Labour Party
UK governing party since 2024; now led by PM Andy Burnham after Starmer's June resignation.
Labour began a fresh electoral-Reform push on 29 September after Andy Burnham became prime minister in July, while autumn council by-elections tested whether the party could recover ground from Reform UK.
Last refreshed: 7 October 2026 · Appears in 2 active topics
Can Andy Burnham reverse Labour's slide before council losses turn into a general election rout?
Timeline for Labour Party
Gained Hirst and Amble from Reform UK and held Claremont
UK Local Elections 2026: Labour takes Hirst and Amble from ReformPassed a conference motion calling for proportional representation
UK Local Elections 2026: Burnham pledges to change voting systemHosted the conference where Healey spoke
Is Britain Actually Broke?: Healey rules out three big tax risesMentioned in: Marra's MSPs vote for right to decide
UK Local Elections 2026Mentioned in: Rhun ap Iorwerth sets six goals for Wales
UK Local Elections 2026Background
Labour is the governing party of the United Kingdom, having won a Commons majority in 2024. It is a centre-left British party with roots in the trade union movement, and its parliamentary leadership rules give Labour MPs a decisive role in whether a leadership contest reaches members. In July 2026, contenders needed 81 MP nominations to force a ballot.
The party has formed governments that shaped the modern British state, including the creation of the National Health Service. Its enduring political purpose is to combine parliamentary government with a centre-left tradition and an organised relationship with trade unions.
Labour's governing capacity depends on holding together its Commons party while competing across England, Scotland and Wales. Burnham's July 2026 accession, secured through 349 MP nominations, put the parliamentary party at the centre of that task.
Labour replaces its leader without a ballot
Keir Starmer resigned as Labour leader and prime minister on 22 June, saying he accepted the Parliamentary Labour Party's private verdict that he could not win the next election. Andy Burnham took 349 MP nominations by 13 July, FAR past the 81 needed to force a contest, so no members' ballot was held; a special conference confirmed him as leader on 17 July and he became prime minister on 20 July.
Between 20 and 23 July, Burnham named John Healey Chancellor, Ed Miliband Foreign Secretary and Angela Rayner Housing Secretary. Three senior Starmer ministers, Rachel Reeves, David Lammy and Peter Kyle, left government entirely.
Labour's recovery remains uneven
On 11 August, a YouGov poll put Labour on 24% and Reform UK on 22%, Labour's first lead over Reform in eighteen months. The result followed sharply conflicting July polling, which left the scale and durability of any Burnham effect unresolved.
On 29 September, Burnham said Labour's next manifesto would promise a new voting system and launched a National Commission on Electoral Reform without naming a chair or preferred system. The pledge places electoral Reform inside Labour's response to a fragmented party system, but it does not yet define the proposal voters would be asked to support.
Labour's local base stays contested
On 20 August, Labour regained Penistone East in Barnsley from Reform UK with 1,728 votes, or 51.8%, against Reform's 795. The ward had elected three councillors together in May, so the single-seat contest is not a clean measure of swing.
The same night, Labour lost Harraby South in Cumberland to Reform by 560 votes to 469. On 1 October, in two of the autumn's first council by-elections, Labour gained the Northumberland County Council seats of Hirst and Amble from Reform, winning Amble on 38.8% of the vote.