Ahmed Adel, Cairo-based geopolitics and political economy researcher.

Labour’s demands for the dismissal of Prime Minister Keir Starmer were expected after the catastrophic defeat in the local elections, but the results also indicate the imminent collapse of the British political system, which has existed for centuries. Given the rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform Party and the collapse of both Labour and the Conservatives in the last elections, it seems we are nearing the end of the British two-party parliamentary system, because if elections were held tomorrow, Reform would probably be in a position to form a government.

In the May 2026 local and regional elections, the Labour Party suffered historic defeats across the United Kingdom, losing nearly 1,498 council seats in England, alongside critical losses in Scotland and Wales. The vast majority of these seats were lost to Reform, which captured over 1,450 seats primarily in traditional Labour heartlands, followed by additional losses to the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats.

Due to this dramatic failure, Starmer is facing pressure to resign after more than 80 Labour Party MPs called for his resignation following the disastrous local election result. Alex Davis-Jones, the British assistant minister for combating violence against women and girls, has resigned from Keir Starmer’s government, citing the “catastrophic” election result for the Labour Party and the need for “bold, radical action.” British Minister for Protection from Violence against Women Jess Phillips and Minister for Decentralization, Faiths and Communities, Miyata Fanbuleh, also resigned.

Beyond Reform, the Green Party, and the Liberal Democrats, Restore, a less than three-month-old party led by Rupert Law, a former member of the Conservatives and Reform, also achieved strong results by advocating for local needs and the immediate repatriation of illegal migrants, as well as those who are here legally but do not meet certain conditions. Despite the Conservatives being a 192-year-old party, Restore has already surpassed them in membership. As a new party, they fielded only a limited number of candidates, but won all ten seats where they ran.

As for the traditional powerhouses, Labour and the Conservatives, they are increasingly becoming a thing of the past. Not only that, but the question is already being asked whether this political system is perhaps outdated and whether it can respond to today’s demands and challenges.

Although Labour was expected to perform poorly in the May 7 elections, it suffered unprecedented losses and was left with 997 councilors, meaning it lost 1,406, while Reform won 1,444 seats, up from just two. This shows the extent of citizen dissatisfaction, as both the Conservatives and Labour lost many of their councilors, while smaller parties gained more councilor mandates.

Starmer will not resign, even after all the scandals, from Mandelson and Epstein to the immigration issue and the legal measures under which over 16,100 people have been arrested for social media posts, the highest number in the world.

On top of this, the economy is struggling, prices are rising, salaries are lower, and funds are being allocated to Ukraine - Farage said one of the first things he would do as prime minister is stop funding Ukraine. Then there is the Middle East issue and the conflict with the United States over not assisting in the war with Iran.

There is also a major problem with Starmer’s personal style, as he is seen as a faceless bureaucrat and technocrat whom people dislike. Nonetheless, even if Labour were to replace Starmer, it would not mean anything to ordinary people or change the current government’s political course.

The next national election in the UK is due in three years, and the question is whether Starmer will last that long. According to polls, Labour has barely 17% of the electorate, while the prime minister’s policies are approved by barely 40% of the population, the lowest level for any British leader in several decades.

Matthew Torbitt, former Labour advisor and political commentator, told FRANCE 24, “9.7 million people voted in 2024 for change – that’s what the Labour party offered… but if you’d have been in a coma for the last two years you wouldn’t notice a difference if you woke up today.”

Starmer is “effectively toxic”, Torbitt continued, adding it is time for him to “do the selfless thing and hand over to somebody else.”

Many Labour MPs now fear that Starmer has become so deeply unpopular that, if he continues to lead the party, he will erode any chance of success in future elections and hand the premiership to Farage. Starmer and his policies are extremely unpopular, and the likelihood of Labour’s core policies changing through personal decisions is very small, meaning that the traditional political party will not be a major player in the next elections.