Nigel Farage is Clacton’s MP (Image: Getty)
The Labour and Conservative vote in Nigel Farage’s constituency has collapsed as the Reform UK leader celebrates a victory.
The party’s candidate, Aimee Keteca, won a council by-election in Bentleys and Frating, Tendring this week.
Yesterday, Clacton’s MP hailed the result, a gain from the Conservatives, as “a big win for Reform”.
Mr Farage’s party attained 45.3% of the vote. The Liberal Democrats came second, gaining a hefty 16.8% to reach 34.4% of the ballots.
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The Conservatives tanked and only got 17.1%, a 31.4% decrease. Labour acquired 3.2%, down 7.7%.
Reform has also won two seats at the Rochester East and Warren Wood by election for Medway Council.
The party’s Chairman Zia Yusuf announced on Friday that, of the six recent council by-elections, Reform won two and came second in two.
All were with vote shares of between 27 and 45%, he added, and all were Reform’s first outings in the seats.
Mr Yusuf then proclaimed: “Our campaign machine is starting to fire!”
It comes as Mr Farage’s party has been ranked higher than Labour and the Tories in national polls.
Results released by Find Out Now on Wednesday suggested that Reform UK was on 29% (+2), Labour 25% (+2) and the Conservatives on 18% (-3).
Reform has been placed ahead of Labour in some polls (Image: Getty)
At the end of January, experts at Electoral Calculus stated that polling showed Reform UK overtaking the Conservatives in its monthly poll-of-polls for the first time.
It added: “Reform are two points ahead of the Conservatives, and two points behind Labour, and in what is close to a three-way tie in terms of vote share.
“Translated into seats, Labour would still be the largest party, but would be well short of a majority in the House of Commons.
“A Labour-Lib Dem coalition would be the most likely outcome at the moment, with a comfortable 52-seat majority.”
Labour and Tory Vote Collapses in Nigel Farage’s Seaside Seat as Reform Surges
Nigel Farage’s political position in the Essex seaside constituency of Clacton illustrates the changing dynamics of British politics, as Reform UK seeks to consolidate its support and the traditional parties face growing pressure from an increasingly divided electorate.
Clacton has become one of the most closely watched constituencies in the country because it is represented by Reform’s leader himself. The seat offers a useful insight into the party’s appeal among voters concerned about immigration, the cost of living, public services and the direction of national politics.
Yet claims that Labour and Conservative support has collapsed in Farage’s constituency need to be considered alongside the actual election results, the candidates standing and the circumstances of each contest.
In August 2026, Farage was re-elected as Clacton’s MP after triggering a by-election following his resignation. The result gave Reform another opportunity to demonstrate its strength in a constituency that had already become central to the party’s political identity. <Cite refs={[“turn321711search2″,”turn321711search1”]} />
The contest was unusual, however. The main established parties did not field candidates, leaving Farage to face a ballot dominated by independents and smaller political groups. That meant the result could not be treated as a straightforward comparison between Reform, Labour and the Conservatives.
Even so, Clacton remains an important case study in the wider transformation of British politics.
Why Clacton Matters to Nigel Farage
Clacton-on-Sea and the surrounding communities have long had a distinctive political character. The constituency includes seaside towns, rural villages and communities facing economic challenges that differ from those experienced in many wealthier parts of southern England.
The area has an older-than-average population and a substantial proportion of residents who supported leaving the European Union in the 2016 referendum. Those characteristics have helped make it an important constituency for politicians campaigning on immigration, sovereignty and dissatisfaction with Westminster.
Farage won Clacton at the 2024 general election, becoming a Member of Parliament after several previous attempts to enter the House of Commons. His victory gave Reform a prominent parliamentary platform and placed its leader directly in the political arena he had spent years criticising.
For Reform, holding the seat is about more than maintaining a parliamentary presence. It allows the party to argue that its message resonates with voters outside the traditional Labour and Conservative strongholds.
For its opponents, the constituency provides an opportunity to test whether Reform’s support can withstand scrutiny of its policies, leadership and record.
Labour and Tory Vote Collapses in Nigel Farage’s Seaside Seat as Reform Surges
Reform UK has recorded another significant local electoral gain in the constituency represented by Nigel Farage, putting renewed attention on the changing political landscape in Essex and the challenges facing Labour and the Conservatives.
