Reform flips council

Reform has taken control of Northamptonshire county council, which had been a Conservative majority.

The insurgent party has won 39 of the 76 seats it needed to form a majority.

Boris backs Tories

Boris Johnson insisted that the Conservatives “can win again” despite the “horror” of the local election results.

The ex-PM said the Tories could pick themselves up as Labour are “so bad”.

He told the Daily Mail said that when the next election is called there is a “real chance of a tipping point”.

Farage cracks down on diversity jobs and working from home

Nigel Farage has hinted he will crackdown on working from home and diversity officer roles to save on public spending.

The Reform leader claimed his party will take a “very different” approach to local government after multiple election wins.

He told the BBC: “There is too much wasteful expenditure, and trying to do too many things, we want to try and change that.

“If you work from home, forget it. If you’re a DEI officer, I suggest you look for another job.”

DEI officers are paid to promote and implement Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in workplaces across the UK.

Reform win eighth council

Reform now have control of a staggering eight councils by gaining Doncaster.

They can’t lose it as 37 of the council’s 55 seats have been declared.

Labour has incredibly lost 21 seats. Reform have swept nearly all before them and have 29 representatives on the council.

Sir Ed Davey hails Lib Dem wins and gains

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey claimed voters have “chosen our community politics over the Conservative Party’s neglect and disdain”.

He said: “We have overtaken the Conservatives at these local elections, putting us on track to overtake them at the next general election too.

“From Wiltshire to Oxfordshire, from Shropshire to Devon, the Liberal Democrats have replaced the Conservatives as the party of middle England.

“Lifelong Conservative voters have put their faith in the Liberal Democrats because they are appalled by the Conservatives lurching to the extremes and cosying up to Nigel Farage.”

Sir Ed Davey hails Lib Dem wins and gains

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey claimed voters have “chosen our community politics over the Conservative Party’s neglect and disdain”.

He said: “We have overtaken the Conservatives at these local elections, putting us on track to overtake them at the next general election too.

“From Wiltshire to Oxfordshire, from Shropshire to Devon, the Liberal Democrats have replaced the Conservatives as the party of middle England.

“Lifelong Conservative voters have put their faith in the Liberal Democrats because they are appalled by the Conservatives lurching to the extremes and cosying up to Nigel Farage.”

Farage’s ‘knock out blow’

Nigel Farage said that Reform’s Hull and East Yorkshire mayor had delivered a “knockout blow” with his victory.

The new mayor is Olympic medallist Luke Campbell.

Mr Farage tweeted:  “I said local hero @Luke11Campbell would deliver a knockout blow to Labour.

“That’s exactly what he did today!”

Farage pledges to ‘resist’ asylum hotels in counties Reform controls

Nigel Farage has insisted Reform will “resist” asylum hotels after winning multiple county council elections.

He claimed migrants were being “dumped into the north of England, getting everything for free” during a speech in County Durham.

The Reform leader said: “It is unfair, it is irresponsible, it is wrong in every way and I don’t believe Starmer has got the guts to deal with it.”

Farage pledges to ‘resist’ asylum hotels in counties Reform controls

Nigel Farage has insisted Reform will “resist” asylum hotels after winning multiple county council elections.

He claimed migrants were being “dumped into the north of England, getting everything for free” during a speech in County Durham.

The Reform leader said: “It is unfair, it is irresponsible, it is wrong in every way and I don’t believe Starmer has got the guts to deal with it.”

No overall control in Hertfordshire

The Liberal Democrats are also the largest party on Hertfordshire County Council with 31 councillors.

The Tories were previously in control but were down 24 seats to 22, while Reform came third with 14.

No party had overall control after all 78 seats were declared and they will have to operate by forming a coalition.

Lib Dems win two councils

Sir Ed Davey earlier said the Lib Dems were “exceeding expectations” – and they’ve just taken control of two county councils.

He pledged his party now represented Middle England before they won in Oxfordshire and Cambridgeshire.

They have a 36 seat majority in Oxfordshire – a gain of 12 – while the Tories dropped 15 to 10. Reform only won one.

In Cambridgeshire, the Lib Dems will have 31 councillors after gaining 11 seats from 2021.

The Conservatives lost 18 seats and will only have 10 councillors, while Reform will have 10.

Olympic gold medalist boxer crowned Reform mayor

Luke Campbell has clinched the title of mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire in another win for Reform.

The former Team GB boxer, who competed as a lightweight, won a gold medal at the London 2012 Olympics.

Dancing on Ice star Luke, 37, claimed the inaugural mayoral position with 48,491 votes and a 35.8 per cent share.

Results in Wiltshire and Gloucestershire

Gloucestershire has fallen from Tory power to no overall control after all 55 seats were declared.

The Lib Dems are the largest party with 27 councillors after the Conservatives lost 24 seats and Reform won 11.

Wiltshire Council also has no party majority after the Lib Dems claimed 43 seats out of 98.

The Tories lost 24 councillors but still kept 37, while Reform won 10 seats.

Kemi Badenoch says Starmer will be a ‘one-term PM’

Sir Keir Starmer is “on track to be a one-term Prime Minister”, according to Kemi Badenoch.

Referring to surging Reform, The Tory leader admitted “protest parties” doing well in local elections was “disappointing”.

She said: “The election results that we are seeing show he is on course to be a one-term prime minister.

