Nigel Farage's Reform UK party increases in support with local election victories

The right-wing Reform UK party, headed by Nigel Farage, won a fifth parliamentary seat, a mayoral seat and many local council positions, according to election results Friday.

Reform UK is a populist party that was created in 2018 and was originally called the Brexit Party. Brexit, short for British exit, was the United Kingdom's official withdrawal in 2022 from the European Union.

The main parties in the UK are the Labour Party and the Conservative Party.

In a close race, Reform UK won a parliamentary seat in Runcorn and Helsby by six votes after a recount was ordered. 

"Victory in Runcorn & Helsby proves we are now the opposition party to this Labour government," Farage wrote on the social media platform X.

The Labour Party won the parliamentary seat in Runcorn and Helsby in last year's national election by almost 15,000 votes, according to The New York Post.

“It’s been a huge night for Reform,” Farage said after the win. “This is heartland Labour Party, their vote has collapsed and much of it has come to us.”