Farage: Reform’s revolt against the establishment is under way

Nigel Farage declared that “the revolt against the establishment is under way” after the exit poll projected that Reform UK would win more than a dozen MPs.

The Reform leader said his party was on course to win more than six million votes in a major electoral breakthrough he described as “almost unbelievable”.

He made the remarks in response to early declarations, which showed Reform coming runner-up to Labour in Red Wall seats, beating the Tories into third.

In a social media video, Mr Farage said: “The revolt against the establishment is under way. It means we’re going to win seats – many, many seats I think – right now across the country. This is going to be six million votes plus – this, folks, is huge.”

The reform leader’s s remarks came after the official exit poll predicted that Reform would win 13 seats. It means he is on course to become an MP for the first time – at the eighth attempt – winning in Clacton-on-Sea, Essex.

Reform made huge inroads in Sunderland South, the first constituency of the night to declare, leapfrogging the Tories to come second. Labour held the seat, represented by Bridget Phillipson, the shadow education secretary, with a majority of 7,100.

But the performance of Reform, which won 11,668 votes to Labour’s 18,847, suggested the party was on course for a strong showing nationwide.

Mr Farage’s party was also runner-up in Blyth and Ashington, the second seat to declare. Labour comfortably held the seat with 20,030 votes, with Reform on 10,857 – ahead of the Conservatives on 6,121.

Both results indicated that Reform had won over large numbers of former Tory voters who had become disaffected with the party under Rishi Sunak.

It was also runner-up to Labour in five other North East seats that declared early – Sunderland Central, Washington and Gateshead South, Gateshead Central and Whickham, Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West, and Cramlington.

But it was a different picture in the South, where the party came third behind the Tories in Swindon South, the former seat of Sir Robert Buckland, which was won by Labour.

If Reform wins 13 seats it will give Mr Farage’s Right-wing party the “bridgehead” in Parliament that he was seeking as he looks to establish it as a force to rival the Tories.

The projected result suggests that it was successful in poaching many voters who backed the Tories last time under Boris Johnson. This time, the Tories under Rishi Sunak are set to win just 131 seats, their worst result since 1906.

But a Labour source said that, according to the party’s internal data analysis, Reform would win fewer than 13 seats, telling The Telegraph: “Our data is suggesting Reform will not win many of the seats the exit poll suggests. They will get less than 13 seats.”

Mr Farage was the leader of the UK Independence Party in 2015 when it won a single seat – Clacton – despite securing 12.6 per cent of the national vote.

He was also in charge of the Brexit Party four years ago when it ended the 2019 election seatless after striking a non-aggression pact with the Tories to ensure that Mr Johnson beat Jeremy Corbyn.

Richard Tice, now the Reform chairman, began its general election campaign, unveiling the manifesto at a launch in central London. He announced policies including bringing net migration down to zero and big cuts to income, corporation and inheritance tax.

At that point the party was averaging around 10 per cent in the polls, meaning it was already on course to make a sizeable dent in Tory support. The real turning point in Reform’s campaign came when, on June 3, Mr Farage announced that he was taking over the leadership and standing to be an MP.

Ten days after he returned to the fray the party overtook the Tories in opinion polls for the first time. A survey released by YouGov on Jun 13 put Reform on 19 per cent of the vote, one point ahead of the Conservatives.

Mr Farage’s return was seen as a disaster by senior Tories, all but ending the party’s hopes of narrowing the gap with Labour. It came as a shock to Downing Street, where it had been thought that calling the snap election would help nullify the growing threat from Reform.

But as the Right-wing party was flying high, its campaign became dogged by revelations that some of its candidates had made offensive or racist comments. Reform was forced to withdraw its support from a slew of candidates in light of the claims.

As polling day approached, two Reform candidates defected to the Tories in another blow.

Georgie David, who was selected in West Ham and Beckton, east London, claimed the majority of Reform’s candidates were “racist, misogynistic and bigoted”, following Liam Booth-Isherwood’s decision to back the Tories in Erewash, Derbyshire.

Last month, Mr Farage gave a controversial interview to the BBC in which he claimed Nato and the West had “provoked” Russia into invading Ukraine. He defended the remarks after Mr Sunak said they “play into Putin’s hands”.