Reform UK makes major gains in English local elections, wins Havering
Reform UK won control of Havering council and captured dozens of councillors across England, including multiple gains in Hartlepool and Tameside. The surge unseated both Labour and Conservative councillors in several wards, producing early losses that Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he "takes responsibility" for. Those gains give Reform UK new influence over local budgets, planning and services and signal broader midterm pressure on the governing parties.
Sky News projecting a national vote share for Reform of 27%, based on results so far. That’s four points down on what they achieved in local elections last year. Somewhat of a counter to the prevailing narrative. More evidence that Reform appears to have peaked.
Computing and ICT in a Nutshell38Yes - on Radio 4's World at One they were getting carried away with the "Reform landslide" narrative when John Curtice pointed out their share of the vote (26% at that point) and where it had come from.
Ian30So, about a third of the UK are morons. Similar to the US where a third of the population drinks the KoolAid. Seems appropriate.
Cosmic Hare13Starmer has alienated many Labour voters. Replicating Reform policy, backing Israel's brutal Regime, cutting welfare, criminalising peaceful protesters, saying he 'gets it' regards racist pricks harassing families in hotels. He needs to GO.
Boudicca of Suburbia12That is both good news (that Reform has peaked) and terrible news (that they captured 27% of the vote share). I despair of how we can fight them when media, so coal and traditional, is so stacked in their favour.
The key point to note tho is other commentary on some labour vote going to Greens, so reform get a seat. Yet not a peep from labour about the genocide. Versus Spains leaders speaking and doing as is right
Jeremy Bentham's Ghost8It doesn't matter if they've peaked if the anti-Reform vote is split.
firstprinciples.bsky.social6Yet still the press will trumpet 'Reform landslide', whereas the actual results show that our first-past-the-post voting system is entirely incapable of dealing with the true multi-party politics that the UK has had for a while now
Sam6I'm clinging on to the hope that perhaps once people get a taste of their ineptitude at local level it will put them off at general elections
tykebrahe.bsky.social5The message of chaos in councils they control will intensify now they control more - and that won’t help them . That’s going to be good nationally, but feel sorry for the non Reform voters waking up today to find they now live in a Reform controlled local authority
Brass Monkeys3I've been banging this drum for a while. Everyone who is ever going to vote R*f*RM is voting reform. Yes, 27% of the whole voting population seems like A LOT of people, but it means 73% don't want the Fag-Ash Fuhrer's racist cunts in charge. We ARE better than that. We just need to organise.
Alison Lovatt 🏴3That's in England at council level. They came second in Wales in the Senedd. A huge worry.
Jane2That is similar to what they are getting in the polls for the GE
DazBev2Reform on the way down as the Green Party are on the way up.
David Thompson2By "National", do you mean the whole of the UK? Any figures for Scotland and Wales separately?
Phinp2Directly related to Orban's lack of funding? ...
monksfield.bsky.social2Exactly, and yet the Chris Mason orgasm continues.
If anyone who follows me voted Reform in the local election yesterday, please kindly unfollow me. Thanks.
jamesfromnowhere.bsky.social3Feel rigged? Quick vote count? Our big one sure felt like bullshit. Good luck with your assclowns, ours are rolling high on meth and hubris funded by oligarchs asswiping money.
RC683Ahh ya gotta love politics.......EVERY nutjob thinks they can be a politician and unfortunately there are stupid people who'll actually vote for them...just look at US politics as the best example. There are also a few crazies in Australian politics
Jannock2I remember posting the same thing about the Conservatives on Farcebook in 2010!
jeannettebusque.bsky.social2Has Britain learned nothing? I expected better.
magnificentseven67.bsky.social2It's unlikely they will be able to read your message, nor be able to respond due to their neanderthal digits.
