Overview
- Reform UK overturned a safe Labour seat in Runcorn and Helsby by just six votes, marking the smallest by-election majority since WWII.
- The party won its first directly elected mayoralties in Greater Lincolnshire and Hull and East Yorkshire, with Andrea Jenkyns becoming Reform's most prominent elected official.
- Reform gained control of seven councils, including Durham, Kent, and Staffordshire, and outpaced all other parties in council seat wins.
- A BBC projection suggests Reform leads nationally with 30% support, ahead of Labour, Liberal Democrats, and Conservatives, signaling a major political realignment.
- Labour and Conservative leaders, Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch, acknowledged significant losses and pledged to accelerate reforms and rebuild voter trust.