Jump into the fall: the collapse of the Labor Party in the local elections brought Starmer's resignation closer

The resignation of Keir Starmer from the post of British Prime Minister will be a matter of time, experts interviewed by Izvestia said. It's all the fault of the Labour fiasco in the local elections in England, where they lost more than 280 seats. The Reform UK party, led by Nigel Farage, has triumphed, demanding a radical solution to the problem of migrants, an end to the "green" agenda and the protection of traditional values. In foreign policy, Farage aims at an alliance with Donald Trump and threatens to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights. About the consequences of the elections in Britain — in the material of Izvestia.

Will Keir Starmer resign

Local elections were held in the UK on May 7 — to municipal councils in England, as well as to the parliaments of Scotland and Wales. In addition to the deputies, the British directly elected six mayors — heads of local councils. A total of 5,066 seats are at stake. The next day, the kingdom woke up to a new political reality, where the traditional two-party system faced the most powerful challenge in recent decades.

According to the results of processing about 40% of the votes, the results for the ruling party look disappointing: the Labor Party has already lost more than 280 seats and control over key councils in its "traditional" settlements in the north of England. The Conservatives were also defeated, losing more than 190 parliamentary seats. The main winner of the race was the Reform UK party, led by Nigel Farage. It has already received more than 430 seats. The popularity of the Green Party has also grown, having already won over 60 seats.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the head of the Labor Party, spoke about the results of the first calculations with restraint, but without ambiguity. "The results are tough, very tough, and there is no embellishment," he said. However, when asked by reporters about his possible resignation, Starmer replied that he was not going to leave.

Nevertheless, several Labour MPs told Reuters that if the party shows poor results in Scotland, loses power in Wales and fails to retain seats in local councils in England, it is possible that Starmer will be required to leave office in order to "save" his position before the key parliamentary elections in 2029. In particular, the faction may send him an open letter asking him to specify the date of his departure.

The Labor Party sees that more than half of voters do not trust Starmer, so his resignation is only a matter of time, says Natalia Eremina, Doctor of Political Sciences, professor at St. Petersburg State University.

— The collapse for Starmer is quite obvious here. The Labor Party will now decide and put pressure on him. They will need to sit down and think about who will replace Starmer. He won't be able to resist," the political scientist told Izvestia.

However, it will be difficult to find a replacement for the current prime minister. Currently, there is no single figure in the party that would suit everyone. The most compromise option is Defense Secretary John Healey, the expert believes. However, if the Labor Party does not find anyone, Starmer may remain in power, Elena Ananyeva, head of the Center for British Studies at the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told Izvestia. She did not rule out the possibility that Starmer could reshuffle the government, remove unwanted ministers and appoint new ones.

What reforms does Farage propose?

The Reform UK party's program is a list of very simple and at the same time drastic measures for those who are dissatisfied with the current life in Britain. The most important requirement is to completely stop immigration and begin expelling from the country all those who illegally arrived in the kingdom by boat through the English Channel. For this, Farage is even ready to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) in order to facilitate the deportation of illegal immigrants. For this purpose, a special unit will be created to deal with their expulsion from the country. Those migrants who are already living in Britain on social benefits will also have a harder time.

"No more free housing. No more benefits. No more taxpayer-funded incentives for illegal migration," the Reform UK program says.

Previously, 58% of Britons considered immigration to be the most worrying problem facing their country, according to a YouGov study for Sky News. First of all, there was an increase in crime and violence on the part of newcomers. The second sore point for the British was high electricity prices. Because of this, Farage suggests fighting against the "green" agenda and resuming oil and gas production in the North Sea, as well as developing nuclear energy.

— The influx of migrants in Britain is quite large. The British themselves face the problem of paying for energy. Therefore, voting for Farage's party has become a natural reaction for ordinary Britons," says Elena Ananyeva.

In addition, Reform UK advocates lower taxes on both ordinary citizens and businesses. The status of a truly right-wing party is also confirmed by the paragraph of the program, which proposes to ban the teaching of gender identity in schools. Instead, Farage advocates defending "traditional British values."

What will happen next to the UK's party system

Nigel Farage's views on foreign policy can be described in one phrase: "Britain first." He believes that the country should completely forget about the EU and its laws, so that no one from outside can dictate to London how to protect its borders. Earlier, Farage's party was known as the Brexit Party and advocated Britain's withdrawal from the European Union even without an agreement with it.

Instead of friendship with his European neighbors, Farage relies on a very close alliance with the United States, especially thanks to his personal friendship with Donald Trump, in whom he sees the main partner and "defender" of the Western world. He is extremely distrustful of large international organizations like the UN or WHO, considering them useless bureaucrats who only prevent Britain from living by its own rules.

Farage has repeatedly criticized Moscow for starting the conflict with Ukraine, but NATO, which is actively expanding its borders to the east, also came under his criticism.

"The mistakes of the West in Ukraine were catastrophic. I won't apologize for telling the truth. Until we admit that we are wrong, we will never have a lasting peace," Farage said.

In his opinion, London would benefit from the restoration of, for example, energy cooperation with Moscow.

— He doesn't think that Great Britain is such a powerful country that it can quarrel with everyone. It is necessary to interact, and not enter into a geopolitical confrontation with Russia, building a multipolar world, — Natalia Yeremina clarifies.

However, according to Elena Ananyeva, it is too early to talk about a radical change in the UK's foreign policy, since elections will be held only in 2029. And the Labor Party, fearing collapse, will naturally not go to the organization of early voting.

The popularity of the Reform UK party is likely to continue to grow, destroying the traditional two-party system, but it is also premature to talk about their success in the next parliamentary elections. Nevertheless, the results of the current vote clearly show how tired the British are of both the Labor Party and the Conservatives, demanding to finally solve the problems in their own country. Time will tell whether Farage will be able to seize the moment.