Reform UK is making significant gains, with Nigel Farage’s party hoovering up support in Tory-leaning areas and threatening to take Labour-held authorities.

The Greens are also beginning to capitalise on Labour’s woes, with Zack Polanski’s party predicted to grab councils across the country as left-wing voters could abandon Sir Keir.

In London, Labour faces being squeezed from both the right and the left as Reform and the Greens eat into the party’s once rock-solid vote in the capital.

Reform UK leader Mr Farage has framed the vote as a referendum on Sir Keir Starmer, urging disaffected voters to back his party.

The results will be closely watched as an indicator of national political trends ahead of the next general election.

Explore the map above to see how each council voted and which parties have taken control across England.

Local Elections 2026 MAPPED: Full Results for Every Council, Welsh Senedd and Scotland

Britain’s 2026 elections produced a dramatic reshaping of the political map, with voters across England, Scotland and Wales delivering a series of results that altered the balance of power between the major parties.

The elections on 7 May 2026 covered local authorities across England, the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Senedd. In England, all 136 councils taking part eventually declared their results. Scotland elected its 129 MSPs, while Wales elected 96 members under a new electoral system.

The overall picture was one of significant movement away from the traditional political balance.

Reform UK made substantial gains in England and Wales, while Labour suffered heavy losses in many English councils. The Greens also expanded their representation in several areas, particularly in London and other urban centres. In Wales, Plaid Cymru became the largest party in the Senedd for the first time since devolution. In Scotland, the SNP remained the largest party, although its representation fell compared with 2021.

England: Reform makes major gains

The English local elections were held across 136 local authorities.

The final results showed Reform UK gaining 1,372 councillors, giving the party a total of 1,454 councillors across the councils included in the election. Reform also gained control of 14 councils.

Labour experienced the largest losses. The party lost 1,229 councillors and 37 councils, while the Conservatives lost 433 councillors and eight councils.

The Liberal Democrats gained 142 councillors and increased their council control by three. The Green Party also expanded substantially, gaining 393 councillors and taking control of five councils.

Councils without overall control, or controlled by other groupings, increased significantly as well.

These figures illustrate how fragmented local politics has become.

Instead of a straightforward contest between Labour and the Conservatives, voters increasingly distributed seats among Reform, the Greens, Liberal Democrats, independents and local political groups.

Birmingham: Labour loses its dominant position

Birmingham was one of the most closely watched results.

The final council composition included 23 Reform councillors, 19 Greens, 17 Labour councillors, 16 Conservatives, 14 independents and 12 Liberal Democrats.

Labour lost 36 seats, while Reform gained 23 and the Greens gained 17.

The result left the council without overall control.

Birmingham’s result is significant because it demonstrates how quickly the political balance in a major English city can change.

Rather than one party dominating the council, several political groups now have substantial representation.

That means future decisions on budgets, services and local priorities are likely to require negotiation between different parties and councillors.

Bradford and Barnsley move towards Reform

Bradford was another important Reform breakthrough.

Reform won 29 seats, while Labour lost 29. The Conservatives gained five seats, while independents and the Greens also changed position.

The result left Bradford without overall control.

Barnsley was another notable Reform gain.

The party took control of the council from Labour, reflecting the wider pattern of Reform making substantial advances in areas that had previously been strongly associated with Labour.

These results demonstrate that Reform’s support is no longer confined to particular regions or traditional Conservative territory.

London: Greens make historic gains

London produced some of the strongest results for the Green Party.

In Lewisham, the Greens gained 36 seats while Labour lost 36, giving the Greens 40 councillors compared with Labour’s 14.

The Greens also took control of Hackney, ending Labour’s 24-year control of the borough.

In Lambeth, the Greens won 29 seats while Labour fell to 26. Labour therefore lost control of the council for the first time in 20 years.

The results demonstrate that political fragmentation is occurring in different directions.

While Reform has made substantial gains in many parts of England, the Greens have made particularly strong advances in several urban and inner-London areas.

Manchester and Wigan

Manchester provided another interesting example.

Labour retained control, but the party lost 24 of the 30 seats it was defending.

The Greens gained 17 seats, while Reform also made gains.

Wigan remained under Labour control, but the party failed to win any of the seats contested during this election cycle and lost 20 seats it had previously held.

Because only part of the council was being elected, Labour retained overall control through the seats that were not up for election.

These results show why simply counting gains and losses can sometimes be misleading.

A party can lose a large number of seats during one election while continuing to control the council because not every seat is contested at the same time.

Wales: a historic Senedd election

Wales experienced one of the most significant political changes of the entire election cycle.

The 2026 Senedd election was the first Welsh election since devolution in which Labour did not win the largest number of seats.

Plaid Cymru emerged as the largest party with 43 seats.

Reform UK Wales finished second with 34 seats.

Welsh Labour won nine seats, followed by the Conservatives with seven, the Greens with two and the Liberal Democrats with one.

The result represented a dramatic change from previous Welsh elections.

Labour had been the dominant force in Welsh politics since devolution began, but the 2026 election produced a completely different political landscape.

