Politics latest: Tories lose all their councils up for election as Nigel Farage's Reform UK wins big
After an epic day for the Politics Hub, we're logging off for the night.
There have been dozens of results today - here are the key headlines:
Reform on the march
Reform has done fantastically well, better even than leader Nigel Farage thought was possible.
This morning, they had no existing councillors in the areas being contested. Tonight, they have almost 600 and - for the first time - have majorities on nine councils.
Their success doesn't stop there.
They've also beaten Labour in a Westminster by-election and bagged themselves a new MP. Plus, they've also taken the gold medal in two mayoral contests.
Lib Dems - winning here!
It's also been a pretty good day for the Liberal Democrats, who have won three councils and are up 160 councillors.
Doom and gloom
On the other end of the spectrum, this is one of the worst performances the Conservatives have had in local elections in modern history.
Kemi Badenoch's party went into the local elections defending 18 councils. They have lost them all, as well as more than 600 seats.
And it hasn't been a good day for Labour either. They were only defending one council and one by-election, but they lost both.
You can find the full results of the 2025 local elections, as well as breakdowns by individual councils here - and watch a round-up from our political editor Beth Rigby below:
We'll be back tomorrow for more reaction - see you then.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The National
14 minutes ago
- The National
Foreign Office met with pro-Israel lobbyist to discuss arms sales
The meeting between British multi-millionaire Trevor Chinn and Christian Turner, the political director at the Foreign Office, took place in October last year. Chinn made his money in the motor industry and has donated to Keir Starmer and David Lammy. The purpose of the meeting, first reported by Declassified UK, was initially described by the Foreign Office as being 'to discuss geopolitics with businessman'. But disclosures to the investigative outlet under Freedom of Information laws showed that Chinn was given the chance to discuss Britain's arms trade with Israel with the Government. READ MORE: Labour MPs visit Israel on lobbying trip in middle of Gaza genocide Emails showed that the conversation focused on 'the 2 September IHL decision', referring to Labour's decision on that date to suspend some arms sales. A significant carve out was given in the form of an exemption for parts of F-35 bomber planes, which have been instrumental in Israel's devastation of Palestine. Chinn offered 'recommendations' on the issue of weapon sales, while the Foreign Office official asked whether other British diplomats might also try 'reaching out' to him and 'hearing' his views. A Foreign Office spokesperson said: 'It is the political director's job to engage with a range of voices across multiple issues to ensure informed policy making'. Declassified UK said that the Foreign Office refused to release any more details on the meeting, claiming it would harm 'the effective conduct of our bilateral relationship with Israel' which 'depends upon maintaining trust and confidence between governments'. The National has contacted the Foreign Office for further comment. READ MORE: Keir Starmer confronted over UK claim 'no genocide in Gaza' Chinn failed to respond to comment when approached by Declassified. He is a long-running funder of both Labour Friends of Israel and Conservative Friends of Israel and has also been involved with the Britain-Israel Communications and Research Centre, a leading lobbying group. In declassified files from the early 1990s, Chinn was described by one Foreign Office official as being 'by no means a dove' in terms of his support for Israel. 'My own feeling is that he is not very subtly tuned into the Israeli political scene, although he meets a number of leaders through his fund-raising activities', the diplomat continued.
The National
14 minutes ago
- The National
Reform UK MP Sarah Pochin calls for burka to be banned
Sarah Pochin, who won the recent Runcorn and Helsby by-election, asked Keir Starmer whether he would be joining countries including France, Denmark and Belgium in banning the face and body covering worn by some Muslim women. Speaking at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday, Pochin said: 'Given the Prime Minister's desire to strengthen strategic alignment with our European neighbours, will he in the interests of public safety follow the lead of France, Denmark, Belgium and others and ban the burka?' Her question triggered outrage in the Commons and cries of 'shame' from MPs. Then-French president Nicolas Sarkozy introduced the ban in France in 2010. Anyone found wearing the covering in a public space can face a fine of 150 euros (£125). It has since been unsuccessfully challenged in the European courts. Belgium brought in a similar ban a year later, and other countries including Denmark and Austria have got similar laws. Switzerland was the latest European country to introduce a prohibition, which started on January 1 this year. READ MORE: Former Reform MP calls for Scottish Parliament to be abolished The Prime Minister did not answer Pochin's question, and instead used the opportunity to attack Reform UK's economic plans announced by party leader Nigel Farage last week. Starmer said: 'Can I welcome her to her place, but I'm not going to follow her down that line. 'But now she is here and safely in her place, perhaps she could tell her new party leader that his latest plan to bet £80 billion of unfunded tax cuts, with no idea how he's going to pay for it, is Liz Truss all over again. 'Although considering I think (Pochin) was a Conservative member when Liz Truss was leader, she probably won't.' Former Tory foreign secretary later took issue with the Prime Minister's response, as he tweeted: 'After failing to answer any of Kemi's (Badenoch's) questions, he basically said to Sarah Pochin that he didn't like her question, so 'wasn't going to engage with it'. 'Refusing to answer MPs' questions isn't an option as a government minister.'
