Reform UK leader Richard Tice has said he is “delighted” with his party’s performance in last night’s by-elections.
Amid warnings Reform UK now poses a serious threat to the Conservatives from experts such as Sir John Curtice, the right-wing insurgent party secured over 10% in both seats.
In Wellingborough, deputy leader Ben Habib won 13%, nearly three times the party’s previous record.
In Kingswood, former MEP Rupert Lowe secured 10.8%, which while lower than Wellingborough has been described as more impressive due to the shorter campaign.
Mr Tice told GB News that the by-elections are a “significant first” for his party, as they are now at or above their national polling for the first time.
He added that Reform UK is now “seriously coming of age”.
Asked whether he was concerned that Rishi Sunak’s warning that a vote for Reform UK only helps Sir Keir Starmer, Mr Tice shot back: “It’s not our job to help the Tory Party!”
He also told Mr Sunak to now stand aside “having messed up” and let him take on Keir Starmer.
“The Tories are old and toxic. They’ve had their chance and blown it!
“They should stand aside now having messed up, let me take on Keir Starmer head to head, and beat him hands down.”
The party’s honorary chairman Nigel Farage said that while Reform had been “outgunned” by Labour and the Tories’ bigger party machines, they “exceeded national opinion polls”.
He added: “Tonight Reform UK came of age”.
Ben Habib, the party’s candidate in Wellingborough, said he’d done “really well” and warned last night’s results are a “staging post in the growth of Reform UK”.
Reform UK’s deputy leader warned they will do “much better” at the General Election, pledging to stand in Wellingborough again and take the fight to the other parties.
He joked: “When I joined Reform UK I did it to obliterate the Tory Party – well they’ve beaten me to it”.
Speaking this morning, professor Sir John Curtice said Reform UK’s emergence as a real threat for the Tories was one of the three main lessons of last night’s by-elections.
Sir John told the BBC: “The Conservatives’ troubles are no longer confined to losing votes to Labour”.
“Reform UK, who hitherto hadn’t been doing particularly well in by-elections, now have begun to put votes in the ballot box.
“The problem for the Conservatives, as we know from the opinion polls, is that for every one voter who switches from Conservative to Labour, there’s now another one who’s switching to Reform.
“It just means that that coalition of leave voters that took Boris Johnson to victory in 2019 is just fragmenting further as Reform now threaten to take more votes away from the Conservatives.”
