Nigel Farage has hailed sweeping election gains for Reform UK as a "historic shift in British politics" after the party made advances in Labour and Conservative heartlands. Reform took control of Essex County Council, Havering Council in London, and Sunderland City Council, marking its first London local authority and a significant breakthrough in a city Labour had held since 1973.
The party also secured Suffolk County Council and finished second in the Welsh Senedd elections, where Plaid Cymru fell six seats short of a majority. However, there were setbacks: the Conservatives retained all 11 seats in Harlow, Essex, and Reform failed to take control of Bexley Council in London.
Pollster Peter Kellner said that while Reform was likely to record more than 1,000 overall gains, its vote share in contested English seats appeared to be about 35%, down from 41% in last year's local elections. "It seems clear that Reform has peaked," he said, adding that Farage would have reason to be "privately worried."
Farage said the party was "two-thirds" of the way to its general election planning and fundraising goals. He ruled out accepting Tory defectors but said "the time is now" for conversations with "patriotic old Labour" MPs. Asked if Reform could form a government without winning big cities, he replied: "Oh, yes."
Early analysis by the Guardian of 691 wards showed Reform's vote share grew most in deprived areas, rising by an average of 30 percentage points in the most deprived areas compared with 20 points in the least deprived.
