Well, well, well. It’s been a good start to the day so far for Nigel Farage’s Reform party, with the group in the lead on council seat wins, securing victory in the Greater Lincolnshire mayoralty and, to top it all off, coming first place in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election. Now the party has returned its Westminster parliamentarian count to five (after ex-Reform man Rupert Lowe was suspended earlier this year) and hopes to continue making gains across the country throughout the day. Talk about shaking things up, eh?
Reform’s Runcorn victory sees the party gain its first female Member of Parliament while ex-Tory politician Andrea Jenkyns swept to victory to become its first women mayor. While Farage’s party may have had a ‘boys club’ reputation in the past, the party leader was keen to point out how things are changing. Speaking to reporters in Runcorn this morning, Farage insisted:
We’ve just won here with Sarah Pochin. We’re on the verge of Dame Andrea Jenkyns becoming the mayor of Greater Lincolnshire. And since the general election, those that have come to us is 50-50 men and women. I know some people think I’ve got a woman problem, but it’s not true.
Reflecting on his party’s council wins so far, the Reform leader continued on, rubbishing the idea that his party remained a protest vote for people:
Protest vote means you stick two fingers up, you know, and that doesn’t motivate people to turn out in large numbers. We are not a protest party, even though there is much to protest about. No. The vibe, the whole vibe with reform UK is, you know what, we can turn this country around. We recognise it’s in decline. We can do better with positive people, with different people.
Strong stuff! Will Reform’s winning streak continue? Stay tuned…
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