Blackburn with Darwen: Pro-Palestine Independents gain 6 seats, Labour loses 11

Labour has lost 11 seats in Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, meaning the council now has no overall control.

In total, 17 out of 51 seats were up for grabs on Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council. Elections in the borough take place three out of every four years, with a third of the seats elected each time.

The Tories lost four seats, meaning the party now only has five on the council.

Reform has taken nine seats, with pro-Palestine Independents taking six in urban, majority-Muslim areas.

Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council Results (1/3 up)

➡️ RFM: 9 (+9)
⚪️ IND: 6 (+6)
🌹 LAB: 2 (-11)
🌳 CON: 0 (-4)

Labour LOSS to NOC
Changes w/ 2022 for outgoing councillors. pic.twitter.com/4dJIMYp5E1

— Election Maps UK (@ElectionMapsUK) May 8, 2026

Reform took 29.4% of the vote share, which is up from 0% in 2024.

Labour’s vote share dropped from 40.4% to 23.2%, which is a loss of 17.2%.

Blackburn with Darwen:

Labour loss to NoC

Reform: 29.4% (+29.4%)
Independents: 25.4% (-9.3%)
Labour: 23.2% (-17.2%)
Green: 11.6% (+9.2%)
Conservative: 10.8% (-11.7%) pic.twitter.com/S3WjuwhB5Q

— PollCheck (@poll_checker) May 8, 2026

The ousted Labour leader of the council has called on Starmer to quit.

Ousted council leader calls on Starmer to quit

Phil Riley, the ousted council leader of Blackburn with Darwen, has called on Keir Starmer to resign as Prime Minister, saying Starmer had a “very poor reputation” among voters.

“He has clearly done a very good job in terms of…

— LabourList (@LabourList) May 8, 2026

What matters to voters

Reform won seats from Labour and the Tories in the constituency’s rural areas. Meanwhile, in the more urban parts of the town, Independents took Labour’s seats.

In Blackburn with Darwen, 35.0% of residents describe themsevles as Muslim. However, in urban wards, where Independents won seats, that percentage is much higher – and that is clearly reflected in the vote share.

In the Roe Lee ward, which the Independents gained, 48.4% of residents are Muslim.

Similarly, in the Little Harwood and Whitebirk ward, 65.8% of residents are Muslim.

Obviously, these results speak to the public’s thoughts on Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and the current government’s complicity, or even active participation in that.

Keir Starmer cannot participate in whitewashing Israel’s war crimes and then expect Muslims to vote for his party.

Muslims are voting for the Greens because of the party’s stance on foreign policies, especially Gaza. However, it’s more than that. Muslims are also voting for the Greens because of its policies on community spaces, redistributive economics, local issues, such as parking and potholes, and the ‘visible decline‘ of their local area.

Meanwhile, white voters are handing power to bigots who claim multiculturalism is an “unmitigated disaster”.

But the UK would cease to function without multiculturalism, and that is a conversation neither Reform nor Labour are not ready for.

Feature image via PollCheck/X