The Elections of 7 May 2026 and The Continued Decline of the Two-Party System in British Politics
Voters cast their ballots on 7 May 2026 for 136 local authorities in England and for the devolved legislatures of Scotland (the Scottish Parliament, or Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) and Wales (the Welsh Parliament, or Senedd Cymru). In England, all seats in 32 London borough councils, six county councils, six unitary authorities, 16 metropolitan districts, and three district councils were up for grabs. A further half of seats were contested in seven district councils, and a third of seats in 12 unitary authorities, 16 metropolitan districts, and 38 district councils. The mayors of five London boroughs and Watford were also directly elected on the day.
As universally predicted, the results proved devastating for Labour and underwhelming for the Conservatives as Reform UK and the Green Party made substantial gains at their expense. In England, Labour lost control of 36 councils and the Conservatives 8, while Reform took control in 14 and the Greens in 5; in 24 councils, no party had overall control, which requires capturing more than half of the seats. The newly elected councillors in England belonged to Reform UK (1,453), Labour (1, 068), Liberal Democrat (844), Conservative Party (801), and the Green Party (587), while 212 had campaigned as Independents. Of note, Labour lost 1,068 council seats and the Conservatives 563. In Scotland, the Scottish National Party (SNP) won 58 seats in the 129-member Scottish Parliament, to 17 each for Labour and Reform UK, 15 for the Greens, 12 for the Conservatives, and 10 for the Liberal Democrats. Although the biggest party by far, the SNP failed to win an overall majority in a new five-party system. In Wales, Plaid Cymru (PC), the Welsh nationalist party, won 43 seats in the 96-member Senedd to 34 for Reform UK, 9 for Labour, 7 for the Conservatives, two for the Greens, and one for the Liberal Democrats. Once again, the biggest party did not secure a working majority. Labour’s demise in its former heartland in Wales is particularly noteworthy, reflecting growing disenchantment with Labour policies.
The fragmentation of the British vote is in keeping with the transition away from a stable two-party system to a volatile multi-party system. Britain’s two-party system dates back to the late 17th century, when the Tories and the Whigs first emerged as major parties under the first-past-the post system, in which the winner secures the largest number of votes. The Conservative-Liberal duopoly of the 19th century made way for its Conservative-Labour counterpart after the 1922 General Election. At times, in response to national crises or a to hung Parliament (2010), coalition governments have been formed, during 1915-22, 1931-40, 1940-45, and 2010-15. The Lib-Lab pact of 1976 to 1978 was a matter of political expediency to maintain a functioning government. The national equivalent vote of the two parties has continued to decline in the face of the onslaughts from a revived Liberal Party, the nationalist parties (PC; SNP) and, above all, Reform UK-Britain’s fastest-growing political party. Labour and the Conservatives together won 533 seats, despite a combined vote share of only 57.4%, in the 2024 General Election, while their national equivalent vote share in the 2025 local elections dropped even further to 37%.
Britain’s political landscape, in which the two once-dominant parties have traditionally relied on class allegiances and regional loyalties for their support, is being replaced by a more diverse and discerning electoral base and voters are more inclined to shop around for bespoke solutions for their particular concerns. Britain has always had its share of fringe parties and eccentric candidates at local and parliamentary elections. A growth in the number of parties with a meaningful chance of winning elections is, however, a much more recent phenomenon.
In the light of major discrepancies between vote share and the apportionment of council and parliamentary seats, there have been renewed calls for electoral reform. The choice of electoral system lies between majoritarian systems-such as single member and single vote (first-past- the post, Alternative Vote), and single member and second ballot- and Proportional Representation (List system; Single Transferable Vote), in which a party’s percentage of votes is converted into a percentage of seats to reflect its popularity. PR avoids ‘wasted votes’, is fairer to smaller parties, and considered more democratic, but often leads to unstable multi-party coalitions, in which smaller parties wield disproportionate power and can make or break sitting governments. A previous attempt at electoral reform failed when the UK Alternative Vote referendum of 5 May 2011 was rejected by an overwhelming majority of 67.90% on a turnout of 42%. Paradoxically, Reform UK and the Green Party appear to have benefited from the first-past-the post system in the current elections despite their stated preference for PR.
Looking at the bigger picture, there can be little doubt that both electoral and parliamentary reform are sorely needed in the UK. An adversarial political system, a larger than necessary House of Commons, outdated parliamentary practices, the centralisation of political decision-making and financial control, and a reliance on short-term targets in place of long-term planning are holding back the country at a time when greater consensus on key issues is essential to take matters forwards. The local authority elections of 7 May 2026 can be likened to the mid-term elections in the US in so far as they suggest the likely outcome of the 2029 General Elections in the UK.
Ashis Banerjee
The problem with all governments they rarely keep their promises and certainly don’t listen to their voters on the ground who often state their dissatisfaction. Where has the people’s vote and democracy gone?