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2026 elections mapped: how Labour lost ground in different directions | May 2026 elections
Labour has suffered heavy losses across England, Scotland and Wales, losing ground to opponents on the left and the right in a fragmented political system.
The graphics below show where Labour’s losses were most severe, and how the electoral landscape has changed as a result.
Guardian graphic. Source: BBC PNS series, developed by John Curtice and Stephen Fisher
In England, Labour lost ground to Reform UK on the right as well as the Greens on the left.
As of 7.30am on Saturday, there were 40 English councils where Labour had seen a record drop in the share of seats, in some cases to its lowest level of representation since the 1970s.
Guardian graphic. Source: 2026 results via Press Association. Historic results via Open Council. Record drops were calculated based on biggest year-to-year falls in Labour’s seat share on whole council back to 1973. Only councils where Labour has controlled at least 50% seats were included
In Scotland, Labour suffered as the Scottish National party capitalised on a divided vote. As Reform made gains, largely at the expense of the Conservatives, Labour failed to translate discontent with the SNP into gains.
Labour’s collapse in the Senedd seemed even more existential, having lost power for the first time since the Welsh parliament was created in 1999. The party’s vote share fell by more than half, enough to push it into third place, with Plaid Cymru surging to become the largest party and Reform in second.
The maps and charts highlight how Labour is under pressure from different directions across Great Britain, with voters clearly willing to express their discontent with the government’s performance.
The election has produced one of the most bruising results for the two establishment parties in history.
In March, John Curtice of the University of Strathclyde told the Guardian: “We have never had five-party politics before. We’re in unprecedented territory and none of us know exactly where this will go.”
This played out during Thursday’s voting, with Curtice confirming “electoral politics in Britain has become highly fragmented”.
Labour has lost its majority in Wales and a swathe of councils in England, and failed to make any significant inroads in Scotland. It lost ground across multiple councils in its previous stronghold of London.
Reform has supplanted the Conservatives as the biggest rightwing force in Wales and Scotland. In England, the loss of strongholds such as Hampshire and eastern England were especially bruising for the Tories.
The main national beneficiaries of this have been Reform and the Greens, with Plaid Cymru benefiting in Wales and the SNP retaining power in Scotland.
On Friday morning, the prime minister said: “The results are tough, they are very tough, and there’s no sugar-coating it. We have lost brilliant Labour representatives across the country, these are people who put so much into their communities, so much into our party.
“And that hurts, and it should hurt, and I take responsibility.”
