It was widely expected that Reform were going to do well in yesterday’s elections – but perhaps not this well. So far, its performance has been at the very top of pollsters’ expectations, a fact made all the more remarkable by the fact that several of its most promising races have been postponed to next year.
If you think the major parties are panicking now, imagine how much worse it would be if Nigel Farage’s party had also just swept to victory in the Welsh Senedd, or posted a stupendous result in the Greater Lincolnshire mayoral race.
Even allowing for that, these results are extraordinary. When I spoke to pollsters yesterday, they didn’t think it was probable that Reform would win control of a council, with the possible exception of Doncaster district council.
Instead, they have swept to victory in two county councils: Lincolnshire, and Staffordshire – and whilst the Runcorn by-election has focused attention on Reform’s threat to Labour, it is worth taking a moment to note just how spectacularly dire are these results for the Conservatives.
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