From Uniform to Reform: Britain enters it's multi-party era

As an avid elections enthusiast who has been involved in democratic politics (in one form or another) for the past 21 years, never have I seen a round of elections that has emitted such a diverse, disparate and dynamic set of results. Gone is the era of (almost) uniform two-party dominance as we firmly enter the multi-party epoch of fragmentation and unpredictability. Last Thursday’s results not only transform the look and feel of local and regional government, but will alter priorities, policies and direction in the years ahead. 

As expected, the big winners last week were the insurgent Reform UK, winning seats and councils across England and gaining strong representations in the devolved parliaments. In many cases the party swept to power from zero representation overnight. Farage’s party won outright control of 14 councils and are now the largest party on a further 13 authorities. A staggering thought is that if councils holding elections last Thursday had elected all their seats, rather than the thirds up for election in most metropolitan boroughs, Reform would have gained control of an additional 29 councils. 

As is often the case with the governing party in such ‘mid-term’ elections, Labour was the clear loser. They lost votes in every direction and in every region, proving in electoral reality that the one great success of Starmer’s leadership has been the alienation of almost every constituency of Labour’s voter coalition. They lost control of a whopping 40 councils and the Welsh Senedd. 

However, focusing solely on the overall picture belies the underlying pattern that is emerging in local government, and indeed in our national politics, which is the disparate results of the parties from locality to locality. Each region and authority is now a colourful patchwork of different party representations, reflecting a fascinating mixture of political powerbases and demographics. Both the Tories and the Lib Dems put in strong performances in certain authorities, most notably building support in many of their established areas in London, whilst the Green Party had a bumper night in urban left-wing neighbourhoods. 

Significantly, a huge 65 of the authorities holding elections last week are now under no overall control. The elections have now fired the starting gun for inevitable rounds of multi-party tussles for future leadership, and potentially prolonged periods of instability. Nowhere better reflects this potential impasse than England’s largest council, Birmingham, where the elections threw up no less than five sizable party groupings, plus a large number of independents.  

Spare a thought also for the many ‘zombie’ councils that elected in thirds and now wait for an almost inevitable change of leadership in a year from now, leaving them hamstrung from making long-term decisions on important strategic matters. 

Our politics is changing and in these choppy waters of political instability, never has it been more important to gain an understanding of the nuances of each local authority, their political representation and their representatives. Engagement with elected members and council leaderships, both present and future, will be essential in understanding decision‑making, planning policy and delivery in the months and years ahead.  

At SEC Newgate, we are here to help you navigate these changing political times. 

We are offering briefings on:  

• What changed in May and why it matters 

• What's next on local government reorganisation 

• What the new political landscape means for planning decisions 

 
Get in touch with us to organise a targeted briefing at: local@secnewgate.co.uk