Reform UK Makes Gains in Local and Devolved Elections Across Britain

Reform UK gained more than 1,400 councillors across England and swept aside the Conservatives in Essex and Suffolk while surging in traditional Labour heartlands. The party took control of Barnsley council from Labour, Wakefield council from Labour, Sunderland council from Labour and Gateshead council from Labour. It also shifted Hartlepool, Tameside, Redditch and Tamworth to no overall control.

Reform UK took control of Essex County Council, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch's local authority. Peter Harris, a Reform UK county councillor in Essex, said the party had been given an enormous amount of responsibility. "But we promised lots of hard work and lots of effort making sure that we deliver what they want and their priorities," Harris said.

He added that Reform UK would look for short-term gains and in the long run make the council more efficient. "It's an enormous job to do," he said. In last year's local elections in England, Reform UK gained control of 10 councils and swept to victory across England with 31 percent of the vote.

The party has sustained a lead over other parties in national opinion polls since last year. It faced an increased level of scrutiny following those successes. Zia Yusuf, Reform UK's home affairs spokesman, said the party would not take voters for granted.

He claimed Reform UK was the only truly national party that is competitive across the country. Yusuf said the party had taken a big leap towards making Nigel Farage prime minister. "What Reform has done for the first time in my political lifetime is offer a viable and real alternative to those two old parties," Yusuf said.

Yusuf said Reform UK welcomes scrutiny. He stated that no party has had their record in local government more scrutinised than Reform UK.

Yusuf added that Reform UK would never claim to have a cure for everything but had been very clear about its priorities. Those priorities are secure borders, the cost of living, and the return of law and order. Nigel Farage called the results a truly historic shift in British politics.

In Scotland, Reform UK had only one MSP before the Scottish Parliament election. The party won 17 seats in the Scottish Parliament and tied with Labour for second place. Reform UK came joint second with Labour in Scotland.

In Wales, the party came second in the Welsh Parliament elections behind Plaid Cymru. Reform UK won 34 seats in the expanded Welsh Parliament and finished second to Plaid Cymru. The BBC's projected national share for Great Britain was Reform UK 26 percent, Greens 18 percent, Conservatives 17 percent, Labour 17 percent and Liberal Democrats 16 percent.

Reform UK's projected 26 percent share is down from the 30 percent figure the BBC published after last year's local elections. Sir John Curtice said Reform UK had done best in places that voted heavily for Brexit in 2016. BBC News reported that Reform UK's biggest gains came in England, where the party built on its performance from the previous year.

Yusuf told BBC Breakfast that the results represented a historic set of results for the country.