UK PM Refuses to Quit Despite Losses   05/08 06:20

   

   LONDON (AP) -- Prime Minister Keir Starmer insisted Friday that he will not 
resign after bruising elections that saw his governing Labour Party suffer big 
losses and the hard-right party Reform U.K. make major gains.

   The local and regional elections are widely seen as an unofficial referendum 
on Starmer, whose popularity has plummeted since he led Labour to power less 
than two years ago

   Voters have grown impatient for economic growth and dramatic change after 14 
years of Conservative government, and many Labour lawmakers have become 
despairing at the government's failure to deliver.

   With about a quarter of the votes counted on Friday morning, Starmer said he 
took responsibility for the "very tough" results but would not quit.

   "The voters have sent a message about the pace of change, how they want 
their lives improved," he said. "I was elected to meet those challenges, and 
I'm not going to walk away from those challenges and plunge the country into 
chaos."

   Reform UK, led by the veteran nationalist politician Nigel Farage, won 
hundreds of local council seats in working-class areas in England's north such 
as Hartlepool that once were solid Labour turf, and also made gains from the 
Conservatives in areas like Havering on the eastern edge of London.

   Farage said the results marked a "historic change in British politics."

   The picture will change throughout Friday as results come in from the 
majority of local councils, including Labour strongholds like London. Votes 
will also be counted in contests for semiautonomous parliaments in Scotland and 
Wales.

   A Labour rout in the elections could trigger moves by restive party 
lawmakers to oust a leader who won a landslide victory in July 2024. Even if 
Starmer survives for now, many analysts doubt he will lead the party into the 
next national election, which must be held by 2029.

   Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy cautioned the party not to topple the 
prime minister, saying "you don't change the pilot during the flight."

   Results reflect fragmentation of UK politics

   Reform UK, running on an anti-establishment, anti-immigration message, also 
is eyeing breakthroughs in Scotland and Wales, though pro-independence 
nationalists the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru are more likely to 
form governments in Edinburgh and Cardiff.

   The SNP is expected to win the most seats in Edinburgh, where it has 
governed since 2007.

   Losing control of Wales would be a huge blow for Labour, which could be 
pushed into third place behind Plaid Cymru and Reform UK. Labour has dominated 
Welsh politics for a century and has led the Cardiff-based government since it 
was established in 1999.

   Across the U.K. Labour is losing votes to Reform UK on its right, and also 
to the Green Party, whose popularity has risen under self-described "eco 
populist" leader Zack Polanski. The Greens hoped to increase their vote share 
and win hundreds of council seats in urban centers and university towns.

   The Conservative Party also lost ground, with the centrist Liberal Democrats 
making some gains.

   The results reflect a fragmentation of British politics after decades of 
domination by Labour and the Conservatives, and make the outcome of the 
country's next national election hard to predict.

   John Curtice, professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde, said 
Britain is entering a new political era where "none of the parties are very big.

   "Even Reform are probably not quite at 30% of the vote, so the fracturing of 
British politics is underlined by these results," he told the BBC.

   Starmer's future is under threat

   Starmer's popularity has plunged after repeated missteps and U-turns on 
policies such as welfare reform. His government has struggled to deliver 
promised economic growth, repair tattered public services and ease the cost of 
living -- tasks made harder by the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, which has choked 
off oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

   The prime minister has been further hurt by his disastrous decision to 
appoint Peter Mandelson, a scandal-tarnished friend of Jeffrey Epstein, as 
Britain's ambassador to Washington.

   Poor election results could trigger a challenge from a high-profile rival 
such as Health Secretary Wes Streeting, former Deputy Prime Minister Angela 
Rayner or Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham. Alternately, Starmer could 
face pressure from the party to set a timetable for his departure after an 
orderly leadership contest.

   "I don't think Keir Starmer should survive these results," said Labour 
lawmaker Jonathan Brash, who represents Hartlepool in Parliament. "We have to 
be bolder, and we have to go further. And quite frankly, we need new leadership 
in order to achieve that."