Britain's two main parties suffer heavy local election losses

Loading player...
Britain's governing Labour party and main opposition Conservatives have suffered heavy losses as the populist right wing Reform surges ahead in early results from English local elections.

We look at what this means for the country's traditional party system and how long the current prime minister can last in light of these results.

Also in the programme: President Trump says the ceasefire with Iran is still in place despite a series of clashes in the Strait of Hormuz; we mark the 100th birthday of the documentary maker David Attenborough; and we'll look at how the war in Iran is causing a shortage of saffron in Italy.

(Photo shows the UK's prime minister Keir Starmer speaking at a meeting with Labour Party members in Ealing, West London on 8 May 2026. Credit: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)
8 May 10AM English United Kingdom News

Other recent episodes

President Trump arrives in China

President Trump arrives in China, the first US president to go there in nearly a decade. We'll look at how the balance of power has shifted since then and how Chinese perceptions of America have also changed. Also in the programme: on the day of the King’s Speech to Parliament…
13 May 10AM 49 min

British Prime Minister faces further calls for his resignation

Keir Starmer's position as Britain's Prime Minister is looking increasingly uncertain. He's said it's business as usual, but a succession of his junior ministers have now resigned. Also on the programme: A suggestion of a huge breakthrough in the treatment of H.I.V; and the crime writer Patricia Cornwell on why…
12 May 5PM 47 min

Britain’s prime minister fights for his political life

The UK's Prime Minister Keir Starmer is still fighting for his political life amid open revolt in his own party; do the rebels have the numbers to oust him - or can he hang on? Also in the programme: a special report from Khartoum three years into Sudan's civil war,…
12 May 10AM 46 min

Trump: Iran ceasefire on ‘massive life support’

The US president voices scepticism over the latest Iranian demands. Donald Trump says the month-long ceasefire between the US and Iran is on "massive life support" and insists he’s in no hurry to reach a peace deal. So how fragile is the Iran-US ceasefire? Also on the programme: As the…
11 May 5PM 48 min

Trump dismisses Iran's latest negotiating position

President Donald Trump has dismissed Iran's response to US proposals to end the war as "totally unacceptable". Iran's semi-official news agency, Tasnim, said Tehran's proposal included an immediate end to the war on all fronts and a halt to the US naval blockade of Iranian ports and guarantees of no…
11 May 10AM 46 min