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The Times
Front Pages
'Bloodbath', 'battering' and 'colossal defeat' - UK papers react to Labour's local election losses
British prime minister Keir Starmer is under pressure to go after his party’s performance in England, Scotland and Wales.
BRITISH PRIME MINISTER Keir Starmer remains under pressure this morning after Labour suffered heavy election losses across the UK.
In England, the party lost over 1,400 seats in the local elections. With just five of 136 councils yet to declare, Nigel Farage’s Reform UK have gained over 1,400 seats and the Greens and Liberal Democrats also made gains. The Tories lost over 500 seats.
In Wales, Labour suffered a historic defeat that saw them lose power for the first time in a century and left outgoing First Minister Eluned Morgan without a seat. Nationalist Plaid Cymru is now the biggest party in the Welsh parliament, with Reform in second place.
The SNP won a fifth successive parliament election in Scotland, but fell short of a majority, with Labour tying with Reform in second with 17 seats each.
The election results have reignited rumblings of a leadership contest within Labour, with some backbench MPs openly calling on Starmer to set out a timetable for his departure and others urging an immediate change in direction.
However, he has insisted that he will not “walk away and plunge the country into chaos”, while some of his cabinet ministers have rallied around him and called for unity.
Here’s how some of the UK newspapers are covering the election results.
“Labour’s historic battering” is how The Times chooses to characterise the election results, saying the party faces an “existential threat”. Pictured on the front page is Starmer with what it says were “distraught” Labour members in Ealing, London.
The Daily Telegraph reports that MPs have called on Starmer to quit after the “historic local elections defeat”. It also features a picture of Nigel Farage giving a thumbs up to accompany a report from a “once Tory heartland”, that it claims now feels the “only hope is Reform”.
A beaming Farage is also pictured on the front of The Independent, which leads with Starmer’s vow not to resign after what it calls Labour’s “colossal defeat”.
The Daily Mail calls the local election results a “bloodbath” for Labour and reports on MPs, ministers and unions have called on Starmer to resign. It also states that supporters of Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham have said he is “ready to go” to challenge Starmer’s leadership.
The Daily Express leads with Nigel Farage’s promise to “fix Britain” after his party’s gains in the local elections.
The i Weekend reports “Farage plots path to No 10″ after Reform’s local election gains. It says at least 10 MPs have called for Starmer to go – but that his main leadership rivals, including Burnham, former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner and health secretary Wes Streeting are in “stalemate” over his future.
“Dire election results pile pressure on PM” is The Guardian’s headline, which reports that Starmer is under pressure “to set out a timeline for his departure”. It also runs a picture of a happy Farage following Reform’s “huge success”.
The Sun goes big on another story: the separation of television presenters Tess Daly and Vernon Kay. It does have a smaller story of Farage’s declaration that his party will win the next UK general election – though it’s another three years away.
Amid speculation that Andy Burnham is planning to challenge Starmer’s leadership directly, this is the front page of The Manchester Evening News. “Cometh the hour”, cometh the man?
Meanwhile, The Scotmans runs a picture of SNP leader John Swinney to accompany a story of his party securing a “historic fifth term” but falling short of an overall majority in the Scottish parliament.
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