Reform UK Breaks Through in British Elections

Reform UK Breaks Through in British Elections \ Newslooks \ Washington DC \ Mary Sidiqi \ Evening Edition \ Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party won its first parliamentary seat and over 600 local council seats in a major political upset, signaling a growing rejection of Britain’s traditional two-party dominance. The victory in Runcorn and sweeping local gains mark a turning point as Reform targets both Labour and Conservative strongholds. Farage declared the results a “very big moment” for British politics.

Quick Looks

• Parliamentary Win: Reform UK wins Runcorn and Helsby by six votes
• Farage’s Reaction: Declares end of “century-old two-party politics”
• Parliament Seat Count: Reform: 5, Labour: 403, Conservatives: 121
• Local Council Gains: 600+ seats taken, mainly from Conservatives
• Mayoral Wins: Reform wins Greater Lincolnshire and Hull
• Labour Response: Starmer admits to discontent, vows faster reforms
• Conservative Fallout: Massive losses trigger party leadership concerns
• Voter Base Shift: Reform appeals to working-class, disillusioned voters
• Turnout Note: Partial UK vote; London, Scotland, NI excluded
• Poll Momentum: Reform now polling equal to major parties

Deep Look

Nigel Farage’s Reform UK has jolted the British political scene with landmark victories in both Parliament and local councils, presenting the most significant challenge to the country’s traditional two-party system in over a century.

In the Runcorn and Helsby by-election, Reform’s Sarah Pochin edged out Labour candidate Karen Shore by just six votes, toppling a safe Labour seat and signaling widespread voter dissatisfaction. The seat had previously been held by Labour MP Mike Amesbury, who resigned following a criminal conviction, forcing the special election.

“This is a very, very big moment indeed,” said Farage, celebrating the party’s first major Parliamentary victory. “It marks the end of two-party politics as we’ve known it for over a century.”

With five MPs now seated, Reform remains a minor force in Parliament numerically—but its momentum is unmistakable. The party, which received 14% of the vote in the 2024 general election, is now polling neck-and-neck with Labour and the Conservatives, dramatically altering Britain’s political trajectory ahead of the next national vote, due by 2029.

Labour’s Growing Challenges

The by-election result, along with the sweeping local election outcomes, has delivered a stinging rebuke to Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government, which was elected in a landslide just 10 months ago.

Farage’s party has capitalized on disillusionment among working-class voters, many of whom formerly backed Labour. Starmer’s administration has implemented popular measures like raising the minimum wage and increasing healthcare funding—but it has also drawn backlash for raising business taxes and reducing welfare support.

“My response is: We get it,” Starmer told voters. “We will go further and faster on the change that people want.”

Still, the results show Labour’s once rock-solid base is no longer guaranteed. Farage’s populist platform—focusing on immigration control, cost-of-living issues, and political accountability—is resonating in areas Labour long considered safe.

Conservative Collapse and Reform’s Rise

The biggest electoral collapse, however, belonged to the Conservative Party, which suffered massive losses to Reform across dozens of local councils.

Reform UK won over 600 of the 1,600 contested council seats, including control of Staffordshire, Lincolnshire, Durham, and Farage’s home region of Kent—areas that had been long-held Conservative bastions.

Farage called the outcome a “total gutting” of the Tories:

“The Conservatives are over. They are finished,” he declared.

Former Conservative MP Andrea Jenkyns, now a Reform candidate, was elected mayor of Greater Lincolnshire, while the party also captured the mayoral seat in Hull. The Tories managed to win just one mayoralty, with Labour retaining three others.

Despite these wins, Reform now faces the challenge of delivering on real-world services like roads, public transport, and waste collection—tests that could define whether its support holds through 2029.

A Fragmenting Political Map

The results reflect an increasingly fractured political landscape in the UK. While not all parts of the country voted—London, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland held no elections—the results nonetheless present a strong indication of wider political unrest.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats also made major inroads, winning over affluent, socially liberal voters from the Conservatives in southern England.

Farage’s Reform UK, blending anti-immigration, nationalist rhetoric with economic populism, bears similarities to Donald Trump’s movement in the U.S. Farage has even pledged to implement a “DOGE for every county”—a Musk-inspired public efficiency plan targeting bureaucratic waste.

“Reform is now posing a big threat to both Conservative and Labour,” said Professor John Curtice, a leading British political analyst.

He noted that the “question mark” over Britain’s two-party system “just got three or four times bigger.”

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