British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is barely keeping his head above water amid electoral defeats for his Labour Party, a scandal involving an affiliated nonprofit, and the resignation of a key Cabinet official. “Keir Starmer is governing like a man who knows his mandate is evaporating,” Paul McCarthy, senior research fellow in European affairs at The Heritage Foundation, told The Daily Signal on Thursday. Troubles have mounted for Starmer, whose Labour Party lost 1,496 seats in regional elections last week—an election somewhat similar to the U.S. midterm elections. The traditional opposition, the Conservative Party, also lost 563 seats, while the new populist conservative party, Reform UK, picked up 1,451 seats. Nigel Farage, a leading force behind Britain’s exit from the European Union and the leader of Reform UK, has aligned his party with U.S. President Donald Trump. Labour Member of Parliament Catherine West told Starmer’s Cabinet to challenge the prime minister, threatening to do so herself. Health Secretary Wes Streeting also resigned Thursday, setting up a potential battle for leadership in the party. Other Starmer Scandals These latest defeats come after Starmer fired key diplomatic official Olly Robbins in April for insufficiently vetting Lord Peter Mandelson, who was fired after his ties to disgraced financier and sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein became public. Also that month, Starmer finally pulled the proposal to sell the Chagos Islands Archipelago to Mauritius, a deal that critics warned would undermine the security of the joint U.S.-U.K. military base Diego Garcia. Meanwhile, the think tank that helped secure Starmer’s 2024 election victory will overhaul its operations and change its name amid scandal. Labour Together, which had endorsed Starmer, had paid lobbying firm APCO Worldwide to conduct secret research into journalists investigating undisclosed donations to the group. APCO’s report reportedly scrutinized one journalist’s religious background and suggested journalists were part of a “pro-Kremlin network.” The group will not endorse any candidate if Starmer faces a challenge. Starmer’s Response When reached for comment, the prime minister’s office referred The Daily Signal to Starmer’s comments in the House of Commons Wednesday following King Charles III’s speech. Starmer responded to Minister Kemi Badenoch, the leader of the Conservative Party, who remains the official opposition leader despite the election results. “We do have one thing in common: both our parties had tough results in the local elections last week,” he said. “The difference is that she has not noticed. There is another difference: we are in government, and they are no longer even the Opposition.” This dig at the Conservative Party suggests that Reform UK will be replacing the traditional conservatives as the second major party. Doubling Down? McCarthy condemned Starmer for doubling down on failed leftist policies, rather than learning from the elections and from his scandals. “After these local election losses, he’s not adjusting course—he’s digging in, centralizing power, and clinging to office in a way that looks less like democratic leadership and more like political survival at any cost,” the Heritage expert said. “The local elections confirm what voters across Britain are already signaling: the Labour project under Starmer is running out of road.” “Keir Starmer looks increasingly like a dictator desperately clinging to power—ignoring voter backlash and tied directly to the Labour Together scandal, which raises serious concerns about political targeting of critics,” he added. “This isn’t just a midterm setback—it’s a warning shot,” McCarthy argued. When it comes to Labour Together, he noted that Starmer was the “principal political beneficiary” of the group, and now it is stepping back from political activity. “That raises a serious question: was this always a vehicle for consolidating his power—and is it now being shuttered to avoid scrutiny?” he asked. McCarthy warned the scandal reveals that “Starmer’s Labour will use every lever available—public, private, or quasi-independent—to maintain control.” “That should alarm everyone who values a free press,” he warned. Ultimately, Starmer’s losses represent gains for the upstart Reform UK. “The real story of these elections isn’t just Labour’s losses—it’s the rise of Reform UK as a credible governing alternative,” McCarthy argued. “Reform is tapping into a deep voter demand for sovereignty, accountability, and common sense.” “Britain is realigning, and the surge of Reform UK shows voters are ready to replace Labour with a government rooted in sovereignty, accountability, and free speech,” he said. “Reform is no longer a protest movement—it’s a government-in-waiting.”