Reform UK party bags mayoral post in slew of triumphs at local elections

WIDNES, England – Mr Nigel Farage’s right-wing Reform UK won a fifth parliamentary seat, its first post as mayor and many positions on local councils in early election results on May 2 which underscore the threat it poses to Britain’s main two political parties.

The populist Reform led by Mr Farage, the Brexit campaigner, hopes the May 1 English local elections will mark the start of the breakdown of a century of domination by the governing Labour Party and opposition Conservatives.

In the most closely watched contest, for the parliamentary seat of Runcorn and Helsby, Reform won by just six votes after a full recount was ordered. Labour won the seat in 2024’s national election with a majority of almost 15,000 votes.

“It’s been a huge night for Reform,” Mr Farage told reporters. “This is heartland Labour Party. Their vote has collapsed and much of it has come to us.”

The party also won the mayoral race in Greater Lincolnshire. Ms Andrea Jenkyns, a former Conservative minister who defected to Reform after losing her seat in 2024, became its most powerful elected politician yet with responsibility for an area covering about a million people.

The victories underline the way Britain’s political landscape has fractured since the general election. Prime Minister Keir Starmer won one of the largest parliamentary majorities in British history last summer but has suffered the fastest decline in popularity of any newly elected government.

Mr Starmer, a former lawyer, lost support after his government raised taxes, cut benefits for the elderly and got into a row over the use of donations, giving an opening to Mr Farage, who is a friend of US President Donald Trump.

“Reform UK looks like the real deal this morning,” said Mr Keiran Pedley, director of politics at polling firm Ipsos. “That said, with increased support comes scrutiny. Where they do win, they will need to show they can deliver the change their voters want.”

Voters cast their ballots on May 1 for more than 1,600 seats on local authorities across England and six high-profile mayoral elections, with results coming in throughout May 2.

Runcorn and Helsby was the only parliamentary seat up for grabs after Labour lawmaker Mike Amesbury quit following his conviction for punching one of his constituents. It was Labour’s 49th safest seat at the 2024 general election.

A Labour spokesperson said the results show that voters “clearly expect the government to move faster” to change Britain after 14 years of Conservative rule.

In her victory speech, Ms Jenkyns pledged to bring an end to “soft touch Britain” and said asylum seekers should be held in tents, not in hotels as they often are. “The rebuilding begins here... We’re going to have a Britain where we put British people first,” she said.

Reform also came close to toppling Labour in three other mayoral contests, in North Tyneside, the West of England, and Doncaster.

Labour’s support in North Tyneside plunged by 23 percentage points and by 11 percentage points in Doncaster compared with 2021. Ms Ros Jones, who won for Labour in Doncaster, said her party is being punished for the moves it made to reduce spending, something the government said it must do to maintain financial stability.

Asked if Mr Starmer’s government was listening, she added: “I would say no.”

Reform, which recently overtook Labour and the Conservatives in some national opinion polls, is leading in the total number of councillors elected with about 125 council seats declared.

Founded as the Brexit Party in 2018 and written off in its early years as a one-issue party interested only in limiting immigration, Reform has seen a surge in support over recent months.

It hopes the results on May 2 will give it a chance to build up its local infrastructure and cement its place as the best positioned party to challenge Labour and the Conservatives at the next national election, expected in 2029. REUTERS