United Kingdom Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour Party is bracing for heavy defeats in local elections, with Reform UK poised to make gains across the country, according to early results.Labour’s woes were already evident as the country woke up on Friday morning, with the governing party losing more than 258 seats and Nigel Farage’s populist party Reform UK gaining 382 seats by 9am local time (08:00 GMT).Recommended Stories list of 1 itemend of listThe election is seen as a key test of Starmer’s leadership, with Labour trailing behind Reform UK in opinion polls in recent months. In response to the early results, Starmer said he would take responsibility for the outcome but indicated that he would not step down.“Days like this don’t weaken my resolve to deliver the change that I promised,” Starmer was quoted by GB News as saying. “The results are tough, they are very tough, and there’s no sugarcoating it,” he said during a speech in West London on Friday morning.“We have lost brilliant Labour representatives across the country, these are people who put so much into their communities, so much into our party,” he added. “And that hurts, and it should hurt, and I take responsibility.”Reporting from London, Al Jazeera’s Camille Nedelec said these elections “act very much as a bellwether”.As well as being one of the most unpopular prime ministers, voters are increasingly blaming Starmer for their woes.“The number one concern, according to an Ipsos survey, which was conducted a f …
