Nigel Farage has hailed sweeping election wins for Reform UK as a “historic shift in British politics”, after the populist party made significant gains at the expense of both Labour and the Conservatives in English local elections. The party took control of Essex county council, Havering – its first London local authority – and Sunderland city council, marking advances in heartland areas of both major parties.
Reform’s success in Essex was particularly notable, as the Conservatives had held majority control since 2001. The party won 53 councillors in the county, which is home to the constituencies of prominent Tory MPs including Kemi Badenoch and James Cleverly. Reform’s home affairs spokesperson, Zia Yusuf, said: “If that sort of result was replicated in the general election, Kemi Badenoch would lose her seat.”
Suffolk county council became the second major authority to fall to Reform, with its 41 seats coming largely at the expense of the Tories. In Sunderland, a city that voted strongly for Brexit in 2016, Reform won 43 seats, ending Labour’s control since 1973. The party also achieved a breakthrough in the Welsh Senedd elections, finishing second with 34 seats.
However, the results were not without setbacks. The Conservatives secured all 11 district council seats in Harlow, Essex, and Reform failed to take control of Bexley council in London. Pollster Peter Kellner suggested the party may have peaked, noting that Reform’s vote share in contested English seats appeared to be about 35%, down from 41% last year. “We have that record on recent polls and elections, and it seems clear that Reform has peaked,” he said.
Analysis by the Guardian showed Reform’s vote share grew most in areas with greater socioeconomic deprivation, with increases averaging 30 percentage points in the most deprived wards compared to 20 points in the least deprived. Farage said the party was “two-thirds” of the way to its general election goals and closed the door on Conservative defectors, but left it open for “patriotic old Labour” MPs.
