Why the May elections matter
This Is Why
Sky News
4.0 • 552 Ratings
🗓️ 6 May 2026
⏱️ 22 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Millions of people are preparing to head to the polls across Britain on Thursday.
They'll be voting for thousands of local council seats in England - while people in Scotland and Wales will elect members of their respective devolved parliaments.
But the results could have a huge impact on national politics. So, what happens to the prime minister if Labour loses as badly as expected? And does a good night for the Greens or Reform UK really mean they are banging on the door of Number 10?
Niall previews what to expect at the polls with Cathy Newman - host of the Cathy Newman Show on Sky News from 7pm on Monday to Thursday.
Have you got a question for Niall? Email the show – why@sky.uk
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Sky News, the full story first. |
| 0:09.4 | The upcoming local and national elections could herald a new era in British politics, and this is why. |
| 0:23.2 | I'm Sam Coutates from Sky News. |
| 0:25.3 | And I'm Anne McHelvoy from Politico. |
| 0:27.5 | Downing Street drama, leadership battles and policy U-turns. |
| 0:30.9 | We're on it before it breaks. |
| 0:32.9 | We take you straight into the rooms where the real political conversations are happening. |
| 0:36.7 | Smart Insight, Clear Analysis in your feed by 7.45 AM. |
| 0:41.0 | So you start your morning fully brief for the day ahead in British politics. |
| 0:45.0 | Hit follow and listen to Politics at Sam and Ans wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 0:53.9 | Hi everyone, Neil here and and as it is a massive week in British politics, I've decamped to our Westminster studio to pick one of the massive brains that works around here. |
| 1:05.2 | Because believe me, what we are about to see could prove seismic. In fact, it's probably worth my while just running you through |
| 1:11.6 | what is up for grabs on Thursday. We start with the Welsh Assembly, the Scottish Parliament, |
| 1:17.3 | all London Council boroughs. We have mayors in local authorities across London, |
| 1:22.0 | plus councils in Birmingham, Newcastle, Sunderland, Bradford, Norfolk and the Isle of White. I mean, look, on paper, |
| 1:29.6 | these are separate contests. Taken together, we could be about to see the biggest shift in British |
| 1:35.9 | politics in a generation. There are tensions that are going to boil over in a much more dramatic |
| 1:41.2 | way in these elections than they have done in the past. |
| 1:49.4 | And I think that's because the challenges facing the country feel greater than I've ever known in my lifetime. |
| 1:50.7 | Cathy Newman is our new box fresh presenter, host of course of the Kathy Newman show, weeknights |
| 1:55.6 | 7pm on Sky News. |
| 2:00.3 | Kathy, welcome to This Is Why. |
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