South Wales Argus
23 minutes ago
- South Wales Argus
DWP Winter fuel payments to return for more pensioners 2025
Chancellor Rachel Reeves told reporters that 'more people will get winter fuel payment this winter', adding that further details will be announced 'as soon as we possibly can'. She said: 'People should be in no doubt that the means test will increase and more people will get winter fuel payment this winter.' The means-testing of pensioners' winter fuel payments is an issue which has been blamed for contributing to Labour's poor performance in last month's local elections and the Runcorn and Helsby by-election. When will the details be announced? Ms Reeves said that she would set out how to pay for any increase in the threshold for the winter fuel allowance at the next budget. Asked whether she would tell the public if she planned to fund her commitments by raising taxes or cutting spending on other departments, the Chancellor said: 'As we have been clear, on winter fuel we will set out how we will fund that at the next fiscal event. 'We will set out how everything will be paid for at the budget in the autumn but it's important that everything that we do is funded, because that's how people know that we can afford it.' Will all pensioners receive winter fuel payments? (Image: House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA Wire) In short, no. Pensions minister Torsten Bell told MPs that, while more pensioners will be eligible, there is no prospect of returning to universal winter fuel payments. Speaking to the Work and Pensions Committee, Mr Bell said: 'Directly on your question of is there any prospect of a universal winter fuel payment, the answer is no, the principle I think most people, 95% of people, agree, that it's not a good idea that we have a system paying a few hundreds of pounds to millionaires, and so we're not going to be continuing with that. 'But we will be looking at making more pensioners eligible.' Very pleased to just hear the Prime Minister has just said he wants more state pensioners to get Winter Fuel Payments (WFP) and they will work out what they're doing in time for the budget. As I've said since day one, there are two main problems with the way the means testing… — Martin Lewis (@MartinSLewis) May 21, 2025 Mr Bell said he did not have 'lots to add' to what Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had said recently about the allowance. He told the MPs: 'Of course the announcement, as and when it's made, will be made to the House.' Sir Keir recently signalled a partial U-turn over the Government's decision to strip winter fuel payments from millions of pensioners. The Prime Minister said 'as the economy improves', he wanted to look at widening eligibility for the payments, which are worth up to £300. The pensions minister has ruled out returning winter fuel allowance to all pensioners - our recent poll found 33% wanted to do so, but more (44%) thought they should continue to be means tested, but given to more pensioners than under current rules Results link in following… — YouGov (@YouGov) June 4, 2025 How many more pensioners will receive the winter fuel payments? Officials have been unable to say how many more pensioners would be eligible. The decision to means-test the previously universal payment was one of the first announcements by Chancellor Rachel Reeves after Labour's landslide election victory last year, and it has been widely blamed for the party's collapse in support. The Government has insisted the policy was necessary to help stabilise the public finances, allowing the improvements in the economic picture which Sir Keir said could result in the partial reversal of the measure. What were the cuts to winter fuel payments, and who currently receives them? On July 29 2024, the Government announced that from winter 2024, winter fuel payments would be dependent on receiving another means-tested benefit, as part of measures to fill a 'black hole' in the public finances. This meant the number of pensioners receiving the payment was reduced by around 10 million, from 11.4 million to 1.5 million. Pension credit is the primary benefit by which pensioners can receive the winter fuel payment. The credit tops up incomes for poorer pensioners and acts as a gateway to additional support, including the winter fuel payment. Asked what groups who are currently missing out on winter fuel payments he would like to include again, if possible, Mr Bell told the committee: 'We are committed to the principle that there should be some means-testing and that those on the highest incomes shouldn't be receiving winter fuel payments in the context of wider decisions we have to make – and fairness is an important part of that. 'You can then take from that that my priority is those who are on lower incomes but have missed out.' He told the MPs: 'I'm not getting into anything about the operation of that but just, you know, I think all of us will have heard from people on lower incomes who didn't receive winter fuel payment this year and I understand the points they've raised. And so we'd like to see wider eligibility.' Put to him that a universal winter fuel payment would be '100% guaranteed' to reach those who needed it, Mr Bell told the committee: 'You have to wait for us to set out the policy and we will engage directly with the point you are raising.' Asked what work had been done with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to assess the practicality of recouping payments from higher rate taxpayers, Mr Bell said: 'We're looking at all of the policy options for how this eligibility can be extended, and when I've got more to tell you about that, I absolutely will.' Recommended reading: Commenting on the hearing, Tom Selby, director of public policy at AJ Bell, said the Government 'now faces a dilemma in determining exactly who should be eligible'. He suggested that one option could be to award the payment to everyone receiving a state pension, clawing the money back from higher income households, potentially through their tax returns. Mr Selby said: 'This might look something like the process for clawing back child benefit for working households, although that has caused mass confusion among taxpayers bamboozled by the complexity of the rules.'
