'Labour's historic battering' and 'Vernon and Tess split'

10 hours ago

News image — Many of the front pages lead with the immediate fallout from Labour's election losses across England, Scotland and Wales. The Times calls the election results "Labour's historic battering". The paper says the party faces an "existential threat" after it lost "1,300 councillors, was routed in Wales and gave up areas in the traditional heartlands it had controlled for a century". In addition to losing seats across the north of England and Midlands to Reform UK, "Labour haemorrhaged support to the Greens on the left in its former strongholds in inner-city London".

"Labour's historic battering," reads the headline on the front page of the Times. — Many of the front pages lead with the immediate fallout from Labour's election losses across England, Scotland and Wales. The Times calls the election results "Labour's historic battering". The paper says the party faces an "existential threat" after it lost "1,300 councillors, was routed in Wales and gave up areas in the traditional heartlands it had controlled for a century". In addition to losing seats across the north of England and Midlands to Reform UK, "Labour haemorrhaged support to the Greens on the left in its former strongholds in inner-city London".

"MPs break cover with calls for Starmer to quit," reads the headline on the front page of the Daily Telegraph. — "MPs break cover with calls for Starmer to quit," is the Daily Telegraph's headline, writing that some Labour backbenchers and union bosses said Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer "could not lead the party into the next election unless he 'delivers significant and urgent change'."

"Starmer defies MPs' calls to quit as Reform deals shattering blow," reads the headline on the front page of the FT Weekend. — "Starmer defies MPs' calls to quit", is the FT Weekend's take, summarising the results as "big gains" for Nigel Farage's Reform UK party and "Labour routed in Wales and Scotland". Financial markets "had a doomsday scenario for Labour and Starmer", Investment director Matthew Amis tells the paper, as bond markets regard Sir Keir and his Chancellor Rachel Reeves as "bulwarks against a more leftwing government".

"Dire election results pile pressure on PM," reads the headline on the front page of the Guardian. — "Keir Starmer is under pressure to set out a timeline for his departure after a crushing defeat in elections across Britain", reports the Guardian. It writes that Welsh First Minister Eluned Morgan lost her seat as Plaid Cymru beat Labour.

"Starmer told: It's time to go," reads the headline on the front page of the Daily Mail. — The prime minister is told "it's time to go", according to Labour MPs and union leaders who are calling for a change after the party was "thrashed in the local elections", the Daily Mail says. Allies of Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham told the paper he was "ready to throw down the gauntlet to Sir Keir as soon as next week", the Mail writes.

"Farage plots path to No 10 as Reform success plunges Starmer into fight for political life," reads the headline on the front page of the i Weekend. — The i Weekend says "Farage plots path to No 10" following successes at the local elections. "At least 10 MPs call for [Sir Keir] to stand down", but it notes his three main "leadership rivals" – Burnham, former Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Health Secretary Wes Streeting – are in a "stalemate" over the party's next steps.

"PM vows: 'I won't walk away' after colossal defeat," reads the headline on the front page of the Independent. — "PM vows: 'I won't walk away' after colossal defeat" is the Independent's headline, featuring a beaming Farage – leader of Reform UK - in front of teal posters.

"Farage's vow to fix Britain," reads the headline on the front page of the Daily Express. — "Farage's vow to fix Britain" is the headline on the Daily Express, after Reform UK "triumphed in the local elections".

"Tess and Vernon split," reads the headline on the Daily Mirror. — The other story to grace the front pages of the newspapers is the split of Tess Daly and Vernon Kay. The Daily Mirror reports that the celebrity couple are breaking up after 22 years of marriage. "The ex-Strictly host, 57, and the Radio 2 DJ, 52, said the decision was mutual," the paper writes.

"Tess and Vernon in shock split," reads the headline on the front page of the Daily Star. — "Bombshell after 22 yrs" is the Daily Star's splash about Daly and Kay's marriage break-up.

"Vernon & Tess split" is the Sun's headline on its front page. — A statement from the couple says they "remain great friends", the Sun says, adding a quote from a friend who says "they had simply grown apart".

The front page headlines offer little comfort to Sir Keir Starmer as the papers assess the fallout from Thursday's elections. "Labour's Historic Battering", says the Times, "It's Time To Go", insists the Daily Mail. The Guardian describes the results as "disastrous" for Labour, and says the prime minister is now under pressure to set out a timeline for his departure. According to the Daily Telegraph, MPs have warned Sir Keir that he could "end the Labour Party" – leaving it "slaughtered" and in a state of "total destruction" at the next election, if he fails to stand down.

A number of editorials make grim reading for the prime minister. The Daily Express claims he has "proved incapable of providing the leadership the country needs" - while the Sun says voters delivered a "devastating verdict" as they rejected a system "run by a London-based middle-class elite with no answer for the needs of working-class men and women". The Daily Mirror concedes the elections were a "catastrophe" for Labour, pointing to damage in Wales "so savage it would have been unthinkable to party strategists even 12 months ago".

Noting what it calls the "shattering blow" dealt to Labour by Reform UK, the FT Weekend highlights what it calls "Britain's new politics of instability". It says voters have "smashed the century-old Labour-Conservative duopoly" - leaving an "unstable kaleidoscope that makes forecasting the next general election look impossible". The biggest loser, it says, "is surely the political career of Sir Keir Starmer". The i Weekend suggests the elections have solidified "longer-term movements in allegiance" – with Reform's gains "the culmination of years of discontent caught up in the Brexit vote". Nigel Farage in Number 10 is now a "reality", it argues, and "these are the results that prove it".

Away from politics, the breakdown of the 22-year marriage of two of the UK's most well-known presenters is the main news for the Sun, the Daily Mirror and the Daily Star. The former Strictly Come Dancing star, Tess Daly, and the Radio 2 DJ, Vernon Kay, say they remain "great friends" and "no other parties" were involved in their decision to separate.

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'Labour's historic battering' and 'Vernon and Tess split'

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