Reform UK took major political control of Lincolnshire today after Dame Andrea Jenkyns became Mayor and the party is on course to take the county council.
Dame Andrea, wearing an Abba-inspired glam sequined jumpsuit in Reform blue, won a thumping majority of 40,000 over her former party the Conservatives .
But Arron Banks, a close friend and political ally of Nigel Farage, missed out on becoming mayor for the West of England.
Party leader Mr Farage said today: ‘We now are the opposition party in the UK to Labour, and the Tories are a waste of space’.
On a night when Reform also won the Westminster by-election in Runcorn & Helsby by just six votes, Dame Andrea’s victory was absolute.
Reform UK candidate Dame Andrea Jenkyns joins other candidates on stage ahead of the result in the election for Greater Lincolnshire Mayor, at Grimsby Town Hall, where she won easily
Dame Andrea bat the Tories by 40,000 votes – her former party had a bad night
The new Greater Lincolnshire Mayor predicted that Nigel Farage would become Prime Minister
She received 104,133 votes, with the Tories miles behind on 64,585. Turnout was just under 30 per cent.
She said that ‘inch-by-inch Reform will reset Britain to its glorious past’, paying tribute to Mr Farage.
‘I know one day he will make a great prime minister,’ she added.
The voters of Lincolnshire, a county with a close affinity with Brexit, have given a bloody nose to the Tories and the Labour party.
Reform UK leader said in Runcorn this morning: ‘It’s been a big night for us.
‘We’ve dug very deep into the Labour vote and, in other parts of England, we’ve dug deep into the Conservative vote and we are now, after tonight there’s no question, in most of the country, we are now the main opposition party to this Government.’
The results suggests that national polling putting Reform neck-and-neck with the Tories and Labour parties is correct.
Polling expert Sir John Curtice said Reform UK ‘are in business’ following their good night at the polls.
The Strathclyde University professor told BBC Breakfast: ‘The big question we were looking to these elections to answer was, the message of the opinion polls is that Reform are now posing a big threat to both Conservative and Labour, neck and neck with them according to the polls.
‘Is that really true? And I think we now already know that the answer to that question is yes.
‘Ukip never managed to win a parliamentary by-election afresh in the way that Reform have managed to do in Runcorn.’
Sir John said Reform had put in ‘some quite remarkable performances’ as the more evenly spread vote was not a disadvantage to them at local level.
He added: ‘Reform are in business. They are a major challenge.’
