Nigel Farage’s Reform Party has turned British politics on its head – seizing control of key councils and leaving the Tories and Labour reeling in the aftermath of a seismic local election shake-up.
In a night of jaw-dropping results, Reform UK claimed outright majorities in Staffordshire and Lincolnshire County Councils, toppling long-standing Conservative dominance.
Earlier in the day, Reform delivered a stinging blow to Starmer in Runcorn & Helsby, snatching a dramatic by-election victory that signals the party’s growing might at the ballot box.
Dame Andrea Jenkyns made history as she became the first-ever Greater Lincolnshire mayor, trouncing her Tory rival by a whopping 40,000-vote majority.
Doncaster saw a similar story, with Labour’s Ros Jones only narrowly fending off Reform by 698 votes, while the Tories were left languishing in third place. Crucially, right-wing parties combined for a dominant 57 per cent of the vote.
And there could be more bombshells to come with Mr Farage’s party poised to capture the Hull and East Yorkshire mayoralty and set to rake in hundreds of council seats, many in Tory strongholds last won during Boris Johnson’s 2021 high watermark.
For the Conservatives, the picture is grim. The party is now bracing for a catastrophic 600 to 700 seat wipeout, far worse than initial forecasts. Even Devon County Council has slipped from their grasp, thanks to a Lib Dem surge.
However, they are looking like they might just hang on in Buckinghamshire.
MailOnline has spoken directly to voters in key council and mayoral seats across the UK to get their views on this seismic night.
Mr Farage raised his hands as the incredibly tight result was read out in the Cheshire seat this morning
A jubilant Nigel Farage hailed Sarah Pochin’s (right) win in Runcorn & Helsby today after recounts, as his party racks up gains across England at the expense of the two main parties
RUNCORN: ‘We’re sick and tired of Labour and what they stand for’
Locals on the streets of Runcorn vented their visceral rage toward Labour after Reform UK won the byelection by a handful of votes.
Nigel Farage’s party won the count by just six votes on a night when Reform gained council seats across the country.
This morning locals in Runcorn hit out at the Labour Party who have had held the seat for the past 50 years after Reform’s candidate Sarah Pochin overturned a 14,696 majority to take the Cheshire seat.
Peter Ellis, 73, said he had seen Labour ‘destroy the town’ over recent decades and was now delighted that voters had ‘kicked them out.’
Peter said; ‘Yes I voted Reform along with my neighbours. Let’s just say everyone is just sick and tired of Labour and what they stand for.
‘Locally we have seen the very sad decline of Runcorn over recent decades. And we all fed up to the back teeth with immigration. The asylum seekers are coming here now and we don’t want them.
‘I am a pensioner and Labour have made me poorer since they got in. It’s not about racism but pounds and pence.
‘People who have worked here all their lives get hit with bills they can’t pay. And then we see asylum seekers in hotels with the best of everything.’
Peter Ellis, 73, said he had seen Labour ‘destroy the town’ over recent decades and was now delighted that voters had ‘kicked them out’
Reform UK candidate Sarah Pochin and party leader Nigel Farage (second right) arrive at the DCBL Halton Stadium ahead of the result of the Runcorn and Helsby by-election
Pensioner David Atkinson said he was quietly pleased to see Reform win the seat but was not sure if the party offered a viable alternative in the long run
A workman eating a bacon sandwich in the high street agreed with Peter. The construction worker said: ‘We are up at 5am every morning and on site for 6am.
‘We are paying around £800 a month in tax and when we see illegals in hotels it’s hard to take. I don’t trust the government anymore end of.’
Peter added: ‘It’s important to emphasise this is not a racist town. And Farage is not a racist either. He just ‘get’s it’ in a way most politicians don’t.
‘He can walk in the pub , have a pint and talk to the nearest person. Can you think of anyone from Labour with that ability. Look, ordinary people just like him.’
Peter’s friend Rob, who said he was ex-forces, said:’ I did tours of duty in Bosnia so I have seen real racism and ethnic cleansing. I have seen it mate.
‘What we are seeing in Runcorn is something totally different. It’s about indigenous people waking up and saying no, we are not taking it any more. We have been hammered with bills and taxes all our lives, and then the government fills the country with asylum seekers.’
