A sensational result for Nigel Farage in the local elections in the United Kingdom. His party, reform UK, scored a series of victories that allowed him to elect the first mayor, dozens of representatives in the municipal councils and his fifth national deputy thanks to a supplementary election. It is a success that shakes the sleep and conservative sleep, the two political forces that have alternated in power for over a century and who now fear that the era of the Duopoly can be running out.
A symbolic seat torn from the Labor
In the most emblematic result, Reform won for just six votes in the Parliamentary College of Runcorn and Helsby, after a complete return, beating Labor Karen Shore. A sensational comeback, considering that Labor had obtained 53 percent of the votes at July policies and reform had stopped at 18. A very hard blow for Keir Starmer, who in 2024 had triumphed there with almost 15 thousand votes ahead.
“It was a huge night for reform. This is a stronghold of the Labor party, and their vote collapsed and most of it went to us,” Farage cheered. And on X it relaunched: “This victory shows that we are now the opposition party to the Labor Government”.
Mayors, councilors and the triumph of Jenkyns
However, Thursdays did not limit themselves to the Runcorn and Helsby seat. Throughout England, it was also voted for over 1,600 seats in local advice and six mayors.
The victory that matters most in terms of power is that of Andrea Jenkyns, a former conservative minister spent at reform after losing the seat last year. It has been elected mayor of Greater Lincolnshire, an area with about one million inhabitants: the highest charge ever reached by the party.
“The reconstruction begins here. We will have a Great Britain in which we will put the British in the first place,” said Jenkyns after proclamation. And he came to the dose: “The Great Britain of the Soft Touch must be archived”, proposing to host asylum seekers in curtains instead of at the hotel.
Labor in trouble
The reform avalanche has also invested other key competitions: the party almost climbed over the Labor in the elections for the mayor to North Tyneside, West of England and Doncaster.
The real defeats of this round are the Labor of Starmer, the first real electoral test since they returned to power after 14 years in the opposition. A more complicated return than expected. The prime minister lost consensus for not being able to raise the economy, while the government has been criticized for cuts to some social support measures. Starmer himself, today in free fall in the polls, had admitted that for his party it would have been “difficult” to win in this climate.
In North Tyneside, the support for the Labor collapsed by 23 points compared to 2021, in Doncaster of 11. ROS JONES, confirmed with difficulty mayor to Doncaster, admitted that the party pays the price of austerity: “I would say no”, he replied dryly to those who asked him if the Starmer government was listening to the citizens.
Disappointed electorate
To complicate things for the two historical parties is the growing discontent of the voters: according to the polls, many British are disappointed by the lack of results on economics, immigration and public services.
The uninominal system in turn promotes larger parties, but distorts representation. The Labor, thanks to this mechanism, has obtained an overwhelming majority in Westminster with just 33.7 percent of the votes: the lowest percentage for a winning party from the Second World War. The conservatives stopped at 24 percent and to 121 seats, the worst result of their history.
The radical right believes in it
And in this void, Farage, old friend of Donald Trump, has been inserted. With the count still in progress, Reform is in the lead by total number of elected councilors, with about 125 seats in local councils. A fact that shows how the party is no longer only “that of Brexit”, but a radical right force capable of speaking to the working class and gnawing votes to the two Westminster giants.
But it remains to be understood if it will be able to hold the comparison with the true power. “Reform UK looks like something serious today. But having said that, with the increase in support the controls also arrive. If they win, they will have to prove that they are able to make the change that their voters want,” Keiran Pedley, political director of Ipsos, warned.
The next legislative elections are scheduled for 2029. But Farage feels that the wind is changing, and wants to exploit the next few years as a springboard towards power. The first taste, apparently, was more than encouraging.
