LONDON, May 9 — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer promised today he would “listen to voters” after his Labour party received a historic drubbing in local and regional elections.

Disillusioned voters backed hard-right and nationalist parties in Thursday’s ballots—Starmer’s biggest electoral test since Labour ousted the Conservatives in 2024.

“The right lesson is to listen to voters,” but it “doesn’t mean tacking right or left”, Starmer, who has faced calls to resign, wrote in the Guardian newspaper.

The anti-immigrant Reform UK party made gains across England, Scotland and Wales—though Scottish and Welsh parties took the biggest share of seats in those elections.

With almost all votes tallied, the results are grim for Labour, particularly in Wales where they lost control of the devolved government for the first time since the parliament in Cardiff was established 27 years ago.

Nationalists Plaid Cymru, which wants Welsh independence in the long-term, is now the biggest party with Reform second and Labour third.

In Scotland, the Scottish National Party remains the biggest party but failed to get a majority—winning six fewer seats than in 2021.

In England, Reform picked up nearly 1,500 of the 5,000 council seats available and the Greens also fared well, gaining more than 500.

Labour lost almost 1,400 council seats and ceded control of several local authorities—though results in London were not as bad as predicted.

Just two years ago, Labour swept the Conservatives from power in a landslide general election victory, but it has failed to deliver economic growth and has been plagued by policy missteps and scandals.

Insurgent parties have reaped the benefit, as Britons struggle with an enduring cost-of-living crisis.— AFP