The Eurosceptic firebrand who leads the Reform UK party has managed to secure a spot in the UK House of Commons for the first time in his political career, beating his Conservative challenger for the Essex seat of Clacton. This victory is considered as a strong indication that Farage’s Reform UK could become the main opposition even though it is projected to win only 13 out of the 650 seats in the upcoming election.
Nigel Farage, known for his anti-European Union stance and his previous role as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP), declared this victory as “the first step of something that is going to stun all of you,” emphasizing his intention to turn Reform UK into the main opposition force. He expressed that there is a significant gap on the centre-right of British politics, and it’s his mission to fill it, claiming this is the beginning of the end for the Conservative Party.
The UK Tories have experienced their worst election defeat in history, securing only 131 seats according to exit polls. Before Prime Minister Rishi Sunak dissolved Parliament and called for a general election, the ruling party had a majority of 344 seats. Farage announced that his party would now be targeting Labour votes, as the polls suggest their landslide win was motivated by resentment for the Tories rather than confidence in the party leader Keir Starmer. He stated that there is no enthusiasm for Labour or its leader and about half of the vote is simply an anti-Conservative vote. We’re coming for Labour, be in no doubt about that.
Farage had served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 1999 until the UK’s withdrawal from the EU in 2020 but he had never been elected to the British Parliament before. Ahead of the election, Farage was accused of being a Moscow sympathizer after he blamed NATO expansion in Europe for the Ukraine conflict during a BBC interview last month. He claimed that the US-led military bloc gave the Russian government an excuse to rally domestic support for the operation.
Russian Ambassador to the UK Andrey Kelin said he expected accusations of election interference, even though he believes that no outcome could meaningfully change Britain’s policy towards Russia.