The North East seats where Reform finished second as party beats Tory vote share

Reform UK’s election night surge saw them beat the Conservatives’ vote share across Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, and County Durham.

Nigel Farage’s party polled 175,023 votes across the area’s 20 constituencies, more than 35,000 ahead of the Tories, though did not win any seats here. Labour won all of those 20 seats as the Tories were wiped out and recorded 46.2% of the vote here, followed by Reform on 20.9% and the Conservatives on 16.6%.

Reform’s swell of support saw them finish second to Labour in 15 of those 20 seats. They were the runners-up in:

• Blyth and Ashington;

• Cramlington and Killingworth;

• Newcastle Central and West;

• Newcastle East and Wallsend;

• South Shields;

• Jarrow and Gateshead East;

• Blaydon and Consett;

• Washington and Gateshead South;

• Gateshead Central and Whickham;

• North Durham;

• City of Durham;

• Houghton and Sunderland South;

• Sunderland Central;

• Easington; and

• Newton Aycliffe and Spennymoor.

The Tories were second to Labour in North Northumberland, Tynemouth, Newcastle North, Bishop Auckland, and Hexham, with no Reform candidate standing in the latter.

Janice Richardson, Reform UK’s candidate in Newcastle East and Wallsend, said that this election marked “just the start” for her party. The Wallsend native was in the audience at a rally in Sunderland last week where Mr Farage confidently predicted Reform would emerge as Labour’s main challenger in the region and said on election night that the party’s success was down to candidates being “real people that will go into Parliament and be the voice of real people”.

She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: “Watch this space because we have a five-year plan. We are aiming to be the ones who are holding them [Labour] to account.”

Guy Renner-Thompson, the Conservative candidate in Newcastle North, said the collapse of his party’s vote was a “natural consequence” of being in power since 2010, though admitted that dissatisfaction over ‘churn’ in Downing Street had been a factor in their downfall. The Bamburgh councillor added: “Our supporters have stayed at home.

"After 14 years in government, you see that happening. It is happening to the SNP in Scotland. It is not to be unexpected. Some of the polls had us down at 60 to 80 seats, so we have done better than some people have predicted.”

However, he insisted that there was “huge desire for Labour on the doorstep” and said he believed that the Tories could turn their fortunes around before the next election.

Votes across Northumberland, Tyne and Wear, and County Durham:

Labour - 387,804 (46.2%)

Reform UK - 175,023 (20.9%)

Conservative - 139,326 (16.6%)

Liberal Democrat - 56131 (6.7%)

Green - 55,352 (6.6%)