Nigel Farage. Photo: Jon Super / Shutterstock Editorial /
The Reform UK party, led by Nigel Farage, has made remarkable gains in local elections in England, winning its first parliamentary seat and mayoralty in a region with a population of one million. This is the first major test for the political force after the 2024 parliamentary elections, Reuters reports.
In Runcorn and Helsby, the Reform candidate won by only six votes, the smallest margin in the history of British by-elections – and a powerful blow to the ruling Labour Party, which won the seat last year by almost 15,000 votes.
“It was a big night for Reform. Labour’s vote in their traditional region just collapsed,” commented Nigel Farage.
Another high-profile victory was the victory of Andrea Jenkins, a former Conservative Party minister, in the Greater Lincolnshire mayoral election. She called for the “revitalisation of Britain” and tougher approaches to migration.
The results demonstrate the deep fragmentation of the British political landscape. The ratings of the government of Keir Starmer are falling at a record pace, due to tax increases, cuts in social benefits and donation scandals. Amid the discontent, the populist Reform party is growing in popularity, and in some polls it is already ahead of both Labour and the Tories.
