Richard Tice hails ‘outstanding’ Reform results as party hammers Tories in Brexit land
Professor Sir John Curtice has warned the Tory vote is "way way down" thanks to Reform UK.
Richard Tice hits out at Labour's 'working class betrayal'
Reform UK has said results from Sunderland are “outstanding” as the party reaches new levels of support at the expense of the Conservatives.
Reform, which is standing in all Sunderland council seats, has enjoyed a slew of great results while the Tories are down significantly.
In one ward, Reform hit 32.3% of the vote, while the Tories collapsed by 22.3%.
In other seats, they secured 15.8%, 19.3%, 18.8% and 16.8%, all while the Tories fell by similar margins.
Reacting to the early results, Reform UK leader Richard Tice said they were “outstanding”.
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. Read our Privacy Policy
He added: “We expect to beat Tories in majority of 25 seats in Sunderland”.
Speaking on the BBC’s election results show, expert Sir John Curtice said the Conservatives should be “concerned” about Reform and this is going to be a “difficult night” for Rishi Sunak.
“This is a very Eurosceptic part of the country, it’s also somewhere where UKIP did well in the local elections in the past.
“We’ve now seen Reform out-poll the Conservatives in each of the ward results we’ve got in from Sunderland so far.
“The Conservative vote is well, well down on 2021, indeed it’s even down on this time last year, so at least in this early result the Conservatives do have reason to be concerned about what’s happening in Eurosceptic parts of the country where Reform do stand.
“Early signs at least suggest it’s going to be a difficult night for the Conservatives."
Don't miss...
Rattled Sadiq Khan admits the Tories chance of winning has 'skyrocketed' [LATEST]
‘Scotland will not stand for it!’ Question Time panelist destroys Humza Yousaf [LIVE]
Local elections LIVE: Rishi Sunak braced for major Tory losses as rebels circle [LATEST]
A Reform UK spokesman said the early results are “clearly significant”.
He told the Express that while it’s “early doors”, it’s notable that Sunderland was the part of the country that ushered in Brexit, and may now signal the ongoing rise of Reform UK.
Another key area for Reform will be Bolton, set to be announced around 2am.
The Blackpool South by-election will also be significant for Reform UK, and their spokesman suggested there’s a long shot chance they could leapfrog the Conservatives into second place.
UK director of More in Common, Luke Tryl, warned that this would spark “Tory panic”.
However Reform warned that the Tories had much more data than they do from the 2019 election about where their voters are.
James Johnson, Theresa May’s former pollster, said the Reform results in Sunderland will make Nigel Farage “sit up and take note”.
“If he came back nationally, it's hard to deny it would add rocket fuel to what is already a strong performance in the city for Reform UK.”
Cabinet minister Chris Heaton-Harris said the results in Sunderland showed “if you vote Reform, you get Labour”.
The Northern Ireland Secretary told the BBC: “It’s a very straightforward equation for people at the next general election.
“If they want to vote Reform, they’ll end up with Labour MPs, and they’ll end up with a Labour government, and then they’ll end up, probably, with everything they didn’t want to vote for based on the profile of Reform voters.”
