UK reforms failed to break through in local elections

Richard Theis, the reform leader in Britain, insisted that «Rome was not built in a day.» Photo: Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images. Results of local elections. set its sights on «destroying» the Conservatives in the next general election.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was supposed to be hand-fighting in pro-Brexit constituencies in local elections, where Reform sought to win the sympathy of Conservative voters.< /p>

But Richard Tice's party appears to be heading for a tough reality check, as Lord Hayward, a conservative polling expert, has previously warned that Reform's «poor» performance in the election box highlighted his «weakness.»

Mr. Theis said Friday morning he was «very pleased» with the results as his party topped its national vote share. He also stressed that a significant portion of the councils still have to announce this at this stage.

He said he thought the Tories would be «very concerned» about Reform making a «significant intrusion» and said his party had «changed the course of numerous seats» at the expense of the Conservatives.

2023 local election results

But Lord Hayward said that although he expected Mr. Sunak's party to be concerned about the achievements of Labor and the Liberal Democrats, it would not be concerned about reform.

He said that he In my opinion, Mr. Theis's party will work poorly. both locally and nationally in the current circumstances because “no one knows who they are.”

‌He told The Telegraph on Friday morning: «Their weak position is determined by their poor results, because if they chose wards to be their best wards, it doesn't look good for them.

«I would use the term «very disappointing».

Mr Theis acknowledged that «there is always more to be done», insisting that «Rome was not built in a day».

This came just a few weeks after the leader of the reforms said that «the group is reforming». welcomed seven former Brexit MEPs, including Anne Widdecombe, to the party.

Reform promised to fight both Mr Sunak and Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer in every constituency for next national vote.

However, he decided to field candidates for just 471 seats in the local elections, focusing on pro-Brexit areas including Derby, Hartlepool and Sunderland.

By Friday evening, he had won six seats, losing two seats when compared to the state of affairs just before voters went to the polls.

Local elections: 23__control-compare

Mr Theis told The Telegraph in Friday: “Look, Rome wasn't built in a day. We are a new party. The first passage of the post is brutally difficult, which is why we support proportional representation. But so far we are very pleased. We still have a long way to go.»

He added, «Those where we expect we are most likely to recruit advisors will be in the results to be released later today.»

‌“Overall, we have always been focused on the general election. It's a stepping stone.

«We have changed the course of numerous places and the Tories will be very happy to see us make a significant breakthrough, which is very good, because our point of view is that a complete failure to properly manage country should not be rewarded with being elected in the next election.”