Make no bones about it, Reform are the big winners from this week\u2019s local elections. At the time of writing, the party have gained some 779 seats and now control five councils. <\/p>\n
As a result, leader Nigel Farage and plenty of other senior voices in the party are now claiming Reform are truly a national party. <\/p>\n
Whilst it is true that they are winning seats in a number of different parts of the country, a look at some of the voting data shows it\u2019s wide of the mark to claim Reform are now a national party. <\/p>\n
READ NEXT: Election expert explains why Farage should be \u2018privately worried\u2019 by Reform local election results<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n There is still a very pronounced split down the country when it comes to Reform support, and it\u2019s all to do with the Brexit referendum. <\/p>\n As polling expert Sir John Curtice pointed out on Friday morning, there is a \u201cvery clear relationship between Reform\u2019s performance and how an area voted in the 2016 EU referendum.\u201d<\/p>\n He explained<\/a>: \u201cSupport for Reform is averaging just 9% in wards where less than 40% voted for Brexit.<\/p>\n \u201cIn contrast, it is running at 40% in wards where 60% voted for Brexit.<\/p>\n \u201cThis result is a clear confirmation of the fact that support for Reform is heavily concentrated among those who support Brexit.\u201d<\/p>\n You’re going to hear a lot about how Reform is now a national party.<\/p>\n It’s not true, as John Curtice sets out here. They’re doing very well in areas that voted strongly for Brexit and not very well at all in areas that voted strongly Remain @Prosper_UK_<\/a>https:\/\/t.co\/CgwDD8Agr1<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Gavin Barwell (@GavinBarwell) May 8, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n A similar point was made by Times columnist Fraser Nelson, who highlighted that there is \u201cnot a single Remain seat where Reform and Reform councillors have got more than 10 per cent share.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe can still see that is the dividing line,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s not a single Remain seat where Reform and Reform councillors have got more than 10 per cent share.\u201d<\/p>\n The local elections show that people are still voting down the lines set out in the 2016 European referendum, says @FraserNelson<\/a>, columnist for The Times. pic.twitter.com\/0mW6yrYpnl<\/a><\/p>\n\n
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