The 2026 elections are shaping up to be a seismic moment for politics in the UK. Across England’s local elections, Labour is facing up to a devastating result while Reform UK has picked up hundreds of seats from a standing start. Throughout the day as results come in from across England, Scotland and Wales, our panel is providing context, analysis and expert insights.

Big wins for Reform, but can it deliver?

Alia Middleton, Senior Lecturer in Politics, University of Surrey

Reform UK’s surge in areas such as Newcastle-under-Lyme indicates that the party has sustained the support it started to gather in the Midlands and the north of England at the 2024 general election.

The party has rather uniquely demonstrated an ability to steer voters away from both Conservatives and Labour. Gaining councillors and nibbling away at Labour support in the party’s heartlands in Hartlepool and Burnley shows that Labour’s reclaiming of its red wall at the 2024 general election may only be a temporary reinstatement.

Alongside the collapse and prolonged recovery of the Conservatives, Reform seems to be harvesting the party’s votes – take Essex County Council, which Reform now controls, for example. This has been either under Conservative control or no overall control since 1974. In 2021, Reform UK barely registered, but today it has 42 councillors. Several members of the shadow cabinet – including Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch – have seats in Essex. But now Reform seems to be consolidating its support in the county.

One upcoming issue for Reform, however, is that voters will soon expect delivery. Reform has shown it can win votes in local elections but the more councillors it has,........

© The Conversation