Runcorn pensioner Mary Jones said; ‘Well anyone looking at the town over recent years would realise it was time for a change’
Nigel Farage (C), leader of the Reform UK party, celebrates the victory of Sarah Pochin
Peter and Rob both said they believed there was a ‘two-tier Briton’ and that some of the rioters last year had been punished too harshly.
Peter said: ‘People were angry for a reason. They knew they were being lied to about Southport. Starmer knew a lot more than he was letting on at the time.’
Runcorn pensioner Mary Jones said: ‘Well anyone looking at the town over recent years would realise it was time for a change.
But we will have to see what Reform come up with. I think Nigel Farage has a lot to prove. He says he is not like the rest, but we will have to wait and see about that.’
Pensioner David Atkinson said he was quietly pleased to see Reform win the seat but was not sure if the party offered a viable alternative in the long run.
David, from the town, said;’Yes like most people I am not a bit surprised to see Reform get in. But Farage has a long way to go.
In terms of forming a government in the future I am just not sure. We will see how their new MP gets on. But Labour had to go.’
DONCASTER: Labour keep mayoralty by a whisker as locals say ‘they’ve done nothing for the people they promised to help’
Labour has narrowly retained the mayoralty of Doncaster by just 698 votes ahead of Reform.
Its candidate Ros Jones received 23,805 votes, while Reform’s Alexander Jones gained 23,107 and the Conservative candidate, former MP Nick Fletcher, was pushed into third place with 18,982.
Ian Mays said: ‘I voted for Reform. I voted Labour previously. I don’t like Labour any more. I did not like Keir Starmer in the first place. But we wanted a change from the Conservatives. They did not know what they were doing.
‘But neither does he. I am from a pit village and voted Labour all my life. But they have made promises and not kept them.’
Joanna Evans, 54, said: ‘There is a lot of debate with Labour at the moment. But I voted for James Church.’
Pauline Walker, who will be 84 on Saturday, said: ‘I voted Labour today, though not for the General Election. I know what Labour do and they really think about people.
‘I was a Labour Party member for 15 years. When Blair got in the Conservatives were shutting nursing homes down and I worked in one.
‘Labour said they would not shut them. They were only in two months and they shut three down.
‘We used to go canvassing around the streets, even when I was kid. My late husband used to fetch voters and bring them back.
Joanna Evans, 54, (right with Pauline Walker) said: ‘There is a lot of debate with Labour at the moment. But I voted for James Church’
Ian Mays said: ‘I am from a pit village and voted Labour all my life. But they have made promises and not kept them’
Liam Westmorland, 20, said: ‘ The last election I voted TUSC (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition). I voted for them again today. For me, I hope anyone wins but Reform’
‘I know there is a strong possibility Reform will get in. I just hope they don’t. Nigel Farage is like Trump and I have already lost some of the money for my funeral I invested before he got into power.’
Reform voter Anthony Griffiths, 54, said: ‘I would never vote for Labour. I would prefer to punch Starmer in the face. I cannot stand him. He is as bad as Corbyn.
‘I did not bother voting last election. Before that, I voted Conservative. But everyone I know is voting Reform now.
‘When I heard about people getting evicted from places they had lived for years to house asylum seekers i thought it was an absolutely joke. It is disgusting.’
Liam Westmorland, 20, said: ‘ The last election I voted TUSC (Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition). I voted for them again today. For me, I hope anyone wins but Reform.
‘Starmer is nowhere near left wing enough. I fell out with the Labour Party and will never vote for them. Ideally, I would love Corbyn back in.’
Scott Elliott, 54, voted Labour – reluctantly – only to stop Reform getting in.
He said: ‘It will be a disaster if Reform win. They are a right-wing party with nothing but sound bites. There is no substance to any policy they have.
‘It is Trump-lite – lying but without the personality. I am not happy with Labour either. Normally, I vote with Labour except when I vote for the Greens.
‘But there is no chance for the Greens in Doncaster. So the only option is Labour. Nigel Farage spends all his time just dodging the lies.’