The latest result came in a council by-election in Bentleys and Frating, within the Tendring area of Essex, where Reform candidate Aimee Keteca won the seat previously held by the Conservatives. Reform received 45.3% of the vote, while the Liberal Democrats finished second with 34.4%. The Conservatives received 17.1%, and Labour secured just 3.2%. <Cite refs={[“turn118517search5″,”turn118517search6”]}/>
For Farage’s party, the result provides another opportunity to argue that its appeal extends beyond national opinion polls and into local communities. For the Conservatives, losing a council seat to Reform underlines the pressure they face from a party competing for many of the same voters.
Labour’s limited share of the vote also raises questions about its ability to attract support in areas where voters are increasingly dissatisfied with the established parties.
However, the result needs to be understood in its proper context. This was a local council by-election, not a parliamentary contest for Clacton. It offers evidence of changing political loyalties in the area, but it does not by itself prove that Labour and the Conservatives have lost support across the whole country.
Why the result matters to Nigel Farage
Clacton has become one of the most closely watched constituencies in British politics because it is represented by Reform UK’s leader.
Farage won the parliamentary seat at the July 2024 general election, giving him a place in the House of Commons after years of campaigning for a major political realignment. His victory marked an important moment for Reform, which had spent years attempting to translate its support for Brexit and its criticism of the political establishment into parliamentary representation.
The constituency includes seaside communities and surrounding areas where economic concerns, public services, immigration and dissatisfaction with Westminster feature prominently in political debate.
The latest council result in Bentleys and Frating is significant because it shows Reform winning at a more local level in the same broader political area. Local elections can reveal how voters respond to individual candidates and parties when they are choosing representatives responsible for decisions affecting their communities.
A successful local campaign can also help a party establish stronger networks, recruit volunteers and demonstrate that it can compete outside a general election campaign.
For Farage, such results provide material for his argument that Reform is building a broader political movement rather than relying exclusively on national publicity.
Nevertheless, the distinction between a local council seat and a parliamentary constituency remains important. Voters may make different choices in local and national elections, and the circumstances of an individual by-election can influence the result.
Reform’s victory in Bentleys and Frating
The result was notable for the distribution of votes between the four parties.
Reform won 45.3%, putting it ahead of the Liberal Democrats, who received 34.4%. The Conservatives finished third with 17.1%, while Labour received 3.2%, according to reporting on the contest. <Cite refs={[“turn118517search5″,”turn118517search6”]}/>
Reform’s victory over the Conservatives matters because it demonstrates that the party can compete directly for seats previously held by its established rival.
The two parties often appeal to voters who prioritise lower taxes, stricter immigration enforcement and a more critical approach to the political establishment. But Reform has increasingly presented itself as the alternative for voters who believe the Conservatives failed to deliver on their promises while in government.
The local result offers an example of that competition in practice.
The Liberal Democrats’ second-place finish is also worth noting. Their performance suggests that the contest was not simply a two-party struggle between Reform and the Conservatives. Local political preferences can be shaped by candidate recognition, community issues and the strength of individual campaigns.
The figures also show why it is important to avoid treating every election as a direct referendum on the national government. A local contest can be influenced by issues that are not central to the national political debate.
Even so, Reform’s ability to win a seat previously held by the Conservatives gives the party a concrete result to point to as it seeks to expand its presence in Essex and beyond.
Why are Conservative voters considering Reform?
The Conservative Party faces a continuing challenge in explaining why voters who previously supported it should remain loyal.
Under its years in government, the party made promises on immigration, economic growth, public services and the cost of living. Many voters who supported the Conservatives expected substantial changes in those areas.
Where those expectations were not met, some voters became more willing to consider alternatives.
Reform has attempted to capitalise on this dissatisfaction by presenting itself as a party willing to take a tougher approach to immigration and challenge established political assumptions. Farage has repeatedly argued that the Conservatives lost credibility because they did not deliver the changes they promised.
Local elections give voters an opportunity to express frustration without necessarily committing themselves to a different party at a general election.
A Conservative voter might support Reform in a council by-election because of dissatisfaction with the previous administration, a particular local issue or a preference for the candidate. That choice does not automatically mean the same voter will make the same decision at the next parliamentary election.
Nevertheless, repeated losses to Reform could create a difficult organisational challenge for the Conservatives. Every lost council seat can reduce the party’s local presence, weaken its campaign networks and make it harder to rebuild support in future contests.
