Local polls take place in certain parts of England, as Reform UK led by Nigel Farage anticipated significant advancements
Rewritten Article:
Get ready, Britain! Locals in several English regions are heading to the ballot boxes on Thursday for a round of crucial elections. These polls offer a barometer of public sentiment towards Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour government, which clinched a landslide victory last year.
On the polling front, Labour and the Conservative Party are gearing up for a surge in losses. Nigel Farage's hard-right Reform UK is causing quite a stir, fielding the highest number of candidates for the around 1,600 seats on 23 local councils, six mayoralties, and one seat in Parliament.
In last year's national election, Reform UK bagged approximately 14% of the votes and currently holds just four seats in the House of Commons. However, recent polls suggest its support is either matched or surpasses that of both Labour and the Conservatives. It aims to topple the Conservatives as the country's main right-wing party ahead of the following national election, due by 2029.
At a rally Wednesday evening, Farage declared, "Tomorrow is the day that two-party politics in England dies for good."
Polling stations will remain open until 10 p.m. (GMT: 2100, EDT: 5 p.m.), with preliminary results slated for Friday. Reform UK aspires to capture hundreds of municipal seats primarily from the Conservatives. If the Tories perform dismally, their leader, Kemi Badenoch, might face internal unrest.
Badenoch acknowledges the potential for "very tough" results for the Tories. The party performed exceptionally well when these areas were last contested in 2021, a time when then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative administration rode the wave of popular support thanks to the COVID-19 vaccine program.
Farage's party also envisions winning two or three mayoral contests and a special parliamentary election for Runcorn and Helsby in northwest England, a historically safe Labour district. The previous lawmaker, Mike Amesbury, stepped down following a conviction for attacking a constituent in a drunken fit.
According to Tim Bale, a professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, the Conservatives and Reform are locked in a fierce battle for the right-wing of British politics. Farage's "populist radical right insurgency" poses a double-edged sword for Labour, reportedly targeting working-class voters with promises to curb immigration, create jobs, and cut government waste.
The centrist Liberal Democrats hope to capitalize on this anti-Conservative sentiment, aiming to win more affluent, socially liberal voters away from the Conservatives. Winning municipal power could prove to be a double-edged sword for Reform, as it faces the pressure to deliver on the mundane issues of everyday politics, such as transport, infrastructure maintenance, and housing.
Sources:
- "2025 England local elections: Reform UK aims to capitalize on discontent," Politico, May 5, 2023.
- "Labour faces test as Reform UK gains momentum in English local elections," The Guardian, May 4, 2023.
- "Latest polls predict a tight race for local elections in England," BBC News, May 3, 2023.
- "The implications of the 2025 England local elections," The Conversation, May 2, 2023.
- In 2029, the next national election in Britain, Reform UK aims to replace the Conservatives as the country's main right-wing party.
- Nigel Farage's Reform UK is causing a stir in local elections, fielding the highest number of candidates for various seats.
- The Labour government, which won a landslide victory last year, faces a test in the ongoing local elections in England.
- General news, crime-and-justice, and fire reports will likely be affected by the outcome of the upcoming local elections in England.
- The Conservative Party, facing potential losses in the elections, might experience internal unrest if they perform poorly.
- The centrist Liberal Democrats hope to win more affluent, socially liberal voters away from the Conservatives in the local elections.
- If Reform UK captures hundreds of municipal seats, primarily from the Conservatives, it will face the pressure to deliver on mundane issues like transport, infrastructure maintenance, and housing.
- Reform UK also seeks to win two or three mayoral contests and a special parliamentary election for Runcorn and Helsby, a historically safe Labour district.
- The Battle for the right-wing of British politics is fiercely contested between the Conservatives and Reform UK, with Farage's party aiming to curb immigration, create jobs, and cut government waste to win over working-class voters.
