The results have dealt a blistering blow to PM Keir Starmer’s tenure as the ‘tough’ results have ‘hurt’
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage claims to be ‘thrilled and delighted’ having won the party’s first London borough. Reform has taken control of Havering, in East London.
It comes as yesterday’s (Thursday, May 7) local elections dealt a blow to PM Keir Starmer’s tenure as the ‘tough’ results have ‘hurt’ the Labour Party. He said that “days like this don’t weaken my resolve to deliver the change that I promised”.
Speaking at Kingsdown Methodist Church in Ealing , west London, this morning, he said: “The results are tough, they are very tough, and there’s no sugarcoating 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.”
But in East London celebrations will be underway after Reform UK won the council. Nigel Farage was asked by reporters whether the success was a result of a protest vote against the Labour government. He retorted: “It cannot continue to be a fluke or a protest vote.
“I can honestly say you are witnessing an historic shift in British politics. This (Reform UK) is now the most national of all parties.”
Mr Farage added Labour and the Conservatives were being “wiped out” in their traditional heartlands and said Reform would bring a mix of new ideas and experience.
He added: “We all know that finances of local councils all over the country are severely stretched. We are not promising miracles but we are promising good value for money.”
Labour faces further heavy losses as vote counting continues today in both English local elections and contests for the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Senedd.
All the winners in Havering’s local elections 2026:
Beam Park
- Trevor McKeever – Labour – 488 votes
- Matthew Stanton – Labour – 473 votes
Cranham
- Gillian Ford – Upminster and Cranham Residents Association (UCRA) – 2,844 votes
- John Tyler – UCRA – 2,407 votes
- Lesley Tyler – UCRA – 2,184 votes
Elm Park
- Barry Mugglestone – Hornchurch Residents Association – 2,367 votes
- Stephanie Nunn – Hornchurch Residents Association – 2,244 votes
- Kimberley Gould – Hornchurch Residents Association – 2,080 votes
Emerson Park
- David Johnson – Reform – 1,306 votes
- Alex Sibley – Reform – 1,255 votes
Gooshays
- Keith Prince – Reform – 1,738 votes
- Liz Tyler – Reform – 1,711 votes
- Robert Whitton – Reform – 1,542 votes
Hacton
- Geoff Burgess – Reform UK – 1,533 votes
- Julie Wilkes – Hornchurch Residents Association – 1,574 votes
Harold Wood
- Brian Eagling – Harold Wood Hill Park Residents Association – 2,425 votes
- Martin Goode – Harold Wood Hill Park Residents Association – 2,269 votes
- Darren Wise – Harold Wood Hill Park Residents Association – 2,209 votes
Havering-atte-Bower
- Graham Edwards – Reform UK – 2,419 votes
- Della Morton – Reform UK – 2,329 votes
- Paul Sullivan – Reform UK – 2,297 votes
Heaton
- Kevin Ayres – Reform UK – 1,829 votes
- Iurie Bivol – Reform UK – 1,621 votes
- Khuram Amin – Reform UK – 1,588 votes
Hylands & Harrow Lodge
- Kevin Gill – Reform UK – 2,271 votes
- Sean McMahon – Reform UK – 2,212 votes
- Maggie Themistocli – Reform UK – 2,173 votes
Marshalls & Rise Park
- Robert Benham – Reform – 2,241 votes
- Bailey Nash-Gardner -Reform – 2,111 votes
- Gary Payne – Reform – 2,135 votes
Mawneys
- Sue Benjamins – Reform – 1,848 votes
- Graham Day – Reform – 1,863 votes
- Geoff Starns – Reform – 1,716 votes
Rainham & Wennington
- George Harwin – Reform – 1,741 votes
- Joe Lock – Reform – 1,711 votes
- Sue Ospreay – Rainham & Wennington Havering Residents Association – 1, 780 votes
Rush Green & Crowlands
- Alex Donald – Reform UK – 1,347 votes
- Henry Williams – Reform – 1,293 votes
- Petru Dinsorean – Reform – 1,277 votes
South Hornchurch
- Luke Barry – Reform – 1,307 votes
- Angelica Ola – Reform – 1,151 votes
Squirrels Heath
- Christine Vickery – Reform – 2,330 votes
- Tom Vickery – Reform – 2,255 votes
- Martynas Cekavicius – Reform – 2,159 votes
St Alban’s
- Dianne Smith – Reform – 764 votes
- Russell Smith – Reform – 748 votes
St Andrew’s
- Robert Attree – Reform – 2,274 votes
- Malvin Brown – Reform – 2,209 votes
- Duncan Cowie – Reform – 2,098 votes
St Edward’s
- Terry Brown – Reform – 1,108 votes
- Martin Lardner – Reform – 1,075 votes
- Sathya P Maddasani – Reform – 965 votes
Upminster
- Oscar Ford – Upminster and Cranham Residents Association (UCRA) – 2,770 votes
- Michael Fisher – UCRA – 2,633 votes
- Chris Wilkins – UCRA – 2,541 votes
Looking for more from MyLondon? Subscribe to our daily newsletters here for the latest and greatest updates from across London.
