Reform UK Gains Momentum Ahead of Elections: Migration Alters Political Landscape in the UK 0 10

The Reform UK party is aiming for significant success in the local elections in the UK, which will take place this Thursday. The anti-immigrant positions of this far-right party are gaining increasing support from angry voters.

"The UK has been flooded with illegal immigrants who shouldn't be here. They all demand benefits... This is costing us a fortune," says Robert Robinson, a 70-year-old Conservative voter who stated he is now "leaning" towards supporting the Reformists.

"All the other parties had a chance to stop the boats, and none of them did," he added.

Illegal migrants arriving in the country in large numbers on small boats across the English Channel have been a hot topic in the UK for the past few years.

Led by one of the architects of Brexit, Nigel Farage, the Reform UK party has seen significant growth in polls largely due to its campaign against immigration. It has promised to carry out a wave of mass deportations if it wins the next general election, which is not expected to take place before 2029.

Farage himself won a seat in Parliament in 2024, and the party currently holds eight seats in the House of Commons and a noticeable presence in local government.

According to polls, the party could deal a serious blow to both the ruling Labour Party of Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the Conservatives. More than 5,000 seats in municipal councils are at stake in the upcoming elections.

Leading in the Polls

Farage's slogan "Vote Reformists, Remove Starmer" calls for helping the party break into many traditional strongholds of Labour and the Conservatives.

In the small southern town of Braintree in Essex, immigration has become a catalyst for local residents' discontent after a nearby former airbase was repurposed to house asylum seekers.

"It's just madness, it's happening all the time," says Dan White, a school cafeteria worker, speaking about the newcomers. Migrants "get much more than everyone else."

For several months, Reform UK has been leading in the polls, garnering around 26% of the votes, compared to 19% for the Conservatives and 18% for Labour.

Following this trio are the Green eco-populists, who, according to a YouGov poll, could secure the support of 15% of voters.

"People feel that the old parties have let them down badly," said Jenrick, who held ministerial positions in the governments of Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak.

"Immigration is too high, taxes are too high. It seems that nothing works, from potholes on the roads to queues in the NHS, and people are turning to Reform for real change," said Jenrick.

According to the think tank More in Common, on Thursday, Reform could gain between 1,200 and 1,600 seats in local councils, representing a 40% increase compared to the 2025 elections.

The map of Essex is "turning turquoise," says Luke Tryl, the executive director of the think tank.

This would be a blow to the Tories and their leader Kemi Badenoch, whose parliamentary constituency is in the northwest of Essex.

In Essex, as well as in neighboring Suffolk or central Midlands, the Reformists are popular among older voters.

"They are unsettled by many social changes of recent decades, particularly the emergence of an increasingly multicultural and socially liberal Britain," says political expert Tim Bale from Queen Mary University of London.

Accusations of Racism

The Reformists are also expected to perform well in Wales and Scotland in the upcoming regional parliament elections on Thursday.

"The truth is that the Conservative Party will disappear (after the vote) as a national party," said Farage in an interview with the London newspaper Standard.

The Conservatives are still reeling from their historic defeat to Labour in the 2024 elections and are trying to hold back the pressure.

Badenoch vowed that the party has changed.

"This is a new Conservative Party, a new leader. I am changing everything. We made mistakes in the past," she said.

She launched a tirade against Farage, who has no experience in leading a country, stating that he "constantly changes his mind" and "is not someone who plays by the rules."

Some Reform candidates have also been criticized for racist and xenophobic remarks.

"Reform UK is a kind of fear campaign... I think there is a lot of hatred in them. I think they distract from many real issues," said 28-year-old Daniel Irlam, a medical photographer. He plans to vote for the Greens.

Farage, who openly calls himself a friend of US President Donald Trump, has also faced scrutiny over an undeclared donation of £5 million (€5.7 million) from a cryptocurrency mogul.

The party's track record is quite shaky. In southeast Kent, where the Reformists have been in power since 2025, the party was forced to abandon promises to lower local taxes and faced criticism for cutting some social spending.