Reform UK Gains Seats in British Local Elections

Reform UK secured hundreds of seats and control of additional councils across England in local elections held on Thursday, dealing heavy losses to both the ruling Labour Party and the Conservatives. Nigel Farage said the outcome represented a historic shift away from traditional two-party dominance.

The party gained control of its first London borough in Havering, made strong advances in Essex and Suffolk, and picked up seats from Labour in the Midlands and northern England. Labour lost control of several councils including Hartlepool, Tameside, Redditch and Tamworth.

In Wigan, where a third of seats were contested, Reform UK won 24 out of 25 available seats, sharply reducing Labour's majority on the council. Control of Newcastle-under-Lyme passed from the Conservatives to Reform UK. Farage told supporters after the Havering result that his party had shown it could win in both longstanding Conservative areas and places that Labour had dominated since the end of World War I.

>"What's happened is a truly historic shift in British politics. " — Nigel Farage (BBC News) The Reform leader added that voters were not offering one-off support but were becoming committed backers. He described the party's performance as competitive from southwest England to northeast Scotland.

Reform's home affairs spokesperson told the BBC the party saw itself as competitive in Scotland and with a real chance of becoming the largest party in Wales.

Labour has suffered a net loss of nearly 500 council seats with just over half the results declared. Multiple Labour MPs called for the prime minister to set a timeline for his departure, saying voters felt let down by the direction the government had taken.

The prime minister accepted responsibility for the losses but said he was not going to walk away and plunge the country into chaos. He has not explicitly ruled out a managed exit. The Conservatives have seen a net loss of roughly 300 seats so far. Both major parties lost support to Reform UK on the right and to the Green Party and independent candidates on the left, particularly in urban areas and near universities.

Green Party leaders focused their campaign on the government's approach to the war in Gaza. A pre-election poll found that roughly 60 percent of Muslim voters would consider backing a pro-Palestinian independent or the Green Party to prevent Labour from winning locally.

Independent and Green candidates have recorded a net gain of approximately 90 seats.

Polling expert Sir John Curtice said Reform UK performed best in places that voted heavily for Brexit in 2016. The party's platform emphasized stricter immigration controls, tax cuts and the repeal of environmental policies viewed as obstacles to economic growth.

Reform UK was in its early stages during the previous round of these council elections. It gained control of 10 councils last year and has built on those gains. Farage said he would be personally sad to see the prime minister leave office, describing him as the party's greatest asset.

Academic observers noted the results could signal a longer-term move away from the United Kingdom's longstanding two-party system. " — Alan Mendoza, executive director of the Henry Jackson Society (Fox News) English local elections covered more than 5,000 seats across 163 councils and six mayorships.

Results from Scotland and Wales were still being tallied Friday afternoon.