France, May 9 -- Thursday's ballots -- Starmer's biggest electoral test since Labour ousted the Conservatives in 2024 -- left the British leader under intense pressure after the party suffered a historic mauling in its Welsh heartlands.

Alongside the Tories, it was also decimated by Nigel Farage's anti-immigrant Reform UK party across England, and failed to make any inroads into Scottish National Party (SNP) dominance north of the border.

But Starmer, who has faced persistent calls to quit from rival party leaders and some Labour MPs for months, was adamant he was "not going to walk away and plunge the country into chaos".

"The results are tough, they are very tough, and there's no sugarcoating it," the 63-year-old said, adding "it sho...