Reform beats Labour by six votes in Runcorn vote as party gains first mayor

Nigel Farage’s Reform UK has secured victory by six votes over Labour in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election as a former Tory minister became the party’s first elected mayor.

In one of the closest parliamentary contests ever, new MP Sarah Pochin took the seat which Labour won with a majority of almost 14,700 less than a year ago.

The result came as Reform made gains against both Labour and the Conservatives across England in local votes, with Mr Farage claiming a “big moment” was taking place in UK politics.

Former Conservative minister Dame Andrea Jenkyns was elected for Reform UK as the first Greater Lincolnshire mayor with a majority of almost 40,000 over her former party.

Staffordshire County Council

Meanwhile, the party looks set to gain control of Staffordshire County Council after taking 24 of the 30 seats to be counted overnight, with the Conservatives winning the other six.

It means when counting resumes later on Friday, the party needs to win just eight more seats to have a majority on the council.

The Runcorn and Helsby by-election ran alongside local elections across England, having been triggered when former Labour MP Mike Amesbury quit after admitting punching a constituent.

Amesbury won 53% of the vote at the general election – and the defeat, along with Reform gains in other Labour heartlands, will cause unease in Downing Street.

Mr Farage said: “For the movement, for the party, it’s a very, very big moment indeed, absolutely, no question, and it’s happening right across England.”

He said it was a sign that Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had “alienated so much of his traditional base, it’s just extraordinary”.

Reform’s victory by just six votes set a new record for the smallest majority at a parliamentary by-election since the end of the Second World War.

Recount

The Runcorn declaration was delayed as the close nature of the contest led to a recount, with Mr Farage forced to wait before arriving at the count centre in Widnes for his moment of triumph.

In her speech after winning the seat, Ms Pochin said voters had made clear “enough is enough”.

“Enough Tory failure, enough Labour lies,” she said.

Labour said by-elections are “always difficult for the party in government” and the events surrounding the Runcorn and Helsby vote made it “even harder”.

Party chairwoman Ellie Reeves acknowledged voters were “impatient” but insisted “change takes time”.

She suggested Reform would face greater scrutiny after its electoral gains.

“There’s been a lot of noise from Reform, a lot of hype from Reform, but actually people will now, I think, take a closer look at some of their policies,” Ms Reeves told Sky News.

“We had 14 years of chaos under the Conservatives. Public services and the public finances were left in a state,” she told Times Radio.

“We’ve had to stabilise the economy, but we’re starting that work. We’ve got our Plan for Change, we’re beginning to see the results of this, but we know we need to go further and faster.”

Winter fuel allowance

However, Doncaster’s Labour mayor Ros Jones – who was re-elected with a majority of 698 after a battle with Reform – hit out at the Prime Minister’s administration.

She criticised decisions to means-test the winter fuel allowance, hike employers’ national insurance contributions and squeeze welfare.

Ms Jones told the BBC: “I think the results here tonight will demonstrate that they need to be listening to the man, woman and businesses on the street, and actually deliver for the people, with the people.”

As well as the Runcorn by-election, voters on Thursday took part in contests to elect more than 1,600 councillors across 23 local authorities, along with four regional mayors and two local mayors.

In a speech after winning the race in Greater Lincolnshire, during which her rivals walked offstage, Dame Andrea said there would be “an end to soft-touch Britain” after Reform UK’s gains in the polls.

“The fight back to save the heart and soul of our great country has now begun,” she said.

She claimed the campaign “was also filled with irony as one of the candidates stated I was parachuted in, she said in her South African accent.”

Tents

Dame Andrea, who defected to Reform after losing her parliamentary seat in last year’s general election, also appeared to suggest that migrants crossing the Channel should be housed in tents rather than hotels.

“Tents are good enough for France, they should be good enough for here in Britain,” the new mayor said.

Asked later whether she thought those remarks indicated a divisive way of conducting politics, she said: “I think it’s what the silent majority think.”

Pressed on whether she believed asylum seekers should be put in tents, she said “genuine asylum seekers like Ukraine et cetera” were “a different matter”.

Asked whether she thought people with certain accents could not be from Lincolnshire, she said: “I think actually I’m not going to answer any more of your questions.

“I think that your questioning is quite divisive, you’re looking into things when it was a little play with words, it was a little joke because of the irony. Do you not understand irony?”

There was some good news for Labour as the party held the West of England mayoralty, with Helen Godwin beating Reform’s Arron Banks by 5,945 votes, with the Green Party’s Mary Page in third.

The party held the North Tyneside mayoralty, although with a majority of just 444 ahead of Reform in second place.

The Tories said the change Sir Keir delivered had been “roundly rejected” and Labour MPs will “rightfully question his leadership” after Reform’s by-election win.

A Conservative Party spokesman said: “Now we know why Keir Starmer never bothered to visit the area.”

The Tories, in Kemi Badenoch’s first electoral test as leader, were also suffering at the hands of Reform and could also be squeezed by the Liberal Democrats.

Conservative frontbencher Helen Whately told the BBC’s Newsnight programme: “We’re going to get a real battering in these elections.”

Shadow communities secretary Kevin Hollinrake acknowledged the party was on course to lose around 500 councillors.

He told the BBC: “We thought we’d lose half our seats.”

If it was worse, “that would be very disappointing”, Mr Hollinrake added.

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey said: “We are expecting to see big gains against the Conservatives in their former Middle England heartlands.”

The Green Party was also hoping for success in local contests, with co-leader Carla Denyer saying: “We are taking seats from both the Conservatives and Labour up and down the country as voters, understandably, move away from the tired old parties that have let us all down.”