London, May 7: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s leadership is on the line as millions turn out to vote in key local and devolved parliamentary elections across the UK on Thursday.
The biggest polls since the UK general election in 2024 are being pitched as a stress test of Starmer’s hold as leader of the Labour Party, the governing party that is lagging behind smaller parties in pre-poll surveys.
Ahead of the poll outcome, the stage is being set for a potential challenge by some sections of the party to try and notch up the 81 Labour MPs needed to launch an all-out rebellion in favour of electing a new party leader.
However, Starmer is expected to come out fighting on Friday as the results begin pouring in to fight back against any moves to replace him.
In England, more than 4,500 councillors are set to be elected across 136 councils as well as some local borough mayors. In Scotland and Wales, voters will elect members of the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Senedd respectively.
Niki Nixon of the UK’s Electoral Commission reminded voters to carry identification to be able to vote at the polling booths, which will remain open until 10 pm local time on Thursday.
“You’ll need to show it to polling station staff before they give you your ballot paper. Don’t risk being turned away, check you have ID with you before heading to the polling station,” said Nixon.
According to pollsters, both the governing Labour and Opposition Conservatives are unlikely to fare well as voters tend to use local elections to register their discontent with the central administration at Westminster.
The far-right anti-immigration Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, and far-left Green Party led by Zack Polanski are hoping to make strong gains in the councils across the country.
The Liberal Democrats, led by Ed Davey, are also hoping to pick up votes from discontented Labour and Tory voters from an electorate base of an estimated 30 million people.
In Scotland, the Scottish National Party (SNP) is hoping to hold on to a fifth term in office in the devolved Parliament – referred to as Holyrood – and the election in Wales is also expected to throw up a strong showing for the Welsh Plaid Cymru party.
The counting will commence soon after the polls close, with some of the key indicative results expected from around Friday afternoon and the picture nearing completion later in the evening.
However, some of the results could continue trickling in over the weekend too.
A YouGov national voting intention poll on Wednesday placed Labour on 18 per cent, ahead of the Conservatives on 17 per cent but behind Reform UK on 25 per cent.
