Reform UK is hellbent on replacing the Tories and last night showed why 2025 will prove make or break
'A Tory versus Reform UK showdown is just over the horizon,' says Jack Walters
PA
Reform UK was asked to show its mettle last night. In a leafy Kent ward, the populist party supplanted the Tories and Labour to rake in 26.9 per cent of the vote in Swale’s Priory ward.
Missing out to the Liberal Democrats, who admittedly witnessed a slump in support, Reform UK were able to place themselves as the unlikeliest of leading opposition parties in Swale's Priory ward.
Maxwell Harrison, who stood as Reform UK’s candidate in Faversham & Mid Kent on July 4, told GB News: “A good result for us, I think. It shows you that an organised Reform UK can replace the Tories in Kent.”
A Reform UK insider added: “Pretty good for Reform UK from a standing start in a strong Lib Dem area.”
Reform UK won 14 per cent of the vote at the last election REFORM UKMeanwhile, the Tory Party remains very much still in the throes of its leadership contest, with ex-Home Secretary Priti Patel the first eliminated from the six-candidate race to replace Rishi Sunak.
However, a Tory versus Reform UK showdown is just over the horizon as both parties prepare to mount full-on offensives in the 2025 Local Elections.
The contests prove a perfect test for Reform UK.
There are 2,285 wards up for grabs, 1,335 are currently held by the Tories and Ukip won a solid 148 in its pomp.
Reform UK, through a series of defections and two victories in May, already holds 18 wards in the areas covered.
An in-depth analysis of the election on July 4, makes for even prettier reading for Reform UK.
It shows additional strong showings in large parts of Essex, Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Nottinghamshire.
There was also a splattering of Reform turquoise in Derbyshire, Kent and Shropshire.
Chairman Zia Yusuf is already looking to establish 120 “pilot” local branches to enable the populist party to mount a serious ground campaign.
Speaking to GB News, Yusuf said: “Every week, we see momentum building, with new highs in the polls, membership surging to new records, continued growth in donations and the roll-out of a campaign winning machine.
“Under Nigel Farage’s leadership, we are building a local branch infrastructure across the UK, with the first priority being the thousands of local election candidates next year.”
Reform UK will look to field hundreds more candidates than it managed to put up in 2024.
Farage’s party put up just 323 candidates across 2,655 wards, contesting just 12 per cent of seats.
The figure was much lower than the 62 per cent contested by the Greens and 68 per cent challenged by the Liberal Democrats.
And Lee Anderson is tracking a number of local defections to Reform UK, including Bolsover District Councillor Carol Wood.
Zia Yusuf told GB News "every week, we see momentum building, with new highs in the polls, membership surging to new records"
GB NewsSouth Basildon & East Thurrock MP James McMurdock also noted that Councillor Alex Anderson joined Reform’s ranks.
However, Anderson told GB News: “There is no campaign at all.
“Councillors are contacting us on a regular basis but they all have to be vetted to ensure they are of the highest quality and meet all of our high standards.”
A senior Reform UK source appeared to confirm a deluge of defections could come by the end of the week, telling GB News: “We've got 25 and counting. There will be more by Friday”
Reform UK is setting the groundwork for a key set of elections in 2025 and the Tory Party might yet prove the main victim of a populist surge.
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Opinion polls are not showing any real change in Tory support since it slumped to its worst election defeat since 1906 on July 4.
A change of leader could bring about a small boost but there appears to be no real desire for any of the remaining five candidates nationwide.
It will also prove the first opportunity for conniving Conservatives to sharpen their knives.
It is almost unprecedented for an opposition leader to fall backwards after collapsing in the way the Tories did in 2024.
William Hague picked up an extra 256 Councillors in 1998, gaining one council.
Iain Duncan Smith, who was not able to remain Leader of the Opposition ahead of the 2005 General Election, also flipped nine councils after taking 238 extra wards in 2002.
The situation puts even greater pressure on whoever succeeds Sunak to perform but are they really ready to take on a resurgent Reform UK?