioned his role going forward after a slew of disappointing local election results for the party.

The prime minister has insisted that he can still deliver the change the electorate voted for when he won his general election landslide. Sir Starmer has said he is “not going to walk away” from the challenges he is facing, despite speculation about his position.

Labour has lost over 1,000 seats in the local elections, with later results from Scotland, Wales and local authorities in England expected to heap further pressure on the Prime Minister.

Speaking in Ealing, west London, where Labour retained control despite losing 10 seats, Sir Starmer said: “The voters have sent a message about the pace of change, how they want their lives improved.”

“I was elected to meet those challenges but I’m not going to walk away from those challenges.”

Sir Starmer told Labour activists: “These are tough results but tough days like this, they don’t weaken my resolve to deliver the change that I promised at the general election.”

Figures show 127 of 136 English councils have declared full results:

• Labour had lost control of 31 councils and suffered a net loss of 1,022 seats
• Reform gained control of 12 councils and added 1,244 seats
• The Conservatives suffered a net loss of eight councils and 417 councillors
• The Liberal Democrats won three councils and gained a net 146 seats
• The Green Party gained control of four councils and put on 297 councillors
• In Scotland, after 80 results out of 81 constituencies and regions, the SNP had 57 seats, Labour 17, Reform 15, the Scottish Greens 13, the Conservatives 11 and the Liberal Democrats nine
• In Wales, Plaid Cymru have 43 seats in the Senedd, with Reform on 34, Labour on nine, the Conservatives on seven, the Greens on two and the Liberal Democrats on one

As results started to emerge, Labour leaders across the UK criticised Sir Starmer.

Labour former minister Louise Haigh said what is “abundantly clear is that unless the Government delivers significant and urgent change, then the Prime Minister cannot lead us into another election”.

Labour MP for Stroud Dr Simon Opher, who was elected in 2024, said the Prime Minister “cannot take our party into the next general election”.

“We need an orderly transition that brings together the very best talents across the Labour Party to deliver the change this country so desperately needs and to stop the far right from entering Number 10,” he said.

Ian Lavery, Labour MP for Blyth and Ashington and former party chairman, said Sir Starmer “could end the Labour Party forever”.

He told BBC Radio 4’s World at One: “There needs to be a new programme – not just a new leader, by the way – we need a new political programme. We need to change direction.”