Reform UK is revelling in its latest electoral success after Nigel Farage clinched his party’s first ever seat of its kind.
The populist party won its first unitary authority councillor in Cumbria overnight after voters cast their vote in the Barrow-in-Furness by-election yesterday.
Councillor Hazel Edwards was catapulted into the local seat after winning almost half the votes cast in the Hawcoat and Newbarns seat on Westmorland and Furness Council, claiming 1,139 votes.
She also won the Hawcoat seat for Barrow Town Council with 656 votes in a double electoral blow to the Conservatives, who previously held the seat.
Back in April, Tory ex-councillor Niyall Phillips resigned from both of his seats to work for BAE Systems in Australia, an opportunity he said he simply could not refuse.
In last night’s count, Ms Edwards, who is a former Conservative mayor, won 1,139 votes, while Labour candidate Mike Leach came second with 576 votes.
Reform UK won 48.4 per cent of the vote, while Labour won 24.5 per cent of the share.
Meanwhile, the Conservatives’ previous vote share of 41 per cent was halved, leaving the 18-year-old candidate only with 19 per cent.
Reform UK celebrated the win on social media
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@REFORMPARTY_UK/X
Nevertheless, Marco Fawcett declared he was “proud” of his team and added that Ms Edward’s victory was a “testament to the experience” of the career politician.
But he said that Reform’s record at a local level across Britain was not “particularly impressive”, saying: “Voters are turning to Reform because they don’t have a record in Government they can be judged on.”
The Greens were also trying their luck in the local seat, winning five per cent of the vote, two per cent ahead of the Liberal Democrats on 2.9 per cent.
Overall turnout for the local by-election was 27 per cent, a 14 per cent drop from its last round of contests back in 2022.
Reform was branded a ‘real electoral threat’
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But the campaign trail was littered with controversy as Ms Edwards was accused of posting AI-altered photos online to promote her bid to become a local councillor.
Now, Tim Farron, the former leader of the Liberal Democrats and the MP for Westmorland, has slammed Mr Farage’s “divisive politics”, while admitting that Reform UK is a “real electoral threat” as its support advances in his backyard.
His party’s candidate, Stephen Pickthall, came last with 69 votes.
The MP said: “Last night’s result in Hawcoat and Newbarns shows that Reform UK is now a real electoral threat in Cumbria.
“We cannot let Nigel Farage’s divisive politics win at the local elections here next May.
“There are only two parties winning by-elections in Cumbria – the Lib Dems and Reform UK. Meanwhile, support for both Labour and the Conservative Party is collapsing.
“The Lib Dems are best placed to stop Reform UK next May – and I am determined that we will.”
Residents will head to the polls again next year to cast their ballot in the next round of Local Elections.
RESULTS IN FULL: Hawcoat and Newbarns Ward on Westmorland and Furness Council
- Atkinson, Rebekah, Green Party: 121
- Edwards, Hazel, Reform UK: 1,139
- Fawcett, Marco, Conservative: 447
- Leach, Michael, Labour: 576
- Pickthall, Stephen, Liberal Democrats: 69
RESULTS IN FULL: Hawcoat ward of Barrow Town Council
- Assoud, Therese, Labour: 322
- Edwards, Hazel, Reform UK: 656
- Fawcett, Marco, Conservative: 270