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Local elections will be held in Great Britain on Thursday. Reform UK, Nigel Farage's party, is expected to emerge as the big winner. The Greens may also hope for substantial seat gains.
On Thursday, May 7, more than 30 million people across Britain will have the chance to vote. In Scotland and Wales, voters elect their regional parliaments. In England, local council elections are taking place in all major cities, while district councils are also being elected in the south and east of the country. In total, more than 4,500 councilors are elected in 136 municipalities. In addition, there are six mayoral elections.
It's expected that the two traditional parties, Labour of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the Conservatives, will take big hits. According to The Times, estimates from experts talk of a loss of 2,000 out of 2,560 councilors for Labour and 1,000 out of 1,400 councilors for the Conservatives. Reform UK would gain more than 2,000 councillors (tripling its representation on local councils), the Greens about 500 and the Liberal Democrats about 250.
At the national level, the radical-right Farage is dominating the campaign with radical immigration proposals, including the retroactive deportation of some 400,000 refugees already granted asylum. Other parties are reacting strongly, and polling firms are signaling a growing Anyone but Reform movement in which left-wing voters are voting strategically.
Farage himself is under pressure because of revelations about his past and his financial behavior. For example, he was found to have evaded taxes when buying a new house, but always managed to get out of tricky situations.
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