Nigel Farage has declared Reform UK the main opposition party after the party secured a narrow byelection victory, a mayoralty and about two dozen council seats in early results on Friday. Speaking in Runcorn, where Reform won with a majority of just six votes, Farage said: 'After tonight, there's no question, in most of the country we are now the main opposition party to this government.'
Reform overturned a Labour majority of more than 14,000 in Runcorn and Helsby, with a 17-point swing away from the governing party. The Conservatives slumped to 7% of the vote, narrowly ahead of the Greens. Meanwhile, former Conservative MP Andrea Jenkyns won the Greater Lincolnshire mayoralty with a 44,000-vote majority and praised Farage, saying he would make a great prime minister.
By early afternoon on Friday, Reform had won 23 council seats, while Labour lost 10 and the Conservatives seven, and took control of Staffordshire council from the Tories. Labour held on in three mayoral contests in Doncaster, North Tyneside and the West of England. The Liberal Democrats and Greens also predicted gains as results continued.
Polling expert John Curtice noted that for the first time, a party other than Conservative or Labour has won both more votes and more council seats at an interim stage. Keir Starmer acknowledged voters' disillusionment but said the government would 'go further and faster' on change. However, Labour MPs warned that cuts to benefits and the winter fuel allowance had damaged the party's standing.
