Competitive local elections held in England

On May 1, 2025, local elections were held in England. The results saw both Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Conservative opposition leader Kemi Badenoch lose ground, with gains primarily going to Nigel Farage's party, Reform UK. The elections were primarily county councils in rural England as well as one parliamentary by-election.

The night began with Reform UK candidate Sarah Pochin winning the 2025 Runcorn and Helsby by-election in North West England by six votes, becoming the party’s first successfully elected female Member of Parliament. The party also won two new metro mayors in Greater Lincolnshire and Hull and East Yorkshire.

Later results included Reform UK winning strongholds such as Kent and Staffordshire from the Conservatives and County Durham and Doncaster from the Labour Party. Other councils they took outright control of were Derbyshire, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Staffordshire.

In total they won 677 of over 1,600 council seats across England. Nigel Farage called the results "unprecedented" and said it meant "the end of two-party politics".

It was also a good night for the Liberal Democrats who came second with 370 seats. They also took outright control of three county councils; Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire and Shropshire. They also made strong gains in Devon, Cornwall and Wiltshire.

The Green Party had mixed results, with some new seats in Gloucestershire and Worcestershire but they came third in the West of England mayoral election behind Labour and Reform UK.

The Conservatives lost over 600 councillors and every one of the fifteen of the councils it controlled, which was reportedly among the worst results in the history of the party, according to ITV News. They lost many seats in their heartland counties including Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Northamptonshire.

Labour leader Keir Starmer described the result as "disappointing," telling ITV News, "I get it."

== Sister links ==

2025 United Kingdom local elections

== Sources ==

The winners and losers in the local elections in Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Northamptonshire — ITV News, May 4, 2025

Suzanne Leigh. Farage hails election results, as Labour and Tories digest losses — BBC News, May 3, 2025

Labour and Conservatives under pressure after Reform victory in local elections — ITV News, May 3, 2025

Helen Corbett. Starmer urged to change course after Reform’s success in local elections — Evening Standard, May 3, 2025

Becky Morton and Jennifer McKiernan. Reform takes Runcorn from Labour by just six votes — BBC News, May 2, 2025

Paul Seddon. Reform UK makes big gains in English local elections — BBC News, May 2, 2025

Sam Francis. Lib Dems take councils after local election gains — BBC News, May 2, 2025

Henry Zeffman. Henry Zeffman: Seven things we have learnt from the election results — BBC News, May 2, 2025

Becky Morton and Kate Whannel. Local elections at-a-glance: What's happened? — BBC News, May 2, 2025