
What does the surge of Farage's Reform mean for UK politics?
On today's
Inside Politics
podcast Irish Times London Correspondent Mark Paul joins Hugh Linehan to discuss what
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage
is already calling 'the beginning of the end of the Conservative Party' as Tories lost council seats all over England.
And to add icing to Farage's cake, Reform Party candidate Sarah Pochin dramatically won the Runcorn and Helsby byelection by just six votes, the narrowest margin of victory in a byelection since 1944.
Labour didn't fare well in Thursday's local elections either - will they now view Reform as a legitimate challenger? And is the clock already ticking for Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch?

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Irish Times
21 hours ago
- Irish Times
Scottish Labour holds off surging Reform to win pivotal Holyrood byelection
Scottish Labour is celebrating an 'incredible' win in a pivotal Holyrood byelection, beating the incumbent SNP and fighting off Reform UK's 'racist' campaigning. The result confounded predictions and will boost the Labour Party ahead of next year's Scottish parliamentary elections. Voters in the central Scotland seat of Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse rallied round the popular local candidate, Davy Russell, after a toxic campaign during which Nigel Farage launched an unprecedented series of personal attacks on the Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, labelled racist by the SNP leader, John Swinney. In his acceptance speech, Mr Russell told jubilant supporters: 'This community has sent a message to Farage and his mob: the poison of Reform isn't us, it isn't Scotland and we don't want your division here.' READ MORE Posting on social media on Friday morning, UK prime minister Keir Starmer said people in Scotland 'have once again voted for change'. 'Next year there is a chance to turbo-charge delivery by putting Labour in power on both sides of the border.' The surprise win comes against the backdrop of national polls that placed Scottish Labour in third behind the SNP and Reform, with the party bearing the brunt of voter unhappiness with unpopular UK Labour polices. The SNP had been the clear favourites to hold the seat after a fiercely contested campaign called after the sudden death of the popular SNP MSP Christina McKelvie from breast cancer, but were beaten into second place, with Reform UK following close behind in third. As Reform seemingly gained ground from both the SNP and Scottish Labour in recent weeks, speculation grew that it might push Mr Sarwar's party into third place. But in the end, with a reasonably high turnout for a byelection of 44.2 per cent, Scottish Labour reaped the rewards of its highly targeted campaigning and well-organised get-out-the-vote operation to pull off an unexpected victory, winning with 8,559 votes. The SNP's Katy Loudon came second with 7,957 votes, narrowly beating Reform UK's Ross Lambie on 7,888. The Scottish Conservatives were left trailing on 1,621 votes. A buoyant Mr Sarwar said it was 'an incredible night', having proven the pundits, pollsters and bookies wrong. He told reporters that voters had sent three strong messages: 'First, people want a UK Labour government to go further and faster in improving their lives and I think that's a clear message to them. 'Secondly, they've had enough of this SNP government: after 18 years they've let communities around the country down. 'Third, they've rejected the politics of Nigel Farage and Reform and today the people and Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse have laid the first stone in the pathway to a Scottish Labour government next year.' Asked about the increasingly personal attacks he endured during the campaign, Mr Sarwar said: 'Nigel Farage looks at someone like me and it goes against his values and it makes him angry. What the vast majority of people in Scotland see is someone who is one of their own, is a Scot and is working hard to change the country.' Reform UK's Richard Tice, who attended the count, insisted that his party was 'thrilled to bits' with the result, and that third place still represented 'a massive boost' for the party, which has gained momentum in Scotland since the general election. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Friday morning, he said: 'It's truly remarkable. We've come from nowhere to being in a three-way marginal, and we're within 750 votes of winning that byelection and just a few hundred votes of defeating the SNP, so it's an incredible result.' – Guardian


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Irish Times
a day ago
- Irish Times
Reform UK chairman quits after calling question from party's newest MP ‘dumb'
The chairman of Reform UK has resigned, saying working to get the party elected was no longer 'a good use of my time'. Zia Yusuf's decision follows a row in which he described a question to the UK prime minister Keir Starmer concerning a ban on burkas from his party's newest MP as 'dumb'. Mr Yusuf had served 11 months as chairman. Announcing his resignation on Thursday afternoon, he said: 'I've worked full time as a volunteer to take the party from 14 to 30 per cent, quadrupled its membership and delivered historic electoral results. 'I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office.' READ MORE Earlier, he had criticised the party's newest MP, Sarah Pochin, after she asked Mr Starmer whether he would support banning the burka during prime minister's questions in Westminster on Wednesday – something that appears not to be a policy of Reform's. Asked about the question on social media, Mr Yusuf had said: 'Nothing to do with me. Had no idea about the question nor that it wasn't policy. Busy with other stuff. 'I do think it's dumb for a party to ask the PM if they would do something the party itself wouldn't do.' Mr Yusuf's resignation came on the day Reform hoped to cause an upset in Scotland, where it was contesting a Holyrood byelection in Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse. Scottish first minister John Swinney has described the contest as a 'two-horse race' between his SNP and Reform. [ If there's so much buyer's remorse about Brexit, why is Nigel Farage the rising figure in UK politics? Opens in new window ] Following Mr Yusuf's resignation, Reform leader Nigel Farage said he was 'genuinely sorry' that he had decided to stand down, paying tribute to him as 'enormously talented' and 'a huge factor in our success' at the local elections. Mr Farage added: 'Politics can be a highly pressured and difficult game and Zia has clearly had enough. He is a loss to us and public life.' A Labour spokesperson said: 'If Nigel Farage can't manage a handful of politicians, how on earth could he run a country? He has fallen out with everyone he has ever worked with. Reform are just not serious. 'The Reform chair has done a runner so that he doesn't have to front up Farage's £80 billion in unfunded cuts, which would spark a Liz Truss-style economic meltdown. 'Nigel Farage's plans would put up every single mortgage in the country and hammer family finances, while forcing them to buy private healthcare. Working people simply can't afford the risk of Reform UK.' – PA