Nigel Farage, the leader of the Reform UK party, finally succeeded in bagging a parliamentary seat, getting eighth time lucky as he won from Clacton. Adding to this achievement was his hardline right-wing party Reform UK's surprising performance as it clinched four seats from former UK PM Rishi Sunak, in the UK general election.
Here's all you need to know about the party that gained a massive victory and sunk Sunak's Conservative, giving it a tough fight in the 2024 elections.
Reform UK, formerly known as the Brexit party, was founded in November 2018 by Nigel Farage and Catherine Blaiklock in the United Kingdom.Initially, the party focused solely on advocating for UK's withdrawal from the European Union.
It is considered a right-wing populist party, promoting a conservative and liberatarian agenda, similar to the ideology of former PM Rishi Sunak's Conservative Party.
Although the party won most seats (29) in the 2019 European Parliament election in the UK, it did not bag any seats in the 2019 general election, where Sunak's party won 365 seats.
A year after the UK withdrew from the European Union in January 2020, the party was rebranded as Reform UK in January 2021.
The party also focused on anti-lockdown campaigning when the Conservative government imposed nationwide lockdowns.
Some of the high-profile defections to Reform UK from the Conservative included Annunziata Rees-Mogg and Ann Widdecombe. In March 2024, another Conservative MP, Lee Anderson, who was elected in 2019, defected to Reform.
Founder Farage, however, stepped down as the party's leader in March 2021, following which he was succeeded by Richard Tice.
After over three years, on June 3 2024, Farage announced his comeback as the leader of the party and contested the elections.
A Bruising Defeat To Sunak's Conservative Party
In a bruising defeat for Sunak, Farage's Reform UK in the 2024 general elections, bagged four seats with a 14.3 percent vote share, a gain of over 12 percent from the 2019 outcome. This shift significantly impacted Sunak's party.
The Conservative Party, on the other hand, lost approximately 20 percent of its vote share, as it dropped from 43.6 percent in 2019 to 23.7 in 2024.
Reform UK, which secured over four million votes, won Great Yarmouth, Boston, Skegness and Clacton from the Tories.
Known for his distinctive character and style, Nigel Paul Farage, has made his maiden entry into the UK Parliament, winning wth a majority of over 25,000 votes to claim Clacton, Essex.
In 2023, the New Statesman ranked him first on the Right Power List, calling him "the most influential person in British right-wing politics."
The Daily Telegraph ranked him second among the top 100 most influential right-wing figures after Cameron.
Prior to his maiden victory, Farage failed seven times before finally becoming an MP this year.
Reform Coming For Labour Next
Speaking to reporters after the result, the 60-year-old said that it was "the beginning of the end of the Conservative Party," BBC reported.
Farage further said that he would now be "targeting Labour votes".
"What is interesting is, there's no enthusiasm for Labour, there's no enthusiasm for Starmer whatsoever. In fact, about half of the vote is simply an anti-Conservative vote. We're coming for Labour, be in no doubt about that," BBC quoted him as saying.
Meanwhile, former US President Donald Trump congratulated Farage on being elected as an MP for the first time.
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