Donald Trump has congratulated his right-wing ally Nigel Farage after he won his first seat in the UK parliament following seven failed attempts. The British public went to the polls on Thursday, handing Sir Keir Starmer's Labour Party a landslide victory and ousting Rishi Sunak's Conservatives.
Farage's Reform UK party secured four seats, with its hardline immigration policies appearing to attract votes from the Conservatives. Trump took to his Truth Social platform to congratulate his old friend, writing: 'Congratulations to Nigel Farage on his big WIN of a Parliament Seat Amid Reform UK Election Success.'
Farage, who previously led UKIP and the Brexit Party, unexpectedly announced last month that he would stand in the election for the Reform Party and serve as its leader. This marked a major u-turn after he had insisted he would not stand so that he could focus on helping Trump win the US presidential election.
On Thursday, Farage won the Clacton seat in Essex by more than 8,000 votes, overturning a 25,000 Conservative majority. He said his win was 'the first step of something that is going to stun all of you' and declared: 'There is a massive gap on the centre-right of British politics and my job is to fill it.'
Farage and Trump have been close allies for almost a decade, with their bond forged when Trump invited Farage to speak at his MAGA rallies during the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump recently sent a video message to Farage's 60th birthday party, telling him: 'You're a historic figure as a prophetic leader... I'm very much looking forward to watching what your next move is gonna be.'
