Reform ready to ride anti-immigration wave in UK local elections

 

Reform ready to ride anti-immigration wave in UK local elections

Updated / Wednesday, 6 May 2026 08:15

https://www.rte.ie/news/uk/2026/0506/1571907-uk-local-elections/

 

Political insurgents Reform UK are set to make huge gains in British local elections tomorrow, as the right-wing populist, anti-immigrant party draws increasing support from angry voters.

 

"The UK has been flooded with illegal immigrants that shouldn't be here. They're all claiming benefits ... It's costing us an absolute fortune," claimed Robert Robinson, 70, a former Conservative voter, who said he was "leaning" towards backing Reform.

 

"All the other parties, they've all had their chance to stop the boats, and none of them have done it," he added.

 

The number of irregular migrants arriving on small boats across the English Channel has been a hot-button issue in Britain for the past several years.

 

Led by anti-Brexit campaigner Nigel Farage, Reform UK has surged in polls, largely due to its campaign against immigration. It has vowed a wave of mass deportations if it wins the next general election, which is not due until 2029.

 

Mr Farage won a parliamentary seat in 2024, while the party now has eight MPs and gained a host of councils and seats in local elections last year.

 

Polls predict it could inflict a major blow to both Prime Minister Keir Starmer's ruling Labour Party and the opposition Conservatives in tomorrow's vote, with more than 5,000 council seats up for grabs.

 

Its mantra of 'Vote Reform, Get Starmer out' could help the party make inroads into many traditional Labour and Conservative strongholds.

 

In the small southern town of Braintree in Essex, population about 45,000, immigration has become a lightning rod for anger since a nearby former airbase was refurbished to house asylum seekers.

 

"It's just crazy, it's constant," said Dan White, 42, a school canteen worker, referring to new arrivals. He believes that migrants "are getting a lot more than everyone else is getting".

 

For months, Reform has led the polls on around 26% of the vote, compared to Conservatives on 19% and Labour on 18%.

 

Trailing are the eco-populist Greens, still polling higher than in past elections at 15%, according to pollsters YouGov.

 

Reform's distinctive turquoise campaign bus carrying Conservative defector Robert Jenrick drew beeps and shouts of encouragement as it plied Essex roads recently.

 

People feel the old parties "failed them massively, let them down", Mr Jenrick, a minister in the previous Tory government, said.

 

"Immigration too high, taxes too high. Nothing seems to be working, from the potholes in the road to waiting lists for the NHS, and they come into Reform for real change."

 

According to the More in Common think tank, Reform could win between 1,200 and 1,600 seats around England - having already snatched a 40% share in 2025's smaller local polls.

 

There is a "lot of turquoise rising" on the map of the county of Essex, said Luke Tryl, the think tank's executive director.

 

That would be a blow for the Tories and their leader Kemi Badenoch, whose parliamentary constituency lies in the northwest corner of Essex.

 

In Essex, as in neighbouring Suffolk or the central Midlands, Reform is proving popular among older, less educated voters.

 

"They are uncomfortable with a lot of the social changes of the last few decades, particularly the advent of a progressively more multicultural and more socially liberal Britain," said political expert Tim Bale, from Queen Mary University in London.

 

'Reform are kind of just like a fear campaign'

 

Reform is also expected to do well in Wales and Scotland in tomorrow's vote for the devolved parliaments.

 

"The truth is the Conservative Party will disappear [after the polls] as a national party," Mr Farage told London's Standard newspaper.

 

Still reeling from their historic national defeat to Labour in the 2024 elections, the Conservatives are battling to stem the tide.

 

Ms Badenoch has vowed that her party has changed.

 

"This is a New Conservative Party, new leader. I'm changing things. We made mistakes in the past," she said.

 

And she has hit out at Mr Farage, who has no experience of national leadership, saying he "changes his mind constantly" and "is not someone who plays by the rules."

 

Reform has also attracted controversy with some candidates criticised for racist and xenophobic remarks.

 

"Reform are kind of just like a fear campaign ... I think it's a lot of hate mongering. I think they're distracting from a lot of actual issues," said Daniel Irlam, 28, a medical photographer. He plans to vote Green.

 

Mr Farage, who openly describes himself as a friend of US President Donald Trump, has also been questioned over an undeclared £5 million donation from a cryptocurrency magnate.

 

The party's track record is shaky. In southeastern Kent, run by Reform since 2025, the party has been forced to abandon promises to cut local taxes and has faced criticism for trimming certain social spending.