Nigel Farage speaks during a campaign meeting, on June 3, 2024.
Henry Nicholls | Afp | Getty Images
Populist politician Nigel Farage has won his first-ever seat in the U.K.’s parliament as he looks to shake up the country’s politics with his right-wing Reform UK party.
The win by the infamous Brexiteer follows seven failed attempts to become a member of British parliament, although he has served as a (pro-Brexit) member of the European Parliament.
The result comes amid a surprisingly strong election performance by Reform UK, which has a hardline stance on immigration. Exit polls indicate that the party could secure up to 13 parliamentary seats — quite the feat given that it failed to win any in the 2019 vote — although the final result could differ.
It follows a U-turn by Farage who had previously declared he would not stand as an MP in this election, choosing instead to focus on helping U.S. former President Donald Trump’s campaign.
However, just last month Farage announced a surprise return to Reform UK and agreed to become its leader. The news gave the party a huge bump in popularity, with polls showing it was closing in on the ruling Conservatives.
By 3:56 a.m. local time, Reform had won three seats, although 402 constituencies were yet to report. The party also performed well in terms of vote share, securing 15.9% of the vote behind the Conservatives with 22% and Labour at 37.7%.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated shortly.
