Nigel Farage

Nigel Farage has been elected as an MP for the first time, marking a significant achievement in a night where Reform UK secured over four million votes.

This, numerically speaking, positions Reform UK as the third-largest party in the UK by vote share, with four seats won.

Farage overturned a Conservative majority of more than 25,000 to comfortably win the Clacton seat in Essex. This victory comes after eight attempts to enter the Commons. Farage hailed the result as “the first step of something that is going to stun all of you.”

Reform UK also captured Great Yarmouth and Boston and Skegness from the Tories, while former Conservative MP Lee Anderson, who joined Reform in March, retained Ashfield in Nottinghamshire.

The party found substantial support in areas previously won by the Conservatives in 2019 under Boris Johnson, finishing second in numerous constituencies.

Who is Reform Leader Nigel Farage?

Nigel Farage, known for his leadership roles in UKIP and the Brexit Party, has aimed to reshape British politics.

Speaking to reporters post-result, Farage declared it “the beginning of the end of the Conservative Party.”

He stressed a “massive gap on the centre-right of British politics,” which he aims to fill, and indicated that Reform UK would now target Labour votes.

Farage remarked, “There is no enthusiasm for Labour, there’s no enthusiasm for Starmer whatsoever. In fact, about half of the vote is simply an anti-Conservative vote. We’re coming for Labour, be in no doubt about that.”

His ambition is for Reform to become the main opposition to Labour by the next election.

An exit poll had predicted that Reform UK would win 13 MPs, although this figure was uncertain due to the party’s variable chances across constituencies. Polling expert Sir John Curtice noted that Reform benefited from a notable drop in the Conservative vote in previously held seats, particularly in areas that voted Leave in the 2016 referendum. In all four seats won by Reform, more than 70% of voters had supported Brexit.

Reform UK chairman Richard Tice overturned a 27,402 Tory majority to win Boston and Skegness. In Great Yarmouth, businessman and former Southampton FC chairman Rupert Lowe beat the Labour candidate by 1,426 votes, with the Tories falling to third place.

The party demonstrated its ability to attract former Tory voters early in the night, with significant wins in Blyth and Ashington and Houghton and Sunderland South, where it outperformed the Conservatives by over 4,000 votes. This pattern repeated in several other seats as the Tory vote share declined.

Limited Success Against Labour

Despite these gains, Reform UK found it challenging to unseat Labour MPs. In Barnsley North, where the exit poll had predicted a 99% likelihood of a Reform victory, Labour increased its majority to 7,811.

Reform’s candidate Robert Lomas, disowned by the party for offensive social media comments, came second. Similarly, in Hartlepool, another anticipated win for Reform, Labour maintained a comfortable majority of 7,698.

Farage’s Campaign Impact

Farage’s unexpected decision to run in the election, after initially stating he would not, saw a surge in support for Reform UK. Assuming leadership from Richard Tice, Farage played a central role in the party’s campaign.

The former UKIP and Brexit Party leader has a history of unsuccessful bids for a Commons seat, his most recent being in South Thanet, Kent, in the 2015 general election, where he finished second to the Conservative candidate.

Clacton holds historical significance as the first constituency to elect a UKIP MP in 2014, following Douglas Carswell’s defection from the Tories and subsequent by-election win.

In 2019, Reform’s predecessor, the Brexit Party, refrained from contesting over 300 Tory-held seats to avoid splitting the pro-Brexit vote. This election, however, saw Reform UK contest 630 seats across England, Scotland, and Wales, presenting logistical challenges.

The party had to disown six candidates over offensive comments since nominations closed, blaming the surprise announcement of a July election and a failure by a hired company to conduct background checks.

Two candidates also defected to the Conservatives over the party’s handling of these issues, though they still appeared on the ballot as Reform candidates.