Nigel Farage's Reform UK has made big gains in English local elections, cementing it as a prime challenger to Britain's traditional main parties. It has won over 630 council seats from around 1,500 declared so far, with results from a further 100 or so still to come in.

Until now, Reform’s political impact had far outweighed its electoral impact. Mr Farage’s team had topped the polls on and off since the start of the year; the local elections on May 1st were a chance to show that this surge was not just an artefact of polling. The party took it.

Reform UK, led by Nigel Farage, have already emerged as the clear winners from last night’s local elections – winning dozens of councillors, at least one mayoralty, and the Runcorn and Helsby by-election,