Labour held on to the Claremont ward on Blackpool Council in a crunch by-election last night, as a split in the vote with Restore Britain denied Reform UK victory. Labour took 42% of the vote share, while Nigel Farage's party secured 38%. Rupert Lowe's Restore won 7% and the Conservatives took 6%.
Reform UK denied by vote split
Blackpool voted by almost 70% to leave the EU and forms part of the northern "Red Wall" of traditionally Labour-voting constituencies that Reform is targeting. The result marks a blow for Reform UK, which had hoped to gain the seat.
Restore leader Mr Lowe said: "Restore Britain has started the process of standing candidates all over the country in local by-elections. We are building a national political party from nothing, in a very crowded field. For a seven-month-old party to turn up from nowhere and get over 7% in a Blackpool ward which has been Labour for generations is remarkable progress — beating the Tories, Greens and Lib Dems."
Restore's impact on Reform
Mr Lowe, the MP for Great Yarmouth, launched his right-wing party after his acrimonious exit from Reform in March 2025. This is not the first time Restore has affected Reform's chances; in August, the party also robbed Reform of victory in another council by-election.
In that contest, Zack Polanski's Green Party took the seat on Dover council from the Tories with 28% of the vote. Reform was just behind on 27%, while the Conservatives were third with 17%, Labour fourth with 14% and Restore in fifth with 10%.
A Reform source said at the time: "The message from this by-election is clear: vote Restore, get Green. The only thing Lowe and his acolytes are restoring is the uniparty."
National polling context
The latest YouGov polling puts Reform UK in the lead with 25%. The party has been consistently leading national opinion polls but has faced a difficult period with rows over finances, while Labour has been boosted by Andy Burnham taking over from Sir Keir Starmer.
The YouGov poll puts Labour second on 24% and the Tories third with 19%, while Restore Britain is on 3%.
