Green Party Zoë Garbett speaks to the media as she is elected as the new Mayor of Hackney [Getty]
Thursday’s UK local election results have seen Keir Starmer’s Labour Party suffer major setbacks just two years after securing a landslide general election victory, amid the rise of the right-wing Reform UK Party as well as gains by the Greens and Liberal Democrats.
One of the key issues shaping debate during the campaign was British foreign policy towards Israel, particularly in the wake of the genocidal war in Gaza and the US-Israeli war on Iran, with observers expecting these issue to influence voting patterns.
So far, however, results indicate that the main beneficiary has been Reform UK, which has gained more than 300 council seats across England and is now being tipped to emerge as a major opposition force in Scotland and Wales alongside the Scottish National Party (SNP) and Plaid Cymru.
Amid what analysts describe as one of the most significant shifts in British politics in the past century, The New Arab examines how influential the pro-Palestine vote was in shaping the outcomes of several key city council elections.
Greens’ historic win in Hackney
One of the most significant victories for the Greens, as their leader Zack Polanski pushes for gains in London, was the party’s capture of the Hackney mayoralty from Labour.
The result will make Zoe Garbett the first Green Party mayor in London.
The east London borough, where Polanski is based, had been identified as the Greens’ top target in the capital, with polling accurately forecasting “a very bad night for Labour” nationally.
Ahead of Thursday’s election, Garbett told UK outlet The Independent in late April that voters were taking the Greens “more seriously” on issues they had not previously associated with the party.
She said concerns surrounding Gaza, housing, disability support and immigration repeatedly came up on the doorstep.
Garbett’s victory marks a watershed moment for the Greens in London, particularly as Palestine solidarity activists have long criticised the current Labour leadership for its ongoing support for Israel amid the war in Gaza, continuing arms exports despite Israeli war crimes.
‘Labour has tied itself to supporting Israel’
The Greens also made gains overnight in areas across the country including Salford, Oxford, Southampton and Exeter, where Labour lost control of local councils.
In Oxford, Green Party candidate Edward Mundy won the Cowley ward with 1,031 votes, as no party retained overall control of Oxford City Council following the local elections, ending Labour’s decades-long dominance of the authority.
“Cowley is a diverse neighbourhood and ward in East Oxford, and lots of different local and national issues come up on the doorstep,” Mundy told The New Arab. “What did cut through for a lot of people was the crash in the Labour Party’s credibility.”
Mundy added that “Labour’s leadership has tied itself to supporting Israel while terror continues to be inflicted on civilians in Lebanon and Palestine.”
He continued: “Voters understand why party members and politicians have been leaving Labour, and how the Green Party message of respect for human rights and social justice both home and abroad is what we need.”
In Birmingham, where Labour currently runs the council and where some of the most closely watched elections in the West Midlands since the last general election have taken place, the increasingly fragmented political landscape has been fully exposed.
According to the BBC, all five major parties have established a presence in the city, while polling suggested strong backing for pro-Palestine independent candidates.
The final result could also leave Birmingham under no overall control for the first time in more than a decade.
So far, Reform UK has won two seats in Birmingham’s Shard End and Perry Common wards.
The hard-right party has continued to build momentum following major breakthroughs across England, while also seeking future gains in Scotland and Wales through its anti-establishment and anti-immigration messaging.
Pledge for Palestine
No Reform UK candidates signed a pledge launched by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign in December 2025 in support of Palestinians ahead of the local elections.
The Councillor Pledge for Palestine called on politicians to take steps to “uphold the rights” of Palestinians, “stand up to Israel for its crimes of genocide and apartheid” and ensure local councils “are not complicit”.
Among the signatories were five councillors from the main opposition Conservative Party, alongside hundreds more representing the SNP, Plaid Cymru, the Scottish Greens, various local parties and independents.
With prominent pro-Palestine figures such as former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn previously stressing that the Palestinian issue was “non-negotiable in this election”, parties and independent candidates positioned to Labour’s left, including the Greens, had been expected to mount a significant challenge.
However, despite growing visibility for pro-Palestine campaigning, the Greens have so far gained only 23 seats.
Nonetheless, John Curtice, professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde, said Britain was entering a new political era in which “none of the parties are very big”.
“Even Reform are probably not quite at 30% of the vote, so the fracturing of British politics is underlined by these results,” he told the BBC.
In the early results, Reform gained 335 council seats across England, while Labour lost 247 seats and the Conservatives were down 127.
Most of the remaining results, including those from the Scottish and Welsh elections, are expected to be declared later on Friday.
