{"id":2600636,"date":"2026-05-09T05:30:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T09:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/two-party-politics-dead-and-buried-in-uk-after-local-election-bloodbath\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T05:32:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T09:32:34","slug":"two-party-politics-dead-and-buried-in-uk-after-local-election-bloodbath","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/two-party-politics-dead-and-buried-in-uk-after-local-election-bloodbath\/","title":{"rendered":"Two-party politics &#8216;dead and buried&#8217; in UK after local election bloodbath"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftwo-party-politics-dead-and-buried-in-uk-after-local-election-bloodbath%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2600636&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>U.K. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-gop-commission-blocks-primary-results-in-new-mexico-over-voting-machines\/\" title=\"REPORT: GOP Commission Blocks Primary Results In New Mexico Over Voting Machines\">local election results<\/a> are showing a major shift in voter behavior, with outside parties increasingly outperforming mainstream rivals. Reform U.K. emerged as the biggest winner, gaining more than 1,000 seats in about 5,000 english council contests and taking control of eight councils, even in traditionally conservative areas. <\/p>\n<p>The Green party also made gains, winning several council seats at Labour\u2019s expense and framing the contest as \u201cGreen party versus Reform,\u201d suggesting challenger parties are building momentum across the country. Labour\u2019s losses were significant-especially in wales, where it fell to third place in the Senedd, while Plaid Cymru surged to become the largest party. <\/p>\n<p>Political observers featured in the article argue these local elections-frequently enough treated as protest votes and signals to national sentiment-may represent a \u201ctipping point\u201d away from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chinese-automakers-sold-75-of-evs-in-southeast-asia-in-q1-study\/\" title=\"Chinese automakers dominated the Southeast Asian EV market, selling 75% of all electric vehicles in Q1, according to a study.\">long-standing dominance<\/a> of Labour and the Conservatives. Some academics contend voters are rejecting the two customary parties on a scale not previously seen, raising the possibility that challengers could become viable in future general elections.<\/p>\n<p>In response to Labour\u2019s setbacks, Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces renewed pressure to step down. Labour MPs called for an announced timetable and an \u201corderly transition,\u201d warning that Starmer\u2019s unpopularity could harm the party and help the far right.Starmer acknowledged obligation for the defeat but saeid he will not leave office in a way that would plunge the country into chaos.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4559552\/starmer-fears-reform-uk-green-party-gains-british-election-blitz\/\">Public opinion polls in the United Kingdom<\/a> proved accurate, as results from the recent blitz of local elections see outside parties dominating their mainstream rivals.<\/p>\n<p>The right-wing <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4513840\/trump-losing-uk-right-nigel-farage-admits-starmer-right-on-iran\/\">Reform U.K. <\/a>woke up Friday to find itself the biggest winner of all in the 5,000 English council seat elections that went to a vote on Thursday. While final results are still outstanding, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-new-normal-in-sweden-two-bombings-in-one-night\/\" title=\"The New Normal in Sweden \u2013 Two Bombings in One Night\">national populist party<\/a> seems to have scooped up more than 1,000 seats and taken control of eight councils across England.<\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4561150\/trump-announces-three-day-ceasefire-between-russia-and-ukraine\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Trump announces three-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4560711\/uae-dumps-100-million-board-of-peace-gaza-police-force\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>UAE dumps another $100 million into Board of Peace to fund Gaza police force<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4560811\/watch-f18-disable-iranian-tankers-run-strait-of-hormuz-blockade\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>WATCH: F-18s disable Iranian tankers trying to run Strait of Hormuz blockade<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve been so used to thinking of politics in terms of left and right. And yet what Reform are able to do is win in areas that have always been conservative \u2014 but equally we\u2019re proving in a big way that we can win in areas that Labour have dominated, frankly, since the end of World War I,\u201d he told a crowd of supporters in the London borough of Havering, which his party secured on Thursday.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Reform U.K. leader Nigel Farage speaks to the media during a visit to Havering Town Hall, in Romford, England, Friday, May 8, 2026, a day after the local elections. (Yui Mok\/PA via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Farage boasted the nationwide surge as a \u201ctruly historic shift in British politics\u201d that proves Reform U.K. is a \u201ctruly national party and here to stay.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He added, \u201cIt\u2019s a big, big day. Not just for our party but for a complete reshaping of British politics in every way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/green-party\/\">Green Party<\/a> leader Zack Polanski, who could not be more antithetical to Farage\u2019s politics if he tried, actually agreed with the Reform mastermind.