Huge Reform victory as Nigel Farage celebrates biggest ever by-election win

Nigel Farage and Reform UK are celebrating their biggest ever by-election win. The party set a new record for a Reform vote by winning 65.3% in the election for the Skelton East ward for Redcar & Cleveland council. Labour was second with 19.2% of the vote. It meant Reform gained the seat from the Conservatives.

Previously, Reform's highest vote share was 65.1%, recorded in the Thornley & Wheatley Hill ward in County Durham, at the 2025 local elections. Latest national polls show Reform remains in the lead, although the gap between the parties is still close enough that it is impossible to predict the outcome of the next general election, which may not come until 2029.

YouGov found 27% of voters would back Reform if an election was held today, with 20% backing Labour, 17% supporting Conservatives and 17% supporting the Lib Dems.

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch won plaudits from Tory supporters for her conference speech promising to abolish stamp duty if the Conservatives win the next election.

She pledged to impose a "golden rule" on her budget plans, spending only half of any savings made through spending cuts, with the rest going to reduce the deficit.

And she said she would cut student numbers, saving £3 billion that would then be spent on doubling the apprenticeship budget.

The day before her speech, Nigel Farage's party announced 20 councillors had defected from the Tories, while a poll published by More in Common on Wednesday showed the Conservatives continue to languish in third place.

But the major defection that some in the party feared would take place on Wednesday morning did not come, while Mrs Badenoch attacked her opponents, vowing to reverse Labour policies and accusing Sir Keir Starmer, Nigel Farage, Jeremy Corbyn and Sir Ed Davey of "shaking the same magic money tree".

Although she dismissed Reform as promising "free beer tomorrow", Mrs Badenoch reserved most of her attacks for Labour, pledging to reverse a swathe of policies introduced by the new Government.