Neville Morling added: ‘I voted Labour but I think there will be a big swing against them.
‘They have cut my fuel allowance. Some of the Reform policies I agree with. Others I don’t.’
Neville Morling added: ‘I voted Labour but I think there will be a big swing against them’
Fellow Reform voter Michael Krajnyk, 66, said: ‘I have never voted Labour. I am an anarchist’
Another Reform voter Jean Hibbard, 69, who has mobility problems, said: ‘I don’t want Labour in. They have not done anything for the people they promised to help’
Another Reform voter Jean Hibbard, 69, who has mobility problems, said: ‘I don’t want Labour in. They have not done anything for the people they promised to help.
‘It is the first time I have voted Reform and I am hoping they get in. Because this country is in an awful state. It is already crap and getting worse.
‘Don’t mention Starmer. He has cut my disability benefits. He was not going to do anything to benefits. Then as soon as he got in he cut the benefits.
‘Since then he has done nothing apart from make this country worse.’
Fellow Reform voter Michael Krajnyk, 66, said: ‘I have never voted Labour. I am an anarchist.
‘I voted for Reform in the General Electon and I hope they get in here and stop the boat people simple as.
‘You are talking to a man whose dad came from the Ukraine after World War Two. He got a job down the pits, not like these donkeys coming over now.
‘My father did not come over on a boat. He got liberated from a German prisoner of war camp and I have worked all my life.’
BUCKINGHAMSHIRE: Reform targets county council as Conservatives battle to maintain slim majority
Residents in Buckinghamshire have expressed their fears that Reform could sweep in and topple a key stronghold for the Conservatives at this election.
Buckinghamshire has been under the control of the Tories for decades, with the party having consistently held a majority control of the previous Buckinghamshire County Council since its formation in 1973, and keeping an iron grip on the new unitary authority, Buckinghamshire Council, since its formation in 2020.
But since the last local election in 2021, the national Conservative party has been rocked to its core, first by the scandals which swept Boris Johnson out of office as prime minister in 2022, then by the disastrous and famously short-lived tenure of Liz Truss, before finally the Conservatives were hammered at last year’s general election, which saw Labour claim a landslide victory.
During the same period, the Reform party has soared to prominence, competing with the Conservatives on traditionally Tory key issues such as immigration, securing four MPs voted in during the general election since Nigel Farage took over from Richard Tice last year.
Liberal Democrats Teller Mr Cowen (L) and Conservatives candidate Alex Dunlop (Beaconsfield Central) outside the Polling Station at the Curzon Centre in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire
Elderly voters leave the Polling Station at St Teresa’s Church Hall in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire
Reform appears to have set its sights on Buckinghamshire Council as an election battleground where they could continue to chip away at the Conservative’s voter base.
In 2021, Reform fielded just four candidates in the local elections, with one – Councillor Paul Irwin
from Stone & Waddesdon ward – getting voted in. The Conservatives, meanwhile, put a candidate up for all 148 seats and secured 106 councillors.
This year Reform has massively scaled up its ambitions for Buckinghamshire – which, after a boundary change, now has just 97 seats – putting up a total of 93 candidates. This means they will be contesting almost every seat with the Conservatives, who have put up a full suite of 97 candidates.
Although the two parties will be braced for a finger biting election results day on Friday, most constituents the Mail Online spoke to on Thursday said they had not voted and knew nothing about what the parties were offering in the local elections.
Particularly among young voters, the apathy towards the local elections was plain. One young man, asked who he might vote for, joked ‘Matt Hancock seems like a good choice!’
Beaconsfield, a market town where almost a quarter of the population is aged 65 and over, has two Conservative councillors and one independent.
Sansa the dog, a Keeshond, waits patiently outside a Polling Station in the village of Farnham Common in Buckinghamshire
Local resident Ann Benstock, 77, told how she had – for the first time – split her three votes between different parties
Local resident Ann Benstock, 77, told how she had – for the first time – split her three votes between different parties.
‘I am afraid it was a bit of a scattergun exercise’, she said. ‘I didn’t vote, as a have done for many years, all for one party. I think the Conservatives will probably get in again, but we will see.