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is very clear that the new politics is the\u00a0Green party\u00a0versus Reform,\u201d\u00a0Polanski said following his party\u2019s first-ever victory in a mayoral election.<\/p>\n<p>While the Greens did not enjoy the runaway success that Reform experienced on Thursday, the party took several scalps from Prime Minister Keir Starmer\u2019s beleaguered Labour Party in councils across England.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI said that the Green party were going to replace Labour. That\u2019s exactly what we did in Gorton and Denton, it\u2019s what we\u2019ve done in Hackney, and we\u2019re seeing that right across the country,\u201d Polanski declared. \u201cIn fact, in almost all of our seats, right across the country, whether they\u2019re target or non-target, the Green party vote share is rising.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Labour was thrashed across the U.K. \u2014 perhaps most notably in Wales, where they lost control of the Welsh parliament and tumbled to a distant third-place in the legislature. Wales has always been considered a stronghold for Labour.<\/p>\n<p>Plaid Cymru, a center-left party that advocates Welsh independence from the U.K., surged to become the largest party in the Senedd with 43 seats. Reform U.K. is now the official opposition with 34 seats.<\/p>\n<p>Polanski, reflecting on these losses from Labour and the Tories, declared traditional two-party politics \u201cdead and buried.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Local elections in the U.K. are often seen as protest votes and a referendum on the national government, whose numbers in parliament are not affected. Then, when it gets to general election time, the traditional parties once again assert their dominance. While it is not uncommon for third parties to gain traction and immediately declare an end to politics as they have been, even academics are beginning to warn that Labour and the Tories have lost their monopoly on national elections.<\/p>\n<p>Professor Jane Green from Oxford University\u2019s Department of Politics and International Relations <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ox.ac.uk\/news\/2026-05-06-expert-comment-are-we-witnessing-the-end-of-two-party-politics-in-britain\">called the elections<\/a> a \u201ctipping point\u201d at which \u201cvoters are rejecting the two traditional parties on a scale never seen before, and may not return to them in future.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Green Party candidates Rachel Nkiessu-Guifo, center, and Zoe Garbett, right, are declared winners in the 2026 London Borough of Hackney council election, and elected as councillors for Dalston ward, in London, Friday, May 8, 2026. (Yui Mok\/PA via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Green noted that \u201cvotes for challenger parties are usually higher in local elections\u201d because British voters have a different mindset in the general, conceptualizing themselves as \u201cvoting for a government\u201d instead of an individual candidate\u2019s platform. Until now, Labour and the Tories have been widely viewed as the \u201conly viable contenders\u201d for forming such a government.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOne reason these local elections matter so much is that they could be another sign that the challengers are no longer challengers, and that voting for them in a general election would no longer be a wasted vote,\u201d Green explained. \u201cThat is a game-changer for Labour and the Conservatives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4560396\/keir-starmer-refuses-calls-step-down-despite-uk-election-labor-losses\/\">STARMER REFUSES CALLS TO STEP DOWN DESPITE LABOR PARTY LOSSES<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Starmer has dismissed growing calls for him to step down as <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >prime minister<\/a> as Labour backbenchers assert that his unpopularity is harming the party down-ticket.<\/p>\n<p>Labour MP Connor Naismith from Crewe and Nantwich said that \u201cKeir Starmer needs to set out a timetable for his departure\u201d and called the results \u201cexistential for the Labour Party.\u201d Labour MP Simon Opher in Stroud demanded Starmer arrange an \u201corderly transition\u201d to new leadership to \u201cstop the far right from entering Number 10.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Starmer took responsibility for his party\u2019s defeat, but said he is \u201cnot going to walk away from those challenges and plunge the country into chaos.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>UK polls proved right: Reform surged in English local elections, winning over 1,000 seats<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3468,"featured_media":2600637,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26128286576366.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[79368,37456,79367,37154],"class_list":["post-2600636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-conservative-labour","tag-local-elections","tag-two-party-system","tag-uk-politics"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AP26128286576366.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2600636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3468"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2600636"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2600636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2600640,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2600636\/revisions\/2600640"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2600637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2600636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2600636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2600636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}