The local elections held in the UK on Thursday are the first major test of the political situation as Kiel's Preferred Prime Minister and his Labour party came to power in last year's landslide victory.
A lot has changed since then.
As the economy is falling flatline and the government is falling in opinion polls, Reform Britain, a right-wing populist party led by Nigel Farage, is expected to capitalize on voter frustration. Farage, a longtime Brexit campaigner and a ally of President Trump's voice, discovers how reforms can turn a surge in opinion polls into a vote.
Starmer is struggling with a setback, but the main opposition Conservatives are also struggling. Its leader, Kemi Badenok, has been unable to recover the ground since her party was forced out of power.
It leaves a gap in other smaller parties, including the centralist liberal Democrats and Green.
Who votes and what?
There are no elections in Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland. Voting is only part of the UK. Starmer has reorganised local governments and canceled the election as many city councils expect to be replaced.
But voters will elect more than 1,600 councillors and six local mayors across 24 English municipalities. Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. Doncaster; North Steinside; West of England; Hal and East Yorkshire. Greater Lincolnshire.
There will also be a special election to replace Labour MP Mike Amesbury. Mike Amesbury resigned from the National Assembly after punching voters. The contest is located in Runcorn and Helsby near Liverpool in northwest England.
Are you confused? absolutely. In addition to unpredictability, voter turnout in UK municipal and regional elections tends to be modest. In many cases, less than one-third of eligible voters participate.
When are the results expected?
Special election results are expected around 3am on Friday, with four mayoral races to be held between 2am and 5am
Many local government election results are expected around lunchtime on Friday, and will increase even more from afternoon to evening.
Which party is supported on a bad day?
In short, two main labour and conservatives.
UK city elections continue in a four-year cycle. Unfortunately for conservatives, the series of seats was last fought in early 2021, with voters rewarding Prime Minister Boris Johnson for swiftly distributing coronavirus vaccines.
His conservatives won nearly two-thirds of the council seats, with Badennock defending about 970 people. She says it's “very difficult” and analysts hope that her party will lose hundreds.
Work is also able to withstand trouble. Amidst the pressure on living standards, the government has made the unpopular decision to curb spending and raise taxes, particularly on the parties on the centre left. However, there are few seats to defend: about 300.
The most famous challenge for workers is the special election to replace Amesbury. In last year's general election, he won the majority of British reform rivals, so losing would be a symbolic blow. However, Farage said he is targeting former Labour bases in northern and central England, and he appears to be confident in the candidate's victory.
Who could do well?
Reform has the highest ambitions, hoping to win hundreds of council seats, special elections and two or three mayors.
Party seeking to specialize in its business has been nominees in most council contests and is likely to have a significant impact. Poling experts benchmark their performance against the previous populist surge for the British Independence Party, under Farage's 2013 leadership, when it won a quarter of the votes in the local elections it contested.
The liberal Democrats and Greene are hoping to move forward too. Liberal Democratic leader Ed Davy says his goal is to “replace conservatives as the Central England Party.” The Greens say they hope to attract voters of left-wing workers who are disappointed with the government.
Robert Hayward, a conservative member of the Senate and voting expert, hopes that his party will lose between 475 and 525 seats. Labor that treads on the water; Liberal Democrats win 70-80 seats. And Green wins up to 40. We expect big winners to earn 400-450 profits and become reforms.
What is at risk?
Just as reforms are expected, it gives them momentum, gives them the first taste of local power, and tests their governing ability.
But the losers are under pressure.
Labor does not risk losing power nationwide – the next general election will be several years away. But when it performs badly, the lawmaker begins to worry. One of the focuses of the dissatisfaction could be Prime Minister Rachel Reeves, who has been criticized for angering many voters and suppressing economic growth.
For Badenok, the stakes look great. She has only worked for six months, but if reforms voted well at the cost of the Conservative Party, her critics within the party will include those she has rejected so far, including those who prefer an agreement with Farage.
