STORY: Britain's Labour Party appears to be suffering heavy losses in local elections.
Early results on Friday show the depth of voter anger with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and cast doubts over his future.
The main beneficiary is the anti-immigration, populist Reform party, which has gained hundreds of council seats.
Its leader, Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, said the results so far represented a "historic change in British politics."
Labour lost support in traditional strongholds such as the former industrial regions of central and northern England, along with some parts of London.
Starmer says he will not resign.
"Well, they've sent a message that the change that we promised isn't being delivered in a way they can feel. And also, frankly, they're fed up with years of the status quo. But we were elected to deal with those challenges. And I'm not going to walk away from that and to plunge the country into chaos."
The once-dominant Labour and Conservative parties were both losing votes to Reform and, at the other end of the political spectrum, the left-wing Green Party.
That indicated a continued fracturing of Britain's traditional two-party system into a multi-party democracy.
The elections for 136 local councils in England, plus devolved parliaments in Scotland and Wales, are the most significant test of public opinion before the next general election due in 2029.