The result in Bentleys and Frating adds to the pressure on Conservative politicians to explain what distinguishes their party from Reform and why voters should choose it.
Labour’s struggle to win support
Labour’s 3.2% share of the vote in this particular contest will attract attention because it leaves the party with a limited presence in the result.
However, the figure should not be interpreted as evidence that Labour has only a similarly small level of support nationally. Local by-elections often have low turnout and can produce results that differ sharply from national voting intention surveys.
The party’s broader challenge is to maintain support among people who want improvements in living standards, housing, public services and economic security.
In coastal and semi-rural communities, voters may have different priorities from those in major cities. Concerns about access to healthcare, transport, employment opportunities and local government spending can influence political choices alongside national issues such as immigration and taxation.
Labour must therefore convince voters that its policies will produce tangible benefits in their communities.
If people believe that their financial circumstances have not improved or that public services remain under pressure, dissatisfaction can spread to the party in government. Opposition parties can then present themselves as alternatives, even when they do not yet have extensive experience of governing.
The Bentleys and Frating result is a local warning about the difficulty of attracting votes in a contest dominated by other parties. It does not, on its own, establish a nationwide collapse in Labour support.
Local elections are not the same as general elections
One of the most important features of the result is the type of election in which it occurred.
A council by-election fills a vacancy on a local authority. The electorate is smaller than that of a parliamentary constituency, and the contest may be shaped by the performance of the previous councillor, local campaign activity and the issues affecting a particular community.
General elections operate differently. They involve national campaigns, larger electorates, competing party manifestos and decisions about who should form the government.
The distinction matters particularly in Clacton, where Farage’s parliamentary position has attracted significant attention.
In August 2026, Farage won a parliamentary by-election in Clacton after resigning and seeking a fresh mandate. The contest was highly unusual because the major established parties chose not to field candidates. Farage received 22,239 votes, equivalent to 63.34% of the ballots cast. <Cite refs={[“turn118517search0″,”turn118517search1”]}/>
That result demonstrated his ability to retain the seat in the circumstances of that contest. However, because Labour and the Conservatives did not stand candidates, it was not a direct comparison between Reform and those parties.
The Bentleys and Frating contest provides a different kind of evidence: Reform competing against established parties in a local election and winning a seat from the Conservatives.
Together, the two events help explain why Essex has become an important area for observing Reform’s development. Neither result, however, can independently predict how voters will behave in a future general election.
What the result means for Reform’s wider ambitions
Reform’s challenge is to turn local victories into a sustainable political organisation.
Winning council seats can provide experience in public administration, help the party build relationships with local communities and demonstrate that it can field candidates who appeal to voters beyond its existing supporters.
But governing a council requires more than campaigning on national issues. Councillors must make decisions about budgets, local services, planning, transport and other responsibilities that directly affect residents.
Reform will therefore face questions about how its representatives perform after being elected, how effectively they work with other councillors and whether they can deliver the changes they promise.
The party will also need to maintain consistent standards in candidate selection and public administration if it wants to establish itself as a long-term alternative to the Conservatives and Labour.
For the Conservatives, the immediate challenge is to rebuild their local presence and identify the concerns that have encouraged voters to switch parties.
For Labour, the task is different: it must show that its policies address the practical problems facing residents, including those who have become disillusioned with the established political choices.
A changing political landscape in Essex
The Bentleys and Frating result highlights the continuing competition between Reform UK and the Conservatives, while Labour’s small share of the vote underlines the difficulties the party can face in particular local contests.
The result is a meaningful local gain for Reform, but it should not be exaggerated into proof that both traditional parties have collapsed across Britain.
Political support changes from one election to another, and local results must be read alongside the candidates, turnout and circumstances of each contest.
For Farage, the victory provides another example of Reform converting support into an elected position. For the Conservatives, it is a reminder that their traditional voters are not guaranteed to remain loyal. For Labour, it demonstrates the need to build support in communities where the party has struggled to compete.
The next test will be whether Reform can sustain this level of support across more constituencies and local authorities, while demonstrating that its representatives can deliver effective local government.
The wider political picture remains unsettled. What the Bentleys and Frating result clearly establishes is that Reform is competing successfully for at least some of the voters who previously supported the Conservatives, while the established parties face continued pressure to explain what they offer local communities.
That competition—not any single dramatic headline—is what makes the result important for the future of British politics.