UK holds local elections, with left- and right-wing populist parties expected to surge

Polls opened Thursday for millions of Britons in a series of races set to heap more pressure on beleaguered Prime Minister Keir Starmer and showcase the rise of hard-right and left-wing populist parties, both of which face accusations of antisemitism and bigotry at a time when Jews in the UK are under increasing threat.

Voters across Scotland, England and Wales head to the ballot box in Starmer’s biggest electoral test since his July 2024 general election landslide victory ended 14 years of Conservative rule.

Opinion polls predict grim results for Labour, which could amplify calls for Starmer, 63, to resign or finally face a long-rumored party leadership challenge.

Nigel Farage’s anti-immigrant Reform UK and the left-wing Greens, led by self-described eco-populist Zack Polanski, are expected to be the main beneficiaries of widespread disillusionment.

The Green Party has surged in recent polls, as its leader has focused much of his campaign on opposition to Israel and has accused Starmer of being on a “Zionist” payroll. Multiple Green candidates said to be under investigation for alleged antisemitism.

Polanski, who is Jewish, has accused Israel of genocide in Gaza, urged the UK to end diplomatic and trade ties with Israel, called for the arrest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for whom the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant, and condemned Israel’s “horrendous and illegal” airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear sites and ballistic missile program during the June 2025 war.

Last week, Polanski faced backlash — and later apologized — after retweeting a post criticizing police over how they arrested an attacker who stabbed and seriously injured two Jewish men in a Jewish neighborhood of London. That attack came amid a spate of arson and stabbing attacks targeting Jews and Jewish institutions in the UK capital, which has sparked increased government efforts to counter the growing antisemitic violence in the country.

This week, UK media reported that the Green party was investigating over 30 local council candidates for alleged antisemitism just days before the election, including at least ten who downplayed or justified violence against Jews.

While the party has said that some candidates have already been suspended, it dismissed the problematic members as only a small minority of those running.

Since the nomination deadline for the upcoming elections has passed, candidates’ names cannot be legally removed from ballots, even if their parties withdraw support or suspend them. Polanski admitted during the selection process that vetting was a “real challenge” for the Greens, though he has since said he has confidence in “99 percent” of his candidates.

While Polanski has himself been accused of antisemitism, this week he has been the subject of several political cartoons in UK newspapers that the Board of Deputies of British Jews on Wednesday suggested were antisemitic in nature and “are a cause for concern.”

The communal group urged that newspaper editors and cartoonists “take care” that “their depictions of Jews in public life do not wade into centuries old anti-Jewish tropes.”

Sharing, without comment, British newspapers’ depictions of the only Jewish person currently leading a UK political party .

Times. Mail. Telegraph. Sun. pic.twitter.com/F4J1kPaivQ

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— Ben Phillips (@benphillips76) May 6, 2026

The board’s warning came despite direct attacks against it by Polanski, with the far-left leader previously suggesting that it should be renamed the “Board of Deputies for the Israeli government” after it pointed out problematic members of his party and accused them of antisemitism for their rhetoric against Israel and Zionism.

Far-right surge

On the flip side of the ballot sits Farage’s Reform UK, a staunch anti-immigrant and far-right populist party which has also surged in the polls amid growing discontent with Starmer’s rule, with most surveys showing it would emerge as the largest party in the event of a general election, though one is not due until 2029.

Reform has focused much of its campaign on demonizing Starmer’s immigration policy. Brexit campaigner Farage, 61, and his populist party have long been accused of flirting with racism, something which both have denied. Former classmates have alleged that Farage made a Nazi salute, joked about gas chambers and said, “Hitler was right,” among other expressions of support for Nazism.

While Farage has dismissed the reports and insisted that he “never directly racially abused anybody,” he admitted that he may have “said things 50 years ago… that you can interpret in the modern light of day in some sort of way.”

Starmer has called the allegations “disturbing.” He called on Farage to explain himself and has accused Farage of failing to act over “obvious racism” in his party.

‘Barometer for how the country is feeling’

Polls open at 7 a.m. local UK time and close at 10 p.m. Some results are expected overnight, but most will not come until later on Friday.

Around 5,000 local council seats, out of 16,000, are up for grabs across England, while in Wales and Scotland voters will elect new devolved parliaments.

Starmer swept to power two years ago following 14 years of largely chaotic Conservative rule defined by austerity, Brexit and the tanking of the economy under former prime minister Liz Truss.

But critics say he has swerved from one policy misstep to another, and he has been embroiled in a scandal over sacked US envoy Peter Mandelson, a former associate of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Starmer has also failed to fulfil his main promise of spurring economic growth, with impatient Britons still suffering a cost-of-living crisis, including from high energy prices.

‘Progress versus the politics of anger’

Starmer said Wednesday there was a “clear choice” at the ballot box.

“Unity or division. Progress versus the politics of anger,” he said.

But Starmer is now one of the most unpopular prime ministers ever, and surveys suggest Labour will lose control of the devolved Welsh government in Cardiff for the first time since Wales got its own parliament 27 years ago.

A More in Common poll published Tuesday projected Reform is neck-and-neck with the pro-independence Plaid Cymru in Labour’s former heartland.

Labour is also fearful of a drubbing in Scotland, where the Scottish National Party is expected to extend its 19-year control of the devolved parliament in Edinburgh.

YouGov has predicted Reform could even force Labour into third place there.

“The message is clear: if you want real change, you’d better vote for it, and we go into tomorrow feeling pretty optimistic about our prospects,” Farage said.

Labour also looks set for big losses in London as the Greens pick up disaffected left-wingers in urban areas with a pro-Gaza message.

Pollster Robert Hayward has predicted the UK’s ruling party could lose about 1,850 of the roughly 2,550 local authority seats it is defending.

Hayward has tipped Reform to take 1,550 seats from Labour and Kemi Badenoch’s right-wing Conservatives — mostly in white, working-class areas. The Conservatives are also bracing for the loss of traditional strongholds.

“The two-party era has moved into a multi-party era,” Badenoch told news agency PA. “But the fact is none of these new parties or Labour have a plan for the country.”

Britain’s media is full of rumors that ex-deputy prime minister Angela Rayner or Health Secretary Wes Streeting could try to oust Starmer after the results.

Neither is universally popular within Labour, however, and would need the backing of 20 percent of the party’s MPs to launch a contest.

Some Labour lawmakers are also reportedly planning to demand that Starmer set a date for his departure.

He has insisted he will lead the party into the next general election, which won’t be held for another three years, barring any surprises that could cause a snap election before their scheduled date in 2029.