Polls close in crucial elections for Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership

Polls have closed in elections across Scotland, Wales and parts of England that could prove a decisive moment in Sir Keir Starmer’s premiership.

Labour is expected to suffer heavy losses throughout the country as the party languishes in the polls and faces challenges from Reform UK to the right and an insurgent Green Party to the left.

Polling guru Lord Robert Hayward has suggested Labour could lose some 1,850 councillors in England.

The party is set to lose the national vote in Wales for the first time in more than a century, while in Scotland the SNP appears likely to remain the largest party.

As polls closed, Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy said the elections had been “tough”.

He said: “I don’t want to sugarcoat it, the message from the doorstep is this is a tough election cycle.

“This is a mid-term set of elections with people concerned about the cost of living and wanting to see the Government go faster with quicker pace.”

Mr Lammy added that while Labour had run a “positive campaign”, the party’s “message of delivery” had been “drowned out by the politics of grievance”.

A national drubbing is also likely to reignite speculation about Sir Keir’s leadership of the party and the country.

Before polls closed, The Times reported that Energy Secretary and former Labour leader Ed Miliband has privately urged the Prime Minister to set out a timetable for his departure after the elections.

Other Cabinet ministers are said to be considering leadership tilts, including Health Secretary Wes Streeting and former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner.

Allies of Ms Rayner are confident she would be able to gain the support of the 81 MPs required to launch a challenge – a number which Mr Streeting is also said to have met, though neither are said to want to be the first to move.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, who is said to have a plan to return to Westminster within weeks, has dropped out of giving a speech on Friday morning.

Published: 07/05/2026 by Radio NewsHub