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Europe|What to Know About the First U.K. Local Elections Under Starmer
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/01/world/europe/england-local-elections-starmer.html
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The votes in some parts of England are a test of a changed political climate, in which both main parties look weakened.
May 1, 2025Updated 6:07 a.m. ET
Local elections taking place in England on Thursday are the first major test of the political climate since Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his Labour Party swept to power in a landslide victory last year.
A lot has changed since then.
With the economy flatlining and the government slumping in opinion polls, Reform U.K., the right-wing populist party led by Nigel Farage, is expected to capitalize on voter frustration. Mr. Farage, a longtime campaigner for Brexit and a vocal ally of President Trump, will discover how effectively Reform can convert its opinion poll surge into votes.
While Mr. Starmer has suffered setbacks, the main opposition Conservative Party is struggling, too. Its leader, Kemi Badenoch, has failed to recover ground since her party was ejected from power.
That has left a gap for other smaller parties, too, including the centrist Liberal Democrats and the Greens.
Who’s voting and for what?
There are no elections in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland and the voting is only in parts of England. Mr. Starmer is reorganizing local government, and many municipal councils canceled elections because they expect to be replaced.
But voters will elect more than 1,600 council members in 24 of England’s municipalities, as well as six regional mayors: in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough; Doncaster; North Tyneside; the West of England; Hull and East Yorkshire; and Greater Lincolnshire.
