Elections 2026 live: ‘I’m not going to walk away’, says Starmer as Farage hails ‘historic shift in British politics’
The Reform UK leader said Labour is being ‘wiped out by Reform in many of their traditional areas’ as results paint a bleak picture for the prime minister
AI Summary
Voting has concluded in England, Scotland, and Wales for the 2026 elections, with the first English results expected between midnight and 2am BST and Scottish and Welsh results from midday. In Wales, the Senedd parliament is expanding from 60 to 96 members under a new proportional electoral system, with polls suggesting Labour will lose control for the first time since devolution in 1999 and Plaid Cymru's Rhun ap Iorwerth will become first minister. Early declarations from areas like Hartlepool and Oxford could provide important indicators of whether Reform UK can translate its polling support into actual council gains and how fragmented the progressive vote has become.