54 m. ago Badenoch apologises for local election results as Reform warned there are ‘no simple answers’ – UK politics live

Shadow chief treasury secretary Richard Fuller says Nigel Farage’s party must do more than just ‘point at problems’‘We can’t just talk to the right’: what will Labour do now?Headteachers are taking legal action against Ofsted, England’s schools watchdog, over fears that its new inspection regime is “even worse than before” and likely to harm the mental health of school leaders.The National Association of Head Teachers said it had lodged a claim for a judicial review against Ofsted “over the potential impact of their inspection proposals” and for inadequate consultation over its new system of grading schools.Somehow the focus on school leader mental health and wellbeing has got lost along the way during Ofsted’s consultation process.We must not forget that the catalyst for these changes was the tragic death of Ruth Perry and widespread acceptance that the inspection regime was placing school leaders under intolerable pressure. However, there appears to have been very little thought g...

Events

1 hour ago Are you worried about the rise of Reform? Take our poll and have your say

Reform UK has stunned us all with more than 600 local election wins, flipping Tory strongholds and claiming its fifth MP. With a booming Gen-Z following and rising poll numbers, the insurgent party is now threatening to upend two-party politics for good. Are you worried?

Politics

1 hour ago Local election results live: Badenoch sorry for Tory ‘bloodbath’ as Farage gloats Conservatives are finished

Reform takes control of 10 councils, snatches dramatic victory in Runcorn by-election and wins two mayoral contests

Politics

1 hour ago ‘No simple answers’ for Reform after local election success, senior Tory warns – UK politics live

Shadow chief treasury secretary Richard Fuller says Nigel Farage’s party must do more than just ‘point at problems’‘We can’t just talk to the right’: what will Labour do now?Labour MP Rachael Maskell has urged her party to scrap winter fuel and welfare policies that she said are pushing voters away, reports the PA news agency.The York Central MP told BBC Breakfast that Labour has “special responsibilities” to serve the needs of people.We’re not any other political party, we were created to serve the needs of people across working areas of our country so that people had a real voice of the kind of change that they wanted to see.I think it’s now time, if Labour are going to go further faster, to pick up that voice, to put our fingers on the pulse and to understand that that responsibility that the 1945 government set out putting that safety net in place at the welfare state is on our watch and is our responsibility.People went cold last winter and that’s not what a Labour government s...

Events

9 h. ago Downing Street ramps up efforts to stop housing asylum seekers in hotels after Reform surge in local elections

Senior Labour politicians believe the approach is having a negative effect on the government's popularity and is playing directly into Nigel Farage's hands.

Politics

9 h. ago ANDREW NEIL: The humiliation of Labour and the Tories has been on the cards for years. You can only defy the British people for so long before paying a terrible price

The humiliation of the Labour and Conservative parties in Thursday's elections has been on the cards. You can only defy the wishes of the British people for so long.

Economics

11 h. ago Main party leaders under pressure as Reform sweeps to victory in local elections

Reform picked up 10 councils and more than 600 seats in an election that Nigel Farage hailed as ‘the death of the Conservative Party’.

Politics

12 h. ago Tory wipeout as Conservatives lose every single council and Labour is decimated... while Nigel Farage's Reform bags local election landslide

The Conservative Party has lost every council it was defending in the elections after it found itself squeezed between Reform UK and the Liberal Democrats.

Politics

13 h. ago Map shows the councils that have turned turquoise as Reform make huge gains

Reform saw some big wins at the local elections

Politics

15 h. ago Local election results live: Reform wins spate of councils as Farage gloats that Tories are ‘finished’

Reform snatched a dramatic victory in the Runcorn by-election, beating Labour by six votes

Politics

15 h. ago Local elections 2025: Live results map for every council and mayoral race

The local election results are being declared as councils tally up votes

Politics

15 h. ago Keir Starmer urged to listen to voters amid Labour anger over by

Keir Starmer said Labour understood people's frustrations and vowed to go 'further and faster' to bring about change after a bruising local election night saw Reform make gains

Politics

16 h. ago Map: Where have Reform performed best in local council elections?

Results are still being counted, but Reform has already won majority control of seven councils and won hundreds of seats.

Politics

16 h. ago Nigel Farage’s Reform UK hammers Tories and Labour in local election rout

Big two parties lose ground while rightwing rival surges in council and mayoral polls

Politics

16 h. ago ‘Apocalyptic’: Tory wipeout as Farage storms English councils

Reform party’s rout in local elections poses huge challenges for Conservatives and Labour

Events

18 h. ago Local elections 2025: All the bombshells from Tory bloodbath to Reform's victories

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage boasted that the results showed the 'beginning of the end of the Conservative Party'. Here The Mirror looks at the key moments from the 2025 local elections

Events

18 h. ago Farage vows to ‘resist’ asylum hotels as Reform celebrates major gains

Mr Farage’s party has gained hundreds of seats and taken control of five councils.

Events

18 h. ago Full list of councils Reform control following local elections 2025

Reform has taken over a number of councils in the local elections - including Lancashire County Council

Politics

19 h. ago English local elections live: Farage says ‘it’s the beginning of the end of the Conservative party’ after sweeping Reform triumphs

Starmer acknowledges ‘disappointing’ results as Badenoch says it was ‘always going to be a very difficult set of elections’Local elections: full mayoral and council resultsStarmer under fire from Labour MPs after Runcorn lossIs Farage’s quest to rid Reform of ‘amateurism’ paying off?Reform UK has won three of the first five wards declared at Northumberland County Council, with Labour and the Conservatives picking up one each, PA reports.There are 67 seats on the council, with the Conservatives defending 33, Labour 18, the Liberal Democrats four and Greens two, while there were 10 independent councillors. Continue reading...

Politics

19 h. ago Voices: John Rentoul answers your questions on Reform’s rise – and how Labour and the Tories can respond to Farage

In a live Q&A, The Independent’s chief political commentator John Rentoul fielded readers’ questions on the rise of Reform, Farage’s prospects, and how Labour and the Tories can respond to the new political threat

Politics