Hard-right upstarts Reform UK snatched a parliamentary seat from Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour party on Friday, May 1, in local elections that dealt a blow to Britain's two establishment parties. Reform, led by anti-immigrant firebrand Nigel Farage, won the by-election in Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England by just six votes, as it picked up gains in other localities. The group's strong showing continues the momentum it built up at last year's general election and appears to confirm a trend that the UK is entering an era of multi-party politics.
"For the movement, for the party, it's a very, very big moment indeed," Brexit champion Farage said of Reform's first-ever by-election win and Starmer's first electoral loss since he took office last July. Reform also picked up dozens of council seats from both Labour and the Conservatives as Britain's political landscape shows signs of splintering.
The polls were the first since Starmer became prime minister and Kemi Badenoch took over the reins of the struggling opposition Conservatives last year. Just 1,641 seats across 23 local authorities were up for grabs – only a fraction of England's 17,000 councillors – but early results suggested Reform was transferring leads in national polls into tangible results at the ballot box.
The centrist Liberal Democrats and left-wing Greens also expected to make gains, as surveys show Britons are increasingly disillusioned with the two main parties amid anaemic economic growth, high levels of irregular immigration and flagging public services. In the fight to become West of England mayor, one of six mayoralties being contested, the difference between the vote share of the winning party and the fifth-placed one was just 11%. Labour only narrowly held the North Tyneside mayoralty after a 26% swing to Reform, while the BBC projected that the anti-immigrant party would win the Greater Lincolnshire mayoralty.
Reform, which has vowed to "stop the boats" of irregular migrants crossing the English Channel, is hoping that winning mayoralties and gaining hundreds of councillors will help it build its grassroots activism before the next general election – likely in 2029.
British politics has been dominated by the center-left Labour party and center-right Tories since the early 20th century. Labour won a huge parliamentary majority in July with just 33.7% of the vote, the lowest share for any party winning a general election since World War II. The Conservatives won just 24% of the vote, securing only 121 seats in the 650-seat Parliament as the party endured its worst election defeat. Reform picked up five seats, an unprecedented haul for a British hard-right party, while the Liberal Democrats won 61 more MPs than at the previous election and the Greens quadrupled their representation to four. Labour won Runcorn with 53% of the vote last year, meaning it was one of its safest seats, while Reform got just 18%.
At an initial result declared shortly before 6:00 am local time Friday, election officials said Reform's Sarah Pochin secured 12,645 votes to 12,639 for Labour candidate Karen Shore. Turnout was 46%. The vote was sparked after sitting Labour MP Mike Amesbury was convicted of assault for punching a man in the street. Labour spokesperson said by-elections are "always difficult for the party in government" and the events surrounding the Runcorn vote made it "even harder."
On Tuesday, Reform UK topped a YouGov poll of voting intentions in Britain with 26%, three points ahead of Labour and six up on the Conservatives. Labour has endured criticism over welfare cuts and tax rises that it claims are necessary to stabilize the economy. As Labour edges rightward, it is facing a growing challenge from the Greens on the left. Under threat from Reform on the right, the Tories are also being squeezed on the left by the Liberal Democrats, the traditional third party, which was eyeing gains in the wealthy south.