𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Sir Keir Starmer has insisted Labour is “on the front foot” in the run-up to May’s local elections, despite predictions his party could lose nearly 2,000 council seats. The Prime Minister said the vote took place against an “uncertain” backdrop, with the conflict in Iran pushing up energy prices and the cost of living.

And Sir Keir accused rival parties of backing “war with no plan”, as he claimed Reform UK leader Nigel Farage and Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch were cheerleaders for Donald Trump’s military action. The Prime Minister was in Wolverhampton to launch Labour’s local election campaign, after polling experts predicted Mr Farage’s Reform UK could win a staggering 2,260 seats.

Polling expert Sir John Curtice has warned that the elections will be difficult for both Labour and the Conservatives.

He said: “They’re taking place at a time when both Conservative and Labour are as weak in the polls as they have ever been. So on average at the moment, the Conservatives are running at 18%, Labour are running at 19%.

“That means that fewer than two in five of those people who’ve got a voting intention are currently supporting one of our two traditional governing parties, and therefore, it’s almost inevitably the case that both of them look at May 7 with a degree of trepidation, perhaps particularly Labour.”

University of Oxford polling expert Steve Fisher has predicted that the Left-wing Green Party could gain hundreds of seats, while Labour could lose 1,900 councillors. The Tories are in danger of losing around 1,000 council seats.

But Sir Keir insisted MPs and election candidates were “fighting for Labour votes, for Labour values and Labour pride in whatever place you come from across the country – so important as we build a Britain for all”.

The Prime Minister accused Conservatives and Reform of trying to drag the UK into the war against Iran, a claim which they both deny.

He said: “We’re facing a war on two fronts – the Ukraine war, now four and a bit years in – and let’s salute the bravery of Ukrainians over so many years, both on the front line and the civilians, as they fight for the values that matter.

“And now the other front, the other war, which is the Iran war, which I know is causing huge concern.

“People look at their screens, and they’re worried when they see explosions, infrastructure blown up, the rhetoric that goes with it, worried about whether this is going to escalate even further.”

He highlighted measures intended to help with the cost of living, including a lower energy price cap and an increase in the minimum wage.

Reform’s local election campaign is focusing on efficiency savings introduced in the 12 councils they already run, where the party says it has saved a total of £700million in one year.

Mr Farage claims his party could do the same in other authorities if given the chance.

Conservatives argued Labour had made the impact of the Iran war on the UK worse by poor management of the economy.

Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake said: “Rachel Reeves has stifled growth with her tax hikes and economic incompetence. Keir Starmer is too distracted by threats from within his own party to focus on his job. And Ed Miliband, who is running the country, has sacrificed our energy security on the altar of his net zero zealotry.

“Labour have nothing to offer hardworking families and businesses other than higher taxes to pay for higher welfare. At the local level, council tax is soaring on Labour’s watch, leaving residents paying more and getting less.”