Asked about the rise of Reform, Ms Benstock said: ‘I just think there is a lot of ill feeling about the previous government and also the current government and I think people are looking for alternatives.’
But she did not see Labour performing well in her area. ‘Not in Beaconsfield, I don’t think’, she laughed. ‘But you never know, never say die!’
Phil Powell, 62 and his wife, Michelle, 58, said they thought people in Beaconsfield were not ‘as right wing as reform’, but were more ‘mid-range conservatives’.
Mr Powell, who said he had voted Independent on local issues, insisted the problems in the town were with the local Conservative party, who he said ‘maybe took voters for granted’.
Mrs Powell, who also went Independent, added: ‘I don’t think they supported us enough. Planning was definitely one thing’. The couple pointed out there were extensive plans to develop Beaconsfield which are ongoing.
Just days ago, over 260 people had objected to plans submitted to Buckinghamshire Council for up to 330 homes and 60 elderly or care units next to Amersham Road and Minerva Way in Beaconsfield.
‘People are looking for a change. I would not be surprised if it did turn. But having said that, we have got a lot of elderly people who have lived here all their lives and they are not going to change’, Mrs Powell added.
Conservative candidate Paul Kelly with his rescue dog Rufus outside Burnham Park Hall in Buckinghamshire
Barbara Edwards, 78, said: ‘I just hope Reform does not get in. I would be so disappointed in the people of Beaconsfield if they vote in Reform.
‘It is usually Conservative, I think they do take Conservative voters don’t they, so I hope not.’
Her husband William Edwards, 77, from Beaconsfield, said of the Conservatives: ‘They have done a bad job, they always seem to shoot themselves in the foot, over everything.’ He pointed to the town plan for Beaconsfield, which he said had been ‘a mess’.
The Beaconsfield Neighbourhood Plan went to Referendum on September 9, but the turnout was low at just 26 per cent and the plan was not passed. The Beaconsfield Society has criticised the town’s proposed Neighbourhood Plan for being ‘badly drafted’ and ‘not protecting Green Belt land’.
In nearby Gerrards Cross, 49-year-old local Sara Reading said: ‘I am hoping Reform do not get in. I think the current councillors we have got are getting there with potholes and all the ongoing problems with flooding.
‘I do not think Reform, necessarily… well, there is not a huge issue with immigration in South Bucks’, Ms Reading added.
She said she thought either the Conservatives or the Lib Dems could come out well in the local elections.
‘In terms of Reform, I am still waiting for my £350million from Brexit to be paid!’, she quipped.
Waiting for a bus on the nearby high street, Chalfont St Peter resident Jim Ballantine, 86, said he was hoping for a lot of independents – who he had voted for – to get into power, as they were ‘more interested in local issues’.
A parish councillor outside a polling station in Burnham, Buckinghamshire
‘Years ago I said I would never vote Conservative again if they ever supported HS2 and I have kept to my statement ever since, so no way am I going to vote Conservative again’, Mr Ballantine added.
Asked about why he thought Reform could now be in pole position to challenge the Tories, Ballantine responded: ‘I think there is a feeling among my age group with things like winter fuel allowance and things of that sort and I feel certain it will have some influence on the vote.
‘I don’t know about Reform’, he said. ‘They have not get much of a record we can look on and see whether they are going to do something locally rather than nationally.’
In Chalfont St Giles, the owner of The Village Chippie, 61-year-old Paul Horwood, said he would mainly vote on local issues, such as pot holes.
Asked about the rise of Reform, he said the party could possibly win. ‘That is possible, yeah, because people will want a change, because we both know what Conservative and Labour are like, now anyway.
‘Time for a change. I mean, I know they are all as bad as each other. One might be one per cent better than the other, but that one per cent can make a lot of difference.
Commenting on the fact the Conservatives had always won in Buckinghamshire, he remarked: ‘Well, yeah, because there is a lot of money people you see, and the rich always look after the richer. I happen to be very poor!’
LINCOLNSHIRE: ‘We have very high hopes for Andrea Jenkyns. She has shades of Margaret Thatcher about her’
Voters in Lincoln reacted to the news that Reform’s Dame Andrea Jenkyns had been elected mayor of Greater Lincolnshire.
