Reform spokesman Nadhim Zahawi clashed dramatically with Labour’s Baroness Ayesha Hazarika live on Sky News during the early hours coverage, painting a bleak picture of Sir Keir’s survival prospects by morning.
“It is going to be complete chaos in Downing Street tomorrow,” Zahawi said. “The U-turns have not helped. It’s made MPs not trust his judgement. Then the Mandelson Affair is the gift that keeps on giving. There’s going to be weeks of this. There’s going to be one hundred thousand documents that are going to be released.
“The court case, the investigation, it’s going to keep coming back to haunt him, which is why I think you’re going to have to let him go.”
Hazarika cut in sharply, telling Zahawi: “You cannot say ‘it’s a gift’ because that’s a very horrific thing involving grooming.'” She then attempted to steer the discussion towards how Sir Keir should “own it” over the party moving left to secure votes that might otherwise fall to the Greens.
How are Reform UK performing in the local elections so far?
Reform UK is tearing through Labour’s Red Wall in the early hours of Friday’s local election count, with the party already seizing 15 council seats from Sir Keir Starmer in Halton, Cheshire — as intense speculation mounts over the Prime Minister’s future.
Richard Tice declared the Red Wall was being “repainted” as Reform swept through traditional Labour heartlands. He told Sky News: “What we are witnessing is the Red Wall of the Midlands and the North is being repainted a much brighter, more optimistic turquoise wall. That will be the big news of the next 18 to 24 hours.
“You’ve just been talking about the incredible results, 16 out of 19 have gone to Reform in Halton. The collapse in the Labour vote is absolutely seismic.”
Reform MP Lee Anderson predicted the party would secure at least 1,500 seats nationally, posting on social media: “My prediction is about 1,500 seats, maybe more than that, but that’s my conservative prediction.”
A Reform source said: “We’re seeing a direct swap from Labour to Reform. The Red Wall is crumbling one brick at a time. This could be a devastating night for Starmer.”