A worker cleans the street outside the door to 10 Downing Street, the official residence of Britain’s Prime Minister, Labour leader Keir Starmer, in central London on May 9, 2026.
JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP
Writing in The Guardian, Starmer admitted Labour had failed to convince voters it was delivering meaningful change.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer pledged to “listen to voters” after Labour endured major setbacks in local and regional elections, while Nigel Farage’s Reform UK made significant gains across the country.
Labour’s heavy losses in local and regional elections have prompted renewed questions over Starmer’s leadership less than two years after the party returned to power.
Writing in The Guardian, Starmer acknowledged that his government had made “unnecessary mistakes” and admitted Labour had failed to convince voters it was delivering meaningful change. He insisted, however, that the answer was not to shift further left or right, but to “listen to voters” and rebuild public trust.
The scale of Labour’s defeat has fuelled growing unrest within the party. Veteran Labour MP Clive Betts publicly called for a timetable for Starmer’s departure, saying the current situation “cannot carry on forever.” Although senior cabinet members have so far rallied behind the prime minister, political analysts warned that recovering from such low approval ratings would be extremely difficult.
Starmer is expected to attempt a political reset in a major speech on Monday ahead of next week’s State Opening of Parliament, where King Charles III will outline the government’s legislative agenda for the coming parliamentary session.
