Labour leader Keir Starmer has sought to reassure party supporters after a dismal set of local election results, with Reform UK making significant gains in areas once considered safe for the opposition.
As the full extent of the party's losses became clear, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage declared a 'historic shift in British politics', with the party set to hold sway in multiple council areas.
Speaking to reporters, Starmer acknowledged the scale of the challenge facing Labour, but insisted he would not walk away from the fight.
'I'm not going to walk away,' he said. 'I'm committed to leading this party and taking on the Prime Minister and his government.'
The Prime Minister's party has struggled to stem the tide of Reform UK's advance, with losses reported in several key council areas. The party's woes have been compounded by a series of high-profile by-election defeats, which have seen Labour's vote share consistently outpoll that of the ruling party.
Opposition politicians have seized on the results as evidence of the Prime Minister's faltering leadership, with Labour's shadow leader of the House of Commons, Emily Thornberry, accusing the ruling party of 'sleepwalking into disaster'.