Reform UK has won its first ever Welsh council seat in a landmark victory - with a higher vote share than Nigel Farage received in his constituency last year.
The populist party has booted out long-standing Labour from the seat of Trevethin and Penygarn (Torfaen) with an astounding 47 per cent of the vote.
Labour came second, with 26.6 per cent of the vote - in a humiliating blow to Starmer's party with 49.2 per cent of their previous vote share in the previous election.
The newly-elected councillor Stuart Keyte beat Labour to win the empty seat - although Labour has retained control of the overall council.
The latest electoral success for Farage's party has followed recent polling which indicates that Labour is set to lose swathes of its seats in England and Wales
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The latest electoral success for Farage's party has followed recent polling which indicates that Labour is set to lose swathes of its seats in England and Wales.
Polls on the party's success reveal that Reform could beat Labour and come in second place in next year's Welsh elections.
Following the party's "resounding" local win, party chairman Zia Yusuf said: "Our campaign machine is starting to fire."
Although the Conservative Party won almost a quarter of the vote share in the last election for the council seat, the Tories did not put up a candidate this time round.
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A recent "mega poll" has placed Reform in good stead ahead of future elections - indicating that Labour might be more at risk of losing seats to Farage's party than the Conservatives will.
Labour's traditional "red wall" has been highlighted as a potential danger zone - as well as large portions of Wales and southern England - for the traditional party.
In fact, the research suggests that Reform could even increase its number of MPs in the House of Commons by 76 representatives - kicking 60 Labour politicians out of Westminster.
The data was collated and analysed by Focaldata for the Hope Not Hate campaign group, including responses from almost 18,000 individuals.
A recent "mega poll" has placed Reform in good stead ahead of future elections
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Yesterday's polling from Techne UK has suggested that public opinion remains bleak for the Tories, as Badenoch is faced with yet another humiliating set of results.
While the Conservatives had decreased to 22 per cent, Reform had maintained its 26 per cent - just one point behind Labour.
Nevertheless, Badenoch has maintained her stance that she would not negotiate a pact with Nigel Farage.
Speaking on The Telegraph's Daily T podcast, she said: "Nigel Farage has said that he wants to destroy the Conservative Party.
"So I’m not...I have been given something very precious. I am the custodian of an institution that has existed for nigh on 200 years...I have to look after this thing. I can’t just treat it like it’s a toy and have pacts and mergers."