A new voting system in Wales

The Welsh election was also unusual because voters used a new electoral system.

Six members were elected from each of 16 constituencies, producing 96 seats in total.

The system uses proportional representation, with seats allocated using the D’Hondt method.

This change helped produce a much more diverse Senedd.

No single party came close to the 49 seats required for an outright majority.

The result means cooperation, agreements and negotiations between parties will be important in determining how the Welsh government operates.

Plaid Cymru’s position as the largest party does not automatically mean it can govern alone.

Reform’s Welsh breakthrough

Reform UK’s 34 Senedd seats represented one of the most dramatic breakthroughs in the party’s history.

The party had previously had only limited representation in the Welsh Parliament.

Its strong performance across the 16 constituencies meant that Reform became the second-largest political force in the Senedd.

In several constituencies, Reform candidates finished among the successful six members.

The result gives Reform a substantial parliamentary presence in Wales and changes the political arithmetic for every major issue debated in the Senedd.

Scotland: SNP remains largest

Scotland produced a different result.

The SNP remained the largest party after winning 57 seats according to the House of Commons Library’s final analysis.

Labour and Reform UK each won 17 seats.

The Conservatives won 12, the Liberal Democrats 10 and the Greens 15.

The SNP’s total was down from 64 seats at the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.

Labour also fell from 22 seats in 2021 to 17.

The Conservatives experienced a particularly substantial decline, falling from 31 seats to 12.

Reform UK’s 17 seats represented a major increase from its previous position, while the Greens also expanded their representation.

Scottish constituency battles

Several Scottish constituencies produced notable changes.

In Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, the Scottish Liberal Democrats gained the seat from the SNP.

In Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Labour gained from the SNP.

The SNP, meanwhile, gained Shetland Islands from the Liberal Democrats.

In other constituencies, vote splitting played an important role in determining which party secured the seat.

The Scottish results therefore show a more complicated picture than simply describing the election as an SNP victory.

The SNP remained the largest party, but its seat total declined and several other parties increased their representation.

The wider political map

Taken together, the elections produced a highly fragmented political map.

In England, Reform became a major force in local government.

The Greens expanded particularly strongly in London.

The Liberal Democrats made gains in several areas.

Labour suffered substantial losses but remained in control of a number of councils.

The Conservatives also lost ground in many areas.

Wales experienced a historic change, with Plaid Cymru becoming the largest party and Reform becoming the second-largest.

Scotland remained led by the SNP in terms of seat numbers, but the party’s majority position from 2021 was significantly reduced.

What the results mean for local government

The immediate consequences will be practical as well as political.

Councils must now form administrations, approve budgets and determine local priorities.

Where no party has an overall majority, councillors may need to form coalitions or informal agreements.

This could make local government more complicated in areas such as Birmingham, Bradford, Croydon, Kirklees and Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

The growth of independents and smaller parties could also increase the importance of individual councillors in close votes.

A changing British political landscape

The 2026 elections demonstrate that Britain’s political map can no longer be understood simply through the traditional Labour-Conservative divide.

Reform has emerged as a major electoral force.

The Greens have expanded rapidly in several urban areas.

Plaid Cymru has become the largest party in Wales.

The SNP remains the largest party in Scotland, but with a reduced number of seats.

The Conservatives and Labour both suffered significant losses in different parts of the country.

The result is a more fragmented political landscape in which several parties can claim substantial areas of support.

The numbers at a glance

Across the 136 English councils included in the elections, Reform gained 1,372 councillors, the Greens gained 393 and the Liberal Democrats gained 142.

Labour lost 1,229 councillors and the Conservatives lost 433.

Reform gained control of 14 councils, the Greens gained five and the Liberal Democrats gained three. Labour lost control of 37 councils and the Conservatives lost eight.

In Wales, Plaid Cymru won 43 of the 96 Senedd seats, with Reform on 34.

In Scotland, the SNP won 57 seats, Labour and Reform 17 each, the Greens 15, the Conservatives 12 and the Liberal Democrats 10.

These figures provide the clearest picture of the political changes produced by the elections.

Conclusion

The 2026 local and devolved elections produced one of the most fragmented political maps Britain has seen in recent years.

England saw major movement towards Reform and the Greens, alongside significant losses for Labour and the Conservatives.

Wales experienced a historic transformation, with Plaid Cymru becoming the largest party in the Senedd and Reform UK establishing itself as a major force.

Scotland remained dominated by the SNP in terms of seats, but its representation declined substantially from the previous election.

The results do not provide a simple national story.

Different parts of Britain moved in different political directions. Reform advanced strongly in many English areas and in Wales, the Greens made major gains in London, Plaid Cymru reshaped the Welsh political landscape, while the SNP remained the largest party in Scotland.

The most striking feature of the 2026 results is therefore not simply the success or failure of any single party.

It is the extent to which Britain’s political map has become more diverse, competitive and fragmented.

For local councils and devolved governments, that means the period ahead will involve negotiations, coalitions and new political relationships.

The 2026 elections have changed the numbers on the map. The next question is how those new numbers will translate into the policies, budgets and governing arrangements that affect millions of people across England, Scotland and Wales.