Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has claimed his party is on course to “astonish everybody” by eating into Labour’s traditional support base, following a decisive by-election victory in Greater Manchester.
In a dramatic result on Thursday night, Reform UK unseated Labour in the Longdendale ward of Tameside Council, securing its first ever elected councillor in the borough. Reform candidate Allan Hopwood won with 911 votes, comfortably defeating Labour’s 489, in what Mr Farage described as a “landslide” and a sign of things to come.
Speaking to LBC on Friday morning, Mr Farage hailed the win as a major milestone for his party and a clear indication that disillusioned Labour voters are shifting allegiance. “What you will see when you wake up on May 2 is that we will have eaten into the old Labour vote in a way that’s going to astonish everybody,” he said.
He dismissed claims from Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper that Reform and the Conservatives were “merged in all but name”, stating that the two parties were “completely different”.
“The Conservatives gave us 14 years of high tax, open borders, excessive regulation,” Mr Farage said. “They did not deliver. We’re a completely different political party.”
His remarks come ahead of the upcoming local elections on 1 May, when voters across 24 local authorities in England will head to the polls. Some 1,650 seats are up for grabs across 14 county councils, eight unitary authorities, one metropolitan district and the Isles of Scilly. In addition, voters will also elect mayors in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Doncaster, the West of England, North Tyneside, and—new for 2025—in Hull and East Yorkshire, as well as Greater Lincolnshire.
The local elections are expected to provide a significant political temperature check, being the first major test of voter sentiment since Labour’s sweeping general election win in July last year. With Reform now eyeing further gains, pressure is mounting on both Labour and the Conservatives to shore up their local bases.
Despite recent speculation from Conservative sources that Reform could form local coalitions with Tory councillors, Mr Farage was quick to quash the idea. “I’ve no intention of forming coalitions with the Tories at any level,” he said, although he did leave the door open for more informal arrangements, saying Reform would be open to “working relationships” where interests align.
Allan Hopwood, Reform’s newest councillor, expressed his gratitude to Longdendale residents following his victory. “This is just the beginning,” he said. “Voters are tired of being ignored and want real change. Reform UK is offering that.”
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Reform’s growing presence in working-class communities has rattled both Labour and the Conservatives, with insiders from both parties warning that traditional assumptions about voter loyalty can no longer be relied upon.
A spokesperson for Labour admitted the result in Tameside was “disappointing” but added that the party remained confident ahead of the May elections. “We are taking nothing for granted. We know many voters still feel the effects of the cost-of-living crisis and NHS waiting lists and we’re committed to delivering real change.”
Meanwhile, registration to vote in the local and mayoral elections closes at midnight on Friday, 11 April. Political parties across the spectrum are making a final push to mobilise supporters ahead of what is shaping up to be a fiercely contested polling day.
As the campaign trail heats up, all eyes will be on how far Reform UK can extend its reach—and whether it truly can, as Mr Farage predicts, transform Britain’s political landscape by winning over Labour’s once-loyal heartlands.
