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Nigel Farage has expressed his disappointment regarding Reform UK’s results in the recent Makerfield by-election. He suggested that the primary reason for the party’s defeat was voters’ overarching desire to remove Sir Keir Starmer from Downing Street. Farage asserted that dissatisfaction with the prime minister helped Labour’s Andy Burnham secure a decisive victory, while Reform UK’s candidate, Rob Kenyon, trailed by over 9,000 votes.
The Reform leader acknowledged that his party also lost votes to the newly founded right-wing competitor, Restore Britain, which was created by former Reform MP Rupert Lowe. Restore Britain achieved a strong third-place finish in the contest, marking a significant milestone for the emerging party. Farage appealed to those who voted for Restore Britain to reconsider and support Reform UK, positioning his party as the main challenger to Labour from the right.
Reform UK had targeted the Makerfield seat with hopes of defeating Burnham, seeing it as an opportunity to establish itself as the leading opposition to Labour ahead of the next general election. However, Burnham not only defended the seat but also increased Labour’s majority, an uncommon success for a candidate from the governing party. Burnham, the outgoing mayor of Greater Manchester, is anticipated to vie for Labour’s leadership and potentially challenge Starmer, a pursuit complicated by the requirement of holding a parliamentary seat. Makerfield, a long-held Labour constituency south of Wigan, played a key role in this leadership contest.
In a statement shared online, Farage described Reform UK’s second-place finish as “disappointing,” conceding that Burnham’s vote share was unexpectedly strong. He compared Burnham’s local popularity to that of Boris Johnson during his time as London mayor and said the election essentially boiled down to a “vote Burnham, get Starmer out” sentiment. Farage also reflected that Reform UK had somewhat undermined itself by framing recent elections as a referendum on Starmer’s premiership, which may have backfired.
Farage further voiced frustration with Restore Britain, which had campaigned aggressively on the right-wing platform, including pledges for mass deportations. He revealed that Reform’s vote tally fell short of forecasts, garnering just under 16,000 votes instead of the expected 18,000. Highlighting the overlap in their voter base, Farage urged Restore supporters to reconsider their vote and support Reform UK instead, labeling it the “challenger party to the left” in the country.
Rob Kenyon, Reform’s candidate, has a background as a self-employed plumber and recently became a councillor in England’s local elections. Having contested Makerfield in the 2024 general election as well, Kenyon previously came second to Labour and increased Reform’s overall vote share again this time. However, his campaign faced difficulties after old social media posts about women were brought to public attention by journalists and advocacy groups.
Marking its national political debut, Restore Britain contested a Westminster seat for the first time in this by-election. The party, officially registered in March, outperformed its national polling by earning around 7% of the vote in Makerfield. This strong showing presents a strategic challenge for Farage as he prepares for the next general election. Prior to the vote, Reform UK had moved rightward, unveiling policies such as banning non-British nationals from social housing and taxing companies employing foreign workers.
Following the election, Rupert Lowe celebrated the performance of Restore Britain’s candidate Rebecca Shepherd as “remarkable,” emphasizing that the party’s rapid rise had surpassed the pace of previous new political movements. He declared, “Restore Britain is now officially on the map,” underscoring the significance of their breakthrough. This by-election was part of three held simultaneously, with the other two taking place in Scotland due to MPs resigning to move to the Scottish Parliament. In those contests, the Conservatives gained Aberdeen South from the SNP, while the SNP retained the seat in Arbroath and Broughty Ferry
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