Retired schoolworker Margaret Swallow, 81, of Ruskinton, Lincs, said: ‘I voted Reform in the council and Mayoral elections, so obviously I am pleased.
‘It is a five-party debate now, whereas it used to be only two. I have very high hopes for Andrea Jenkyns. I think she has shades of Margaret Thatcher about her.
‘I’ve voted for pretty much all the parties over the years, including Labour. But I think there’s more about Reform than those previous parties – so let’s try something different.
‘In my opinion, they (Reform) are one to watch. I am interested to see how they do. They seem to be saying the right things, so I think it’s time to give them a chance.’
Ms Swallow’s partner, retired BT worker Christopher Haywood, 82, said he was a ‘dyed in the wool’ Labour voter.
He added: ‘We have had some political debates in our house, but less so recently.
Retired schoolworker Margaret Swallow, 81, of Ruskinton, Lincs, said: ‘I voted Reform in the council and Mayoral elections, so obviously I am pleased’
Vicar Karen Wooding, 69, of Louth, Lincs, said she voted Liberal Democrat in the mayoral election in a bid to prevent Andrea Jenkyns getting in
‘I have become quite indifferent to politics in recent years, and I am not that bothered that we have a Reform mayor, to be honest.
‘I can’t say I am a big fan of Keir Starmer. He doesn’t seem to be doing very well.’
Vicar Karen Wooding, 69, of Louth, Lincs, said she voted Liberal Democrat in the mayoral election in a bid to prevent Andrea Jenkyns getting in.
She said: ‘I was debating to go with either Green or the Lib Dems, so I am not terribly happy about the result. I don’t like Reform at all.
‘However, unless I lived in a parallel universe, I would have to be deaf and blind to not see the fact people are voting Reform around here.
‘It is nothing personal against Andrea Jenkyns, but I was deeply upset about Brexit and what I see as closing in on ourselves rather than opening up.
‘I think the attitude of see other people as hostile rather than friends we just haven’t met will make us poorer as a society.
‘Plus I love travelling, and I love going to Europe. We seem stuck in our own little world – it makes me cross.
‘Sadly, I am not a fan of Keir Starmer, and I have been a Labour voter in the past. I don’t think he has stuck to his principles. on Palestine or a lot of things.
‘He just seems to go the way of the wind.’
Aiden McQueen, 31, of Louth, Lincs, said: ‘I voted Liberal Democrat. Labour has shown us what they really are now – and I used to be a Labour voter. I also saw the Green Party candidate on the local news, and wasn’t impressed.
‘We will have to wait and see what happens with Reform and Andrea Jenkyns being mayor. But for me, Nigel Farage has always just been one to keep away from. So when I saw this news this morning, it was a bit of a case of, ‘Oh no’.’
Aiden McQueen, 31, of Louth, Lincs, said: ‘I voted Liberal Democrat. Labour has shown us what they really are now – and I used to be a Labour voter’
Student Ethan Fleming, 24, of Lincoln, said: ‘I would rather not say who I voted for, but I voted for them because I always have done’
Student Ethan Fleming, 24, of Lincoln, said: ‘I would rather not say who I voted for, but I voted for them because I always have done.
‘I just didn’t feel like any of the parties had much to offer me, to be honest – so I was fairly indifferent about the result, and Reform getting in.
‘They may shake things up a bit, but once everyone has calmed down a bit I think we’ll go back to the two dominant parties. I think Reform may be a bit of a flash in the pan rather than a trend.’
Retired engineer Robert Taylor, 67, of Lincoln, said: ‘I voted Reform, so I am really happy with the result.
‘I have voted Labour in the past, but they have just broken so many promises that they were no longer and option. The Winter Fuel Payment thing was just the final straw.
‘The two main parties have just let us down so much over the years. You can’t trust them. Reform deserves a chance to show what they can do. I think a lot of people feel the same, judging by the results here, and across the country.
‘We are entering some interesting times, that is for sure. For so long it felt like only Labour or the Tories would lead the country, but it really feels like that is changing now.’
