Farage says local elections are referendum on Starmer, as he launches campaign

Nigel Farage has claimed May's English local elections are a "referendum" on Sir Keir Starmer's future as prime minister, ahead of a rally to launch Reform UK's campaign.

The Reform leader said support for his party at local government level on 7 May would act as a "stepping stone to change in national government".

His party have high hopes of making gains and trying to take control of more councils, with Farage billing contests in Sunderland and Gateshead as a "straight fight" with Labour.

Farage said his party's pledges include aiming to keep council tax rises "to a minimum".

Reform has been riding high in national polling but how this translates into electoral gains remains to be seen over the longer-term.

At the 2025 local elections, Reform won the largest number of seats of those contested in England and gained control of 10 councils – including Durham and Kent.

The party has launched initiatives aimed at making council savings but also faced questions over its record in power, including from Sir Keir on council tax increases.

Farage is in Sunderland for a rally to formally mark the start of Reform's local elections campaign on Thursday.

The Clacton MP said Labour are "defending far more seats in these elections than we are" and the party has "dominated" Sunderland's local government and parliamentary elections in Westminster over the past century.

"This effectively becomes, even though they're local elections, a referendum on Keir Starmer's premiership," Farage told reporters.

On what success looks like for Reform, Farage said his party will be "competitive" in some areas and there are others in which he "genuinely thinks we've got a chance of winning".

He said: "It's going to be a straight fight, us against the Labour Party in these areas like Sunderland, in these areas like Gateshead."

Farage added: "We'll cut expenditures, we'll find waste, we'll keep your council tax rises to a minimum."

He said national politics play a "massive impact" on local elections, adding: "I do think there are lots of people, including many loyal Labour voters for generations, who really don't think Keir Starmer is the right man to lead the country.

"I think this becomes a referendum on him."

Around 5,000 seats across 136 local councils will be up for grabs at the elections in England.

The government initially allowed 30 councils to postpone their elections, in order to deliver a major reorganisation of local government.

But ministers were forced to backtrack in the face of a legal challenge from Reform.

There will also be mayoral contests in parts of England while voters in Scotland and Wales will also elect representatives to their national parliaments on 7 May.