Millions vote in UK local elections as Starmer faces test

Millions of voters are heading to polling stations in a pivotal electoral test for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, with Labour braced for what forecasters say could be a bruising night.

Polling expert Robert Hayward has predicted Mr Starmer’s Labour Party could lose around 1,850 council seats across England, underlining the scale of the challenge confronting the prime minister.

Labour is also expected to suffer in Wales, where the party in government could lose the national vote for the first time in more than 100 years.

Mr Starmer has conceded the elections will be “a challenge”, but in a last-minute appeal he urged voters to “choose unity over division”.

In Scotland, all 129 seats at Holyrood are being contested, while voters in Wales are choosing 96 members of the Senedd.

Polls opened at 7am.

A caravan which is being used as a polling station opens up for voters in Duxford, Cambridgeshire

In a message issued yesterday, Mr Starmer said: “In tough times, you need politicians who will always stand up for you and your family.

“Time and again Nigel Farage and Zack Polanski have shown they are not fit to meet this moment of great global instability.

“Today I pledge firmly to you: whatever the pressure, Labour will always back you and your family and we will never waver from doing what is in Britain’s national interest.

“Today, choose unity over division. Vote Labour.”

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said her party remains the only one “with the plan, the team and the backbone to deliver a stronger economy and stronger country”.

She added: “Under my leadership the Conservative Party has changed.

“We know where we went wrong and we’re fixing it.

“The next Conservative government will deliver cheaper energy bills, take back our streets with 10,000 more police officers, cut business rates for the high street, end the war on motorists, and abolish stamp duty on the family home.”

People arrive to vote at a portable polling station in Leigh-on-Sea

Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey is urging the public to back “hard-working local champions”.

He added: “We have less than 24 hours to stop Reform and defend the country we love from Nigel Farage’s Trump-style politics.

“Across the country, from Hampshire to Hull, the battle is now between the Liberal Democrats and Reform.

“We are the ones taking the fight to them and standing up for decency, tolerance and the rule of law.”

Nigel Farage said his party ‘won the local elections last year’

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage used his final appeal to attack Mr Starmer as “gutless” and accused the Conservatives of failing to remove what he called the “unpatriotic” prime minister.

He added: “Together, we can continue the journey of getting our great country back on track.

“Reform made history and won the local elections last year.

“If you really want change, go out and vote for it again today.”

Green Party leader Zack Polanski said he was aiming to lead his party to “record-breaking local elections” and “win more councillors than ever before”.

He added: “In Wales, we are confident – but not complacent – of a historic breakthrough in the Senedd elections.

“Greens are the only party taking the cost-of-living crisis seriously, with real plans to cut bills, reduce rents and provide genuinely affordable homes.”

Keir Starmer faced calls to resign over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador

For Mr Starmer, polling day represents the most significant political test since Labour’s 2024 general election victory, with reports suggesting some MPs are already manoeuvring against him ahead of the results.

According to the Times newspaper, backbenchers from the 2024 intake are preparing a letter that would pin the expected losses on the prime minister and urge him to name a timetable for his departure.

Such a move would mirror the round-robin letter drafted by usually loyal Labour MPs in September 2006 calling on Tony Blair to step aside.

Mr Starmer’s premiership has been turbulent, and the latest controversy prompted calls for him to resign over his appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador.

The Financial Times reported that the prime minister is preparing a post-election “policy blitz”, with suggestions that it could include closer ties with the European Union.

Cabinet ministers are not believed to be among those ready to sign the letter, but there is mounting speculation about possible leadership ambitions from Health Secretary Wes Streeting, former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner and Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham.

Trade unions are also expected to seek Mr Starmer’s removal as leader, according to the Telegraph, which quoted an anonymous source saying: “The change and progress that was promised before the general election just hasn’t materialised.”

Work and Pensions minister Pat McFadden said yesterday that Mr Starmer was in a “resolute” frame of mind and warned that triggering a leadership contest would be a mistake.

Labour deputy leader Lucy Powell voiced support for Mr Starmer on the eve of the elections, though she avoided saying whether he should take the party into the next general election.

Education minister Bridget Phillipson also backed the prime minister, calling him a “level-headed” leader in an interview with LBC.

She added: “The last thing that people will want is the Labour Party turning in on ourselves.”