An election official counts a vote in the local elections, in London, Britain, May 8, 2026. [Photo/Agencies]

The recent local and regional election results in the UK signal a notable shift in the nation's political landscape, with far-right parties making unprecedented gains at the expense of traditional powerhouses.

Experts note this outcome mirrors a broader trend of rightward drift and political fragmentation occurring across Europe, driven by growing public dissatisfaction with the political and social status quo.

The results from Britain's local and regional elections, released on May 9, saw far-right Reform UK score its biggest breakthrough yet. Across around 5,000 council seats in 136 English councils, the party gained over 1,400 seats and took control of 14 councils, while Labour lost almost 1,500 seats.

Cui Hongjian, a professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University's Academy of Regional and Global Governance, said the message from the election results is that the traditional two-party system in Britain is under strain, and political fragmentation and polarization are continuing to rise. He said this trend mirrors the broader rightward shift seen across European politics in recent years.

This phenomenon of surging far-right parties challenging established political forces is not unique to the UK alone. In Germany, the far-right Alternative for Germany has evolved from a fringe protest party into a major political force, with an INSA survey from April putting its support at a record 28 percent — ahead of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative CDU/CSU bloc.

France, while exhibiting a slower transformation, is also witnessing a normalization of the far right. The far-right National Rally is now France's largest parliamentary party and enjoys high standing in the polls, signaling its potential to significantly influence future elections. Similarly, in Portugal, the far-right Chega party has experienced an impressive rise in popularity since its founding in 2019.

Sense of discontent

Wu Huiping, deputy director of the German Studies Center at Tongji University, said the rightward shift is a widespread and persistent trend across Europe in recent years. She attributed this trend to a widespread sense of social discontent.

Many countries are grappling with deep-seated problems in the social, economic, and security spheres, fueling public discontent with establishment parties and paving the way for right-wing populist and far-right forces to gain ground, she said.

She said even some center-right parties, sensing voter anger over issues like immigration, have shifted to the right to some extent, accelerating the overall political realignment. In some cases, even left-wing populist parties have adopted what she described as "left-wing conservatism" on certain sociocultural issues, further contributing to the rightward drift.

Jian Junbo, director of the Center for China-Europe Relations at Fudan University's Institute of International Studies, said the rise of far-right and populist parties reflects the failure of traditional parties to adequately address the pressing concerns of ordinary people.

"For example, economic stagnation, livelihood issues, and immigration issues are all major concerns for the people. Traditional parties have failed to solve these problems, which has led to the increasing popularity of these far-right parties," he said.

According to a report released in April by the Centre for Research and Analysis on Migration at RFBerlin, the number of immigrants living in the European Union reached a record 64.2 million in 2025, an increase of about 2.1 million from the previous year.

Experts also point to a growing trend of political polarization across Europe, making it increasingly difficult for centrist parties — once dominant in major European nations — to survive.

The results of the French municipal elections, held in March, showcased this dynamic, with left-wing alliances scoring victories, the far-right National Rally making local gains, and the ruling coalition suffering losses.

Jasna Plevnik, president of the Geoeconomic Forum Croatia, said this trend does not lead to optimism. "The centrists have given up their political identity, turned their neoliberal ideas into a soft right-wing framework and formed contradictory political coalitions to stay in power," she said. "In that context, voters would rather vote for true right-wing or left-wing parties."

Looking ahead, analysts anticipate a continued shift toward conservatism and even populism across Europe, with potentially complex implications.

Cui Hongjian suggested that the rise in conservative-populist governments, with their stance of prioritizing their own country, could lead to protectionist policies in trade and a more negative attitude toward international engagement.

Xinhua contributed to this story.