With a stunning sweep across local councils and a historic by-election victory, Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party has done what many thought impossible: cracked Britain’s long-standing two-party dominance, and now it’s coming for Downing Street.
Formed from the ashes of the Brexit Party, Reform UK claimed over 670 local council seats this week and snatched two mayoral posts, marking its strongest performance yet. But it was the razor-thin by-election win in Runcorn, a Labour stronghold in northwest England, that jolted the political establishment.
“We can and we will win the next general election,” Farage declared triumphantly in Staffordshire, rallying newly elected councillors just a day after the results rolled in. That general election may be four years away, but Reform’s ambitions are anything but modest.
Even academics are taking note. “This is the best performance by a populist radical right party we’ve ever seen in this country,” said Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London.
Reform’s rise taps into a deep well of frustration: spiraling costs, overwhelmed public services, and voter fatigue with the traditional left-right shuffle between Labour and the Conservatives. Much like Farage’s close ally Donald Trump, the party’s playbook is blunt — attack immigration, slash taxes, scrap diversity policies, and promise to “make Britain great again.”
And it’s working. In the working-class town of Runcorn, retiree Peter Sherliker said he found Farage “inspiring” and defected from the Conservatives after 30 years, citing fears over immigration. “We’re all hopeful for some change,” he said.
But this surge didn’t come overnight. Just months ago, Reform UK was still dogged by controversy, pulling support from candidates caught making racist remarks. Since then, it has tightened operations and flooded local ballots with more candidates than any other party. Paul Whiteley of the University of Essex called it a transformation into an “electoral machine.”
Reform’s reach goes beyond disillusioned voters, it’s also luring Conservative defectors. Among them, the new mayor of Lincolnshire, Andrea Jenkyns, who jumped ship as part of a broader rightward shift under Kemi Badenoch’s leadership.
Still, Farage has made one thing clear: There will be no alliances with the Tories. “Reform sank them,” he boasted.
In Runcorn, schoolteacher Rebecca Thomas offered a sobering take. “They’re very clever at the way they’ve pushed their agenda onto quite an underprivileged white town,” she said.
Beyond tax fatigue and NHS woes, the party has stoked cultural grievances, pointing to cases like the long-running grooming scandal involving predominantly South Asian men, an issue Reform has made central to its identity politics.
Despite his growing power base, Farage remains a polarizing figure. “There are far more people who don’t like Nigel Farage than there are people who like him,” noted Professor Bale.
But for now, Reform UK is celebrating — and strategizing. “Now the hard work begins,” said Martin Murray, a newly elected councillor in Staffordshire. “Show our competence… and show the whole country we are serious.”
From fringe to force, Farage’s insurgent army isn’t just making noise. It’s preparing for power.
