UK local elections: Keir Starmer under pressure as Labour suffers heavy losses

Meanwhile, Nigel Farage’s Reform UK has gained its first council of this year’s local elections

Votes are being counted in local elections as initial results pointed towards Reform UK gains (Joe Giddens/PA)

British prime minister Keir Starmer finds himself under pressure following disastrous local election results as Nigel Farage claimed Reform UK is on course to win the next general election.

Early results saw Labour haemorrhage hundreds of councillors and eight local authorities across England while Reform, the Greens and Liberal Democrats all made gains.