Reform candidate who said Holocaust was a hoax wins seat in local elections www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpo... @ all the Jews who vote for Reform and have stood for Reform at this election, because of an absurd 'enemy's enemy is my friend' mentality (hint: Reform would attack Jews)
Jack Mendel10Have had a lot of replies to this, most of it very civil. But there is also a bit of whataboutery; i.e. people saying 'nobody is talking about Reform candidates but everyone is going on about the Green wrong'uns'. Seriously, it's not mutually exclusive.
Bryan laverty5But hey, don't vote green cause they're anti-semitic. England has a MASSIVE (lack of) intelligence problem.
Jean-Luc Picard3Reform have, and will continue to, attack Jews. It is mind boggling that they have Jewish people standing, and voting, for them.
Given that local elections tend to have higher turnout among older groups, who in turn are much more likely to vote Reform, I think this means Reform are likely at about 25% or less of the General Election electorate. So not Labour in 1983. The SDP.
James Austin9Yep - plus they seem to have had a noted enthusiasm bump as well so are benefiting from differential turnout. Feels luke the less aggressive polling for reform is almost spot on
Ben Ansell7@patrick-pme.bsky.social has the Reform estimate now down to 26%. Dropped 5 percent from last year. They are doing well - just not as well as they did last time. Greens up to 18% in national estimate now. I think the bloc story still has some mileage. No-one running away with it.
Dr Mark | 北马克 |🍉🇦🇺🇲🇾🇹🇭4But Labour might be 20%? So not 1983 Labour either.
The local election results in Norwich – despite Labour’s excellent track record on the City Council – and across the country, make this an existential moment for Labour. This will not be fixed by another speech, another comms reset, or another reshuffle. The problem is now far deeper than that. 1/4
Clive Lewis MP43Labour is losing the very people and places it was created to represent. In provincial England, in towns and cities that should be part of Labour’s political heartland, the party’s base is collapsing. Norwich should be a warning. So should the results we are seeing across the country. 2/4
Graham16And which policies will change under a new Prime Minister? Will it stop the horrible rhetoric around immigration? Stop demonising the disabled? Look towards applying to join the Single Market? Help stop energy co. price gouging? If not, you're chasing reform voters, so what's the point?
Nick13Labour are finished. They sold our the country out to Palantir, PE companies & other corporate interests. Alll Labour can do now is safeguard us against a Reform govt. Join the EU, reform the house of Lords, pass a motion to prevent withdrawal from ECHR, and anything else you can think of.
catsinfrance13If only Labour high command stopped trying to out-reform Reform. Nothing good ever comes from appeasing the far-right as it only emboldens them. People against the far-right will turn to the Greens, rather than vote Reformlite. Just my £0.02 for what it's worth.
jonnye46.bsky.social9Time to go big, public ownership of utilities and rail, PR, rejoin the EU. It’s time for what’s better for the country, not what’s best for Labour.
Kevin6Starmer took Labour away from its voters. Him and the centrists are to blame.
Iacovos5Many voted Labour to oust the Tories, albeit with misgivings over Starmer. But stupid EU red lines, austerity continuity, Trump-crawling, Reform-aping and, most unforgivably, genocide-enabling have deeply shocked anyone remotely decent or progressive. No coming back from this for Labour with Starmer
Kali Silvers5Maybe all the transphobic policies Starmer, Streeting and Phillipson seem to enjoy aren't the vote winners they think they are? Just a thought.
Jos Gallacher 🕊️3The point about replacing Sir Kier should not be about winning the next election but about leading a Labour government for the next three years in a way that improves the lives of the many.
Sixes All The Way3Labour also wasted their campaign opportunity by pissing themsleves over the Greens rather than try to put forward good faith arguments. Labour are a spent force & entirely deserve to suffer this self-inflicted demise.
MrTerryChaos (Terry)3The problem is Labour Together. Starmer is just a symptom of the rot in the party. Unless Labour Together is disbanded and the progressives of the party are able to regain control, Labour is cooked. If the party replaces Starmer with a LT crony like Streeting, it'll just be a performative move.
