Millions of UK Voters Head to Polls in Landmark Local Elections
Danai Nesta Kupemba
Millions of UK voters are casting ballots in local elections that represent the most significant political test for Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour government since its 2024 landslide. Polls suggest rising support for far-right and left-wing parties, with Labour expected to take heavy losses.
Millions of voters across England, Scotland, and Wales headed to the polls on Thursday in local elections widely regarded as the most significant political test for Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government since Labour's sweeping victory in 2024.
The ballot will determine the composition of some 5,000 local council seats, several mayoral positions across England, and seats in the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Senedd. Opinion polls indicate mounting support for far-right and left-wing parties, with the ruling Labour Party expected to suffer heavy losses.
Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. (06:00 GMT) and will close at 10 p.m. (21:00 GMT). Results are expected throughout the night, with some likely to be announced on Friday. Under the first-past-the-post (FPTP) electoral system used in England, a candidate only needs more votes than their opponents—not an absolute majority—to win.
Prime Minister Starmer cast his vote alongside his wife, Victoria Starmer, at Westminster Chapel. Starmer faces mounting pressure as his popularity has slumped since taking office, with the government struggling to spur economic growth while households grapple with a cost-of-living crisis partly driven by energy price hikes linked to the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.
He has also been embroiled in a scandal involving Peter Mandelson, who was dismissed as ambassador to the United States over ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Polls show rising support for Green Party leader Zack Polanski, who describes himself as an "eco-populist," and Nigel Farage, co-founder of the far-right Reform UK party.
Over the weekend, Prime Minister Starmer wrote on the online platform Substack: “The answer to this moment, to the world we face today, is not a passive government. Nor is it populists who look at the world and offer only easy answers that leave us weaker or broke.”
Analysts say this election could signal the end of the traditional two-party dominance in the electoral system, where power has typically alternated between Labour and the Conservatives.
