Figure 1.-- The results of the 2026 local elections were extraordinary -- perhaps the most consequential election since the 1922 General Election when the Labour Party emerged as one of he two leading British political parties replacing the Liberals. For a century, the Welsh Labour Party was the democratic world's most successful election-winning machine, but the Labor is no longer a political behemoth in Wales. Britain has never seen anything like it. Labour managed a paltry third place finish. They now have only nine seats in a 96-seat Senedd. Plaid Cymru , the pro-independence party, has written a new chapter in Wales's political history.
The results of the 2026 British local elections were extraordinary -- perhaps the most consequential election since the 1922 General Election when the Labour Party emerged as one of he two leading British political parties replacing the Liberals. Prime Minister Keir Starmer In his first week as UK Prime-minister, promised to devolve power down to local communities, arguing that decisions are best made by those with 'skin in the game' (2024). This aligns with Starmer's previous pledge to help citizens 'take back control'. Meanwhile, new Deputy Prime-minister Angela Raynor spoke of creating a 'devolution revolution'. Starmer and Rynor quickly changed their minds as public opinion polls quickly turned disastrously against Labour. Labour (and the Conservatives) did their best to cancel local elections (2025). The tried the same in 2026, but nation-wide local elections were held (May 2026). The results were huge, unprecedented gains by Reform, massive losses by Labour, and somewhat lower losses by the Conservatives. The most dramatic losses were in Wales, which Labour had controlled since 1922. Labour's collapse in the Senedd (Welsh parliament) was even more total than the most pessimistic predictions. For a century, the Welsh Labour Party was the democratic world's most successful election-winning machine, but the Labor is no longer a political behemoth in Wales. Britain has never seen anything like it. Labour managed a paltry third place finish. They now have only nine seats in a 96-seat Senedd. Plaid Cymru , the pro-independence party, has written a new chapter in Wales's political history. They are only a few seats short of a majority. Labour has been reduced to a minor player in Welsh politics. Prime-minister Starmer and other Labour leaders seem to think that Labour can quickly recover. We do not see Labour, however, reversing any of the policies that have proven so unpopular in Wales and elsewhere in Britain.
