Reform UK sees vote shares plunge in council by-elections as Nigel Farage's struggles mount

Published: 08:17 EST, 13 November 2026 | Updated: 08:32 EST, 13 November 2026 Reform UK won three more local council seats last night - but there were fresh signs of woe for Nigel Farage's party.In six by-elections for local authorities in England on Thursday, Reform won three seats, Labour picked up two and the Tories won one.Despite the success, Reform saw its vote share fall in all five wards it was contesting again when compared to the party's results from May.This was likely due, in part, to rival outfit Restore Britain picking up a significant number of Right-wing votes across all five seats.In wards across Wigan, Oldham, Hyndburn, North East Lincolnshire and Suffolk councils, Reform's vote share was down compared to earlier this year.The largest drop was in the Huncoat ward of Hyndburn Borough Council where Reform won just 29.8 per cent of the vote, compared to 49.2 per cent in May. Reform UK won three more local council seats last night - but there were fresh signs of woe for Nigel Farage's party. In six by-elections for local authorities in England on Thursday, Reform won three seats, Labour picked up two and the Tories won oneRestore won 27.8 per cent of the vote in Huncoat in Thursday's contest, as it narrowly missed out on pushing Reform into third place behind themselves and Labour.Mr Farage also saw Reform's vote share down in the Hindley Green ward in Wigan (down 15.8 percentage points) and Failsworth West in Oldham (down 14.4 points).And Reform's vote share fell in Croft Baker in North East Lincolnshire (down 9.5 points), and Bosmere in Suffolk (down 16 points) when compared to May.The Tories reclaimed the Bosmere seat from Reform, who had gained the seat in May, as Kemi Badenoch's party won by just 23 votes from the second-placed Greens.Reform fell to third in the ward, while Restore picked up 7.9 per cent of the vote.Tory chairman Kevin Hollinrake hailed a 'brilliant' result in the Suffolk seat, noting there had been a '15 per cent swing' to the Conservatives from Reform.Labour's Lucy Powell, the Education Secretary, said she was sorry her party's candidate 'just missed out' to Reform in Failsworth West.But she added it was a 'big turn around' from the result in May, since when Labour has ditched Keir Starmer as leader in favour of Andy Burnham.Reform's deputy leader Richard Tice said his party had secured 'strong' results across the six council by-elections on Thursday, which included victory in the Cheddleton ward in Staffordshire Moorlands that was last contested in 2023.Mr Tice pointed to Reform's average vote share of 34.3 per cent across all the six contests - compared to the Conservatives on 13.4 per cent - as evidence the 'Tories are no longer a national party'.Rupert Lowe, who set up Restore after leaving Reform last year, hailed an 'astonishing set of results' for his new outfit.'Yesterday’s result in Hyndburn proved one thing - if you vote Restore Britain, you can get Restore Britain,' he posted on X.'If enough patriots find the courage to stand up for what they believe in, we can achieve something truly spectacular.'Mr Farage recently admitted Reform needed to 'energise' voters again following a 'difficult summer', which saw his party hit by a series of controversies.