World. World. Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, waves from inside a jeep at the end of an electoral rally at Clacton Pier in ClactononSea, England, on Jul 3, 2024. File photo: APVadim Ghirda. LONDON:Brexit figurehead Nigel Farage has claimed to have kickstarted a "revolt against the establishment" as his hardright party made significant gains in United Kingdom election results announced early on Friday Jul 5. Reform UK, a rebrand of the Brexit Party that Farage founded in 2018, had won four seats after around fourfifths of the UK's 650 constituencies had declared their results. They include Clacton in eastern England, where Farage prevailed in his eighth attempt to become an MP, beating the Conservative incumbent by a wide margin. Meanwhile, his party appeared on course to win an unprecedented vote share for a party on Britain's farright fringes. "This is just the first step of something that is going to stun all of you," Farage said from the podium of Clacton's polling station, shortly after his win was announced. "The revolt against the establishment is underway," he had earlier posted on X. An initial exit poll had caused a stir on Thursday night after predicting Reform would secure 13 seats  far exceeding forecasts in the latter stages of the campaign that it would win just a handful of seats. A farright party has never won more than a single seat in a UK general election. Farage's win will likely embolden the attentiongrabbing populist figurehead in his longterm aim of staging a "takeover" of the Conservatives. Millions of their voters appeared to have already switched their support to Reform, leaving the Tories  in power since 2010  facing one of their worstever results. "There is a massive gap on the centreright of British politics and my job is to fill it, and that's exactly what I'm going to do," Farage added in his victory speech. Reform's surge comes as hardright parties or politiciansincrease their appeal across Europeand in the United States. Seen as one of Britain's most effective communicators and campaigners, Farage  a privately educated son of a stockbroker  is a longtime ally of US President Donald Trump. The 60yearold is a onetime Conservative who quit the party in the early 1990s to cofound the eurosceptic UK Independence Party UKIP. He pulled off an unprecedented win in the 2014 European Parliament elections, serving as an MEP for the fringe party for around two decades and helping to make euroscepticism more mainstream. But UKIP never managed to win more than one seat in a general election. Farage himself failed to become an MP on seven separate occasions. But his national prominence continued to grow after he became a driving force behind the 2016 Brexit vote, before forging a career as a presenter on the brash rightwing TV channel GB News. Entering the 2024 general election after initially ruling himself out, Farage said he was bidding to emulate efforts in Canada in the 1990s by rightwing fringes to take over its Conservative Party. His candidacy dramatically reenergised Reform UK, while spooking the Tories as polls immediately registeredan uptick in supportfor the hardright antiimmigrant outfit. Conservatives and centrists now fear Farage could have the perfect platform in parliament to further legitimise his staunchly antiestablishment populist messaging. But Tony Travers, from the London School of Economics, noted Farage has had multiple stints leading several rebranded hardright parties over recent decades, with limited success. "It's rather chaotic in many ways," he said of its latest Reform UK iteration. "And I think that's going to make it very hard .. to build it to anything like the scale of the equivalent parties in France or indeed Trump's Republicans.". Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories. Get WhatsApp alerts. Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app. Copyright Mediacorp 2024. Mediacorp Pte Ltd. All rights reserved. We know it's a hassle to switch browsers but we want your experience with CNA to be fast, secure and the best it can possibly be. To continue, upgrade to a supported browser or, for the finest experience, download the mobile app. Upgraded but still having issues?Contact us
Nigel Farage's Reform UK party made gains in the UK election, winning four seats, including one by Farage himself. The party is on track to achieve high vote shares. Farage aims to challenge the Conservatives and fill a gap in the centreright of British politics. His success is seen as a move towards a "takeover" of the Conservative Party. Farage's influence stems from his role in Brexit and his charismatic communication skills. His rise has caused concern among Conservatives and centrists.