Nigel Farage’s Reform has taken control of ten councils, just hours after dramatically beating Labour in a by-election for Runcorn and Helsby.
All 23 councils have been announced, with Reform winning 10, the Liberal Democrats three, and another 10 now under no overall control.
Reform won in Lincolnshire, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, Lancashire, Kent, North Northamptonshire, West Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire councils, which were all previously Tory-run. It took control of Durham and Doncaster councils, where Labour was previously the biggest party.
The local council victories come after Reform’s Sarah Pochin won the Runcorn and Helsby seat, overcoming a Labour majority of more than 14,000 a year ago.
Reform also won two mayoral elections. Former Conservative minister Dame Andrea Jenkyns became the first Greater Lincolnshire mayor while former boxer and Olympic medallist Luke Campbell won in Hull and East Yorkshire.
Speaking of the Conservatives, Mr Farage told new councillors in Staffordshire: “They are over, they are finished, they have literally been gutted in these counties, it is a position from which they will never, ever recover.”
In three of the other five mayoral contests, Labour took Doncaster, North Tyneside and West of England. The Tories held onto Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.
Across the local councils the BBC reports that Reform has gained 677 councillors, the Lib Dems 163 and the Greens 45. The Conservatives have lost 676, Labour 186.
Is Reform here to stay? John Rentoul answers your questions
With both Labour and the Tories struggling, Farage now claims Reform is poised to replace the Conservatives as the main opposition.
In a live Q&A for The Independent, chief political commentator John Rentoul answered your questions on Reform’s rise, what it means for the more traditional parties, and whether Farage’s success can last.
Topics ranged from Reform’s long-term prospects and Starmer’s strategy, to the risks of Farage’s leadership and the broader implications for British politics.
Farage: Reform will ‘resist’ having migrants placed in counties it controls
Nigel Farage has said that Reform will “resist” having migrants placed “in these counties that we now control”.
Speaking from County Durham on Friday afternoon, the Reform UK leader said: “The number of people I’ve met in the north, just so enraged because they get up early in the morning, they go to work, they pay their taxes, and they see young men crossing the English Channel, being dumped into the north of England getting everything for free.”
He later added: “It is unfair, it is irresponsible, it is wrong in every way and I don’t believe Starmer has got the guts to deal with it but (…) we at national level have got the guts to deal with it and we will resist central government plonking scores, hundreds of these young men in these counties that we now control.”
Analysis | The most under-estimated reason why Nigel Farage is rejoicing
Here is some further analysis from our political editor David Maddox:
While winning seats and power is important for a political party there is another important reason to win council seats which many people do not consider.
Having hundreds of councillors in swathes of the country means that a party has an army of canvassers, leaflet posters, door knockers and local campaigners.
It makes the difference between winning and losing seats and will in this case give Nigel Farage the ground campaign he has always needed for a general election but never had before at Ukip, the Brexit Party or Reform.
National campaigns certainly make a difference but the significant narrow margins come with local campaigns, especially in “get the vote out” operations.
One of the reasons historically that Labour lost Scotland to the SNP in 2007 and beyond was that in 2003 they agreed to switch to a proportional voting system for councils which meant their grip on hundreds of council seats was lost.
The same now will be true for places like Lincolnshire, Staffordshire, Durham and Kent where the Tories in particular look like they face destruction.
Watch: Farage warns council staff to look for other jobs
Local elections ‘most significant’ day of Farage’s career
Local election results are the “most significant day” of Nigel Farage’s career, the Reform leader said.
Arriving by helicopter to Hop Farm In Kent on Friday night, Mr Farage admitted he was surprised by the extent of his party’s successes.
He told the BBC: “I’ve experienced winning European elections, I’ve done that a couple of times, referendums yeah I’ve had some big ups and big downs.”
“I think this is the most significant day of my career, I think this completely changes the landscape of British politics.”
Election results: All 23 councils and six mayors announced
All 23 council and mayoral elections have now been announced.
As dawn broke today, the country woke up to headlines of a Reform victory in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election, overturning a Labour majority of nearly 15,000 votes from less than a year ago.
Nigel Farage hailed the result – but it’s not the only to emerge with yesterday also seeing six mayoral contests and 23 local council elections.
Here are the results we have so far:
Mayoral elections:
North Tyneside – Labour hold with Karen Clark beating the second-placed Reform candidate by just 444 votes
Doncaster – Labour hold with Ros Jones seeing off the second-placed Reform candidate by 698 votes.
West of England – Labour hold with Helen Godwin coming ahead of the second-placed Reform candidates by 5,949 votes.
Greater Lincolnshire – Reform win with Dame Andrew Jenkyns beating the second-placed Tory candidate by almost 40,000 votes.
Hull & East Yorkshire – Reform win with Olympic medallist Luke Campbell beats Lib Dems by eight per cent margin.
Cambridge and Peterborough – Paul Bristow holds onto the mayoralty for the Tories.
Local councils:
Devon, Cornwall, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire, Northumberland, Warwickshire, Wiltshire, Worcestershire, Buckinghamshire, and Gloucestershire councils – No overall control
Durham, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Lancashire, Kent, Nottinghamshire, Doncaster, West Northamptonshire and North Northamptonshire councils: Reform wins control
Cambridgeshire, Oxfordshire and Shropshire: Liberal Democrats win control
Councillors (gains/losses):
Reform: +677
Conservative: -676
Labour: -186
Independent: -20
Lib Dem: +163
Green: +45
Kemi Badenoch apologises for ‘total bloodbath’ election losses
Kemi Badenoch has apologised for the dismal local election results suffered by the Tories, in which they lost at least 676 councillors and all 15 councils which they previously controlled.
Writing in the Telegraph, the Conservative leader recalled a conversation with a long-serving MP soon after she took the leadership role in May.
“The party is split seven different ways, headquarters is exhausted, and the May 2025 locals are going to be a total bloodbath,” the MP told her.
But she described the Conservative party as an “oasis of calm” despite Reform winning by-elections with “protest in the air”.
“We are making progress,” Ms Badenoch added. “The Conservative Party has stayed united since I took over. The shadow cabinet and shadow ministers are working together to hold this failing Labour Government to account.”
In pictures: Farage celebrates in Staffordshire
Tories are being ‘wiped out’ Farage says as he celebrates local election victory
Nigel Farage heralded Reform UK’s success as “the death of the Conservative Party” as he spoke to supporters in Kent on Friday night.
“This is the death of the Conservative Party and they did it to themselves,” he told the crowd.
Speaking to press before he went on stage, Mr Farage said: “They’re being wiped out in the shires, I mean here in Kent but if you go up to your Staffordshires, your Worcestershires places like this where they’ve always been the governing party.
“What this result does is continues the process of the hollowing out of the party, the membership’s been falling, the donations have been falling and it’s really the councillors who keep the voluntary party going.”
Before the fireworks began, Mr Farage brought “the new face” of Reform UK on stage, in new Runcorn MP Sarah Pochin and new Greater Lincolnshire mayor Dame Andrea Jenkyns, to cheers from his supporters.
Source: independent.co.uk
