Nigel Farage has pledged to fix Britain after his party’s stunning local elections victory. The Reform UK leader said he will “turn our great country around” if he becomes Prime Minister, insisting it’s what the public wants.

Mr Farage set his sights on No. 10, having crushed his rivals at the ballot box after millions went to the polls. The so-called “Reformquake” left Sir Keir Starmer desperately clinging onto his job tonight with Labour sustaining heavy losses in England and humiliating defeats in Scottish and Welsh elections. A jubilant Mr Farage promised the “best is yet to come”, telling the Express: “I stand before the British people ready to begin the process of turning our great country around. The election results this year and last year show the British people want Reform - and we have a plan to give it to them. He added: “This is a stepping stone to the next general election”. More than 5,000 council seats were up for grabs in the biggest set of votes since 2024.

Reform surged to victory in Labour’s heartlands in the North and Midlands while trouncing the Tories in swathes of seats across the country, notably in Essex, where Kemi Badenoch and some of her shadow cabinet are MPs.

Mr Farage suggested the results show Reform is on course to win the next general election as he hailed a “historic change in British politics.”

“Forget left-right, there is no more left-right. It is gone, it is out of the window, it’s finished,” he said. By 7pm his party had gained 1,218 councillors, compared to losses of 1,082 for Labour and 470 for the Conservatives.

It was even more bleak in Wales and Scotland, where Labour faced monumental defeats that left the party reeling. The Greens dealt a further hammer blow by taking the mayoralty in the red rose stronghold of Hackney in London.

Clamour for Sir Keir to consider his position intensified on Friday, with veteran MP Graham Stringer saying the PM was “despised on the doorstep”. Ex-Cabinet minister Louise Haigh said Sir Keir “cannot lead us into another election” unless the Government delivers change.

The head of the Labour-affiliated TSSA union has called for a new leader who can prevent a “catastrophe” for the party while Unison said “not just the leader but the entire approach” must be overhauled. Unite, another key donor, said the party must “change or die”. As he scrambled to put a brave face on the dire situation, Sir Keir admitted “unnecessary mistakes” had been made. But he said would not “walk away” and was planning announcements in the coming days to convince the public that “things will get better”.

“Days like this don't weaken my resolve to deliver the change that I promised,” Sir Keir added.

Andy Burnham, Angela Rayner, Wes Streeting and Ed Miliband - who have all been tipped to mount a leadership challenge against Sir Keir - remained tight-lipped after the drubbing. In a desperate set of results, Labour was stripped of control of Redditch, Hartlepool, Tamworth, Exeter and Tameside councils - the latter, which in Angela Rayner’s constituency, after 47 years, following major swings to Reform.

It was a similar situation in Wigan as Mr Farage's insurgents scooped all but one of the 25 seats available, including 20 from Labour.

Classic “Red Wall” seats in Chorley, Lancashire, Salford in Greater Manchester and Merseyside also dramatically switched.

Things were little better in the South, with Labour booted out of control in Southampton and Wandsworth. Reform had success in Essex, seizing 39 wards to take control of the county council from the Tories.

It also secured 11 out of 14 available councillor posts in Basildon. Mrs Badenoch said she is “very proud” of her party’s election results, despite losing hundreds of council seats in England. The Conservative leader, who pledged to rebuild the party after it suffered its worst-ever general election defeat in 2024, said she can “see those signs of renewal”.

The Tories took back control from Labour in Westminster, held on to their majority in Bexley and in Kensington and Chelsea, and became the biggest party in Wandsworth. However, they have lost their majority at Hampshire County Council and all 20 seats in Sutton. Reform overthrew the Conservatives at Essex County Council, which is Mrs Badenoch’s local authority, and at Suffolk County Council.

Mrs Badenoch said: “I said that we were going to rebuild after our worst defeat ever and we can see those signs of renewal everywhere that we are standing.”

She later added: “Just two years ago, people were writing us off, saying that we were completely finished, and now we are winning Westminster.”