“But we can’t take things for granted. Protest parties are doing well, today. I know that, it is disappointing”.

Badenoch broke cover to support the Tory’s only winner so far – the new mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Paul Bristow.

She told Tory councillors who lost their seats she’s “sincerely sorry”, adding: “We’re going to make sure that your hard work was not in vain.

“Other parties may be winning now, but we are going to show… that we can deliver and that we are on course and recovering.”

Results by 4.30pm

After complete results from 12 of the 23 county council elections, Reform had won 420 seats, gaining 405.

The Tories had lost 322 and Labour were down 125. Liberal democrats were up 42 and the Greens had won 22.

Reform have won:

• Derbyshire
• Durham
• Kent
• Lancashire
• Lincolnshire
• Nottinghamshire
• Staffordshire

Conservatives have lost to no overall control:

• Devon
• Leicestershire
• Northumberland
• Warwickshire
• Worcestershire

Farage travels to Staffordshire

Nigel Farage has revealed he’s travelling to Staffordshire where Reform won it’s first council earlier this morning.

The party leader is planning on celebrating the historic moment by toasting to the seismic “Reform-quake”.

Lib Dems are ‘exceeding expectations’ in local elections

Sir Ed Davey believes his Liberal Democrats were “exceeding expectations” by pinching seats from the Tories.

Speaking from a garden party in Oxfordshire, he told Sky News: “We are the party of middle England now.

“I’m really proud of what our councillors have achieved and what they’re going to achieve as they work hard for their local communities.”

Tories lose control in Leicestershire

Leicestershire County Council has no overall control – but Reform UK is the biggest party with 25 seats.

The Tories lost 27 councillors in an election bloodbath which left just 15 remaining after all 55 seats were declared.

Farage says Reform has eaten ‘the Labour party for lunch’

Nigel Farage has declared the “end of two-party politics” after Reform devoured “the Labour party for lunch”.

He hailed “the beginning of the end of the Conservative party” after the Tories were “wiped out” in parts of England.

The Reform leader also pledged to “make history and win the next general election” by targeting energy and migration issues.

Reform win in Kent and Nottinghamshire

Reform’s storming victories are continuing after turning Kent turquoise despite it being blue for 28 years.

Nigel Farage’s party claimed a majority of 46 seats on Kent County Council with 20 left to count.

The Tories, who have been in charge since 1997, have just two councillors so far in a humiliating defeat.

Farage’s win there will be seen as vital given Dover is on the frontline of immigration issues surrounding Channel crossings.

In Nottinghamshire, Reform have also secured a majority of 38 councillors, trouncing the Tories’ 17.

Tories lose two more councils

The Conservatives have lost Worcestershire County Council for the first time in 20 years.

No party has overall control as Reform are two short of a majority with 27 seats.

Gloucestershire County Council has also been lost by Kemi Badenoch’s party.

The Lib Dems are set to be its biggest party with 20 councillors, ahead of Reform’s 10 – with eight seats left to be declared.

Sir Ed Davey’s party are also set to have the most seats on Devon County Council which will have no overall control.

The Lib Dems claimed the Conservatives were “facing a West Country wipe-out in a humiliation” for Badenoch.

A spokesman added: “Last year, we showed we were back in our South West heartland. This shows we’re back for good.”

Reform claims two more councils

Reform has won majorities at Lancashire County Council and Derbyshire County Councils.

In Lancashire, it claimed the 43 seats needed – up from just two previously when the Conservatives had 46.

Over in Derbyshire, Nigel Farage’s party stormed to victory by winning 32 seats out of 64 – with 11 yet to be declared.

It came as the Reform leader addressed voters in Durham after securing the North East city’s County Council.

Labour peer says party needs to admit mistakes

Labour peer and former Labour advisor Baroness Hazarika questioned whether the strategy in Runcorn would have been helped if Sir Keir Starmer had visited.

Speaking on her Times Radio afternoon show, she said: “I think Labour has to tell a convincing, confident story about what it wants modern Britain to look at, and they need people to feel the change and maybe admit that some mistakes were made, like the winter fuel allowance.

“I say this as a Labour person, you know I’m a Labour peer, Reform are clearly coming after Labour’s lunch.”

Conservatives lose in Nottinghamshire

The Tories have also surrendered control of Nottinghamshire County Council.

They have been in charge for nearly 10 years but the door is now open for Reform to clinch another huge victory.

Nigel Farage’s party only needs another five councillors for overall control with 14 seats yet to be decided.

Tory mayor wins in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough

In a rare glimmer of light for the Conservatives, Paul Bristow won the race to be mayor in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

The Tory candidate earned 60,243 votes (28.4%), followed by Reform’s Ryan Coogan (23.3%) and Labour’s Anna Smith (20.%).

It was previously held by Labour who snatched it from the Tories in 2021.

The Conservatives are dubbing this “a significant win” on a “very difficult night”.

A party spokesman said: “Paul Bristow will be a fantastic local champion, working hard to deliver the lower taxes and better services the residents of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough deserve.

“Labour previously held this mayoralty and won two new MPs in the region last year, so for Paul to win today shows how Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives are already making inroads into the Labour vote.

“Coming on the back of losing the previously safe Labour seat of Runcorn, as well as council seats in regions with large numbers of Labour MPs, this result is likely to increase concerns in Labour over Keir Starmer’s faltering leadership.”