Reform wins first mayoral post and fifth parliamentary seat

NIGEL FARAGE’s Reform UK party has won a fifth parliamentary seat and its first mayoral post, along with multiple local council positions, in early results from Thursday’s elections across England.

The results indicate growing support for the party and potential challenges for both Labour and the Conservatives.

In the parliamentary contest for Runcorn and Helsby, Reform won by just six votes after a full recount. Labour had won the seat in last year’s national election with a majority of nearly 15,000.

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

Reform also won the Greater Lincolnshire mayoral race. Andrea Jenkyns, a former Conservative minister who joined Reform after losing her seat last year, was elected mayor.

She now holds responsibility for an area with about one million people, making her the party’s most senior elected official.

Voters cast ballots on Thursday for more than 1,600 local authority seats in England and six high-profile mayoral elections. Results continued to come in on Friday.

The parliamentary seat of Runcorn and Helsby became vacant after a Labour MP resigned following a conviction for assaulting a constituent. It had been Labour’s 49th safest seat in the 2023 general election.

Keir Starmer won a large majority in last year’s general election, but his government has since seen a drop in popularity. Starmer has faced criticism over tax increases, benefit cuts for the elderly, and controversy over donations.

“Reform UK look like the real deal this morning,” said Keiran Pedley, director of politics at 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.”

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

In her mayoral victory speech, Jenkyns said asylum seekers should be held in tents rather than hotels and called for an end to “soft touch Britain.”

“The rebuilding begins here … we’re going to have a Britain where we put British people first,” she said.

Reform also made strong showings in mayoral races in North Tyneside, the West of England, and Doncaster. In North Tyneside, Labour’s support dropped by 23 percentage points, and in Doncaster by 11 percentage points compared to 2021.

Labour’s Ros Jones won in Doncaster but said her party was being punished for efforts to reduce spending. “I would say no,” she said when asked if Starmer’s government was listening.

Reform was leading in the total number of councillors elected, with about 125 council seats declared. The party, founded in 2018 as the Brexit Party, has seen a rise in national opinion polls in recent months.

Reform hopes Friday’s results will help build its local presence and position it as a key challenger to Labour and the Conservatives in the next national election, expected in 2029.

(With inputs from agencies)