The Reform UK Party, a right-wing political group led by Nigel Farage, celebrated a significant victory in several electoral races on Friday. They achieved success in parliamentary, mayoral, and local elections, leading Farage to declare that Reform UK is now positioned as the primary opposition party to the current Labour government.
In an interview earlier this year with Fox News Digital, Farage had predicted a forthcoming “political revolution.” He asserted that the traditional two-party system that has long defined British politics is now defunct, pointing to losses suffered by both the Labour and Conservative parties in Thursday’s election.
One of Reform UK’s noteworthy victories was the securing of a parliamentary seat through candidate Sarah Pochin, who successfully flipped the Runcorn & Helsby constituency. This win holds particular significance as the area is considered a strong bastion of support for the Labour Party.
Nigel Farage, center, leader of the Reform UK Party, celebrates the victory of Sarah Pochin, the party’s candidate, in the Runcorn & Helsby by-election at the DCBL Stadium in Widnes, north-west England, on Friday. (Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)
Andrea Jenkyns also snagged the mayorship for Greater Lincolnshire, which has for years been dominated by the Conservative Party.
Reform UK’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, reportedly told Times Radio on Friday, “It’s certainly a political earthquake because up and down the country in some 650 elections, give or take, voters have voted and the votes are coming in against the main two parties.”
Nigel Farage, leader of the Reform UK Party, and Sarah Pochin, the party’s candidate, celebrate her victory in the Runcorn & Helsby by-election at the DCBL Stadium in Widnes, north-west England, on Friday. (Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images)
According to Farage, the rise in Reform UK supporters suggests the Conservative Party — which he was a former member of but left in the 90s and eventually started the Brexit Party before changing the name to Reform UK in 2021 — is losing support.
“You’re witnessing the end of a party that’s been around since 1832,” he told reporters, according to a Reuters report.
