7 May 2026 UK Local Council Elections
The Ides of March is famous as the day in 44 B.C. when Julius Caesar was assassinated. Will the Nones of May 2026 become the famous date when the government under Sir Kier Starmer fell?
All major UK parties have confirmed they will contest the next general election, which must be held no later than 15 August 2029, but is likely to be before that.
Labour, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, SNP, Reform UK, Greens, Plaid Cymru, and Northern Ireland parties (DUP, Sinn Féin, SDLP, Alliance, UUP, TUV) are all expected to stand candidates nationwide or regionally.
The Labour party, currently in government, has 411 seats. With such a high majority, it can theoretically pass any legislation it likes. MPs on the opposition benches can and do try to hold the government to account but they do not have the numbers to block or change legislation. The current system is far from optimal and many want it reformed.
Analysis of the 650 Members of Parliament
This is my summary of the present position, taken from the Government website.
The website is designed by Civil Servants, is not easy to follow, and is in a random order. It does, however, give details of each MP. If you wish to view it, the address is https://members.parliament.uk
Labour 404, Conservative 118, Liberal Democrats 72, Independents 14, Scottish National Party 9, Sinn Fein 7, Democratic Unionist Party 5, Reform UK 6, Green Party 4, Plaid Cymru 4, Social Democratic & Labour Party 2, Alliance Party 1, The Speaker 1, Traditional Unionist View 1, Ulster Unionist Party 1, and Your Party 1.
(Figures reflect Robert Jenrick’s defection to Reform UK on 15 January 2026).
The Northern Ireland parties are: Democratic Unionist Party(5), Sinn Fein(7), Social Democratic and Labour Party(2), Alliance Party(1), Ulster Unionist Party(1), and Traditional Unionist Voice(1). The seven Sinn Fein members do not take their seats in the UK parliament at Westminster, so do not vote. (And remember the Republic of Ireland. Eire is a separate country, NOT part of the UK).
How the Whip System Works
Robert Jenrick was sacked by the Leader of His Majesty]’s Loyal Opposition on 15 January 2026 and defected to Reform UK. Badenoch said, she had “irrefutable evidence he was plotting secretly to “defect” from the party”. The whip was withdrawn and he defected to Reform UK.
Jenrick had been seen as a broker for a deal between the Tory party and Reform UK. He will likely get a key job in Farage’s team. He served as shadow Secretary of State for Justice, and shadow Lord Chancellor from 2024 to his current resignation.
Kenrick held senior ministerial positions from 2018 to 2019, 2019 to 2021 under a number of Tory Prime Ministers. He served in Liz Truss’s short-lived cabinet from September 2022 to October 2022.
Nadhim Zahawi is a practicing Sunni Muslim who fled Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi regime. He had the whip withdrawn. Born in 1967, he was a former Chancellor of the Exchequer, sacked by Richi Sunak for serious irregularities in his tax affairs.
Sycophantically loyal to every Conservative Prime Minister and leader since 2010, Zahawi is no stranger to scandal. He claimed lighting and heating expenses for the horse stables in his second home.
Every party has a Whip’s office. The job of the Chief Whip and his team is to find out everything about the MPs in their party. They need to know all their “indiscretions”–sexual, financial or anything else–so that they have a lever to force them to follow the party line and vote according to their instructions.
MPs have been known to come out of meetings with the Whips shaking and in tears.
A Note on the Independent MPs
There are 14 Independents.
Diane Abbott, Shockat Adam, Markus Campbell, Jeremy Corbyn, Rosie Duffield, Alex Easton, Andrew Gwynne, Adnan Hussein, Ayoub Khan, Rupert Lowe, James McMurdock, Iqbal Mohamed, Dan Morris, and Patrick Spencer.
Diane Abbott was suspended by Kier Starmer, the Whip was then restored, but she is now an Independent. Jeremy Corbyn is technically independent but has indicated that he will join the “Your Party” when he clarifies the name. Strange when you think he was a co-founder with Zarah Sultana of “Your Party” in September 2025. The only registered name in that party at the moment is Sultana.
Muslims in Parliament
A Muslim is a follower of the Islamic faith; an Islamist advocates for the political implementation of Islamic law and governance.
I include a section on Muslims in Parliament solely because the number of Muslims in the UK, both those legally here and those who illegally entered by boat from France, are the subject of controversy within parliamentary political parties and the general public.
There are 27 Muslims in he House of Commons including Shabana Mahmod who is a Cabinet member She is both Secretary of State for Justice and Attorney General. The other Muslim Cabinet member is Sajid Javid. There are 6 other Muslim ministers in the House of Commons. At the beginning of the Labour administration,, there were 10.
Sitting in The House of Lords, and this surprised me, there are 20 Muslim peers (Barons and Baronesses). Baroness Warsi sits in Cabinet. Baroness Mobarik, Baroness Manzoor, Baron Kamall, and Baron Khan of Burnley are ministers.
The Scottish parliament has 2 Cabinet ministers, Humza Yousaf and Kaukab Stewart, and 5 other Muslim members. 3 members of the Welsh parliament (the Senedd) are Muslim. The London Assembly has 3 Muslim members: Sadiq Khan (the Mayor) and 2 other Muslim members. There are 2 Muslims sitting in the provincial mayoralties, Lutfur Rahman and Rokhsana.
More details on Muslims in Parliament may be found here, https://en.wikipedia.org/List_of_British_Muslim_politicians
Conclusion
If the Ides of March reshaped Rome, the Nones of May may yet reshape Britain. Elections, defections, party whip discipline and Muslim votes are not isolated statistics — they are levers of power. Together they decide whether democracy across the UK steadies itself or spirals into upheaval, changing the balance of control for years to come.
And while the Nones of May may not topple a government outright, they could tilt that balance of control. From Westminster to Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and local councils, these forces will continue to test whether the UK’s democratic equilibrium is strengthened or strained.
The Nones of May may yet be remembered not as routine elections, but as the moment upheaval redefined the balance of control.
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