Reform UK races to huge victory in St Helens

Reform UK secured a stunning victory in St Helens as the incumbent Labour administration were all but wiped out in the Merseyside borough.

Nigel Farage's party claimed 34 of the 48 seats that make up the council - having previously held none.

To compound Labour's misery, council leader Anthony Burns lost his seat to Reform in the Blackbrook ward.

The BBC's Liverpool City Region political reporter Claire Hamilton described the result as "seismic".

She added: "For the Liverpool City Region this decimation of their traditional support base is unprecedented.

"It's blowing the minds of everyone across all the political parties."

George Woodward, chairman of Reform St Helens, said people in the town had been sharing a sense of "hopelessness" ahead of Thursday's "historic" election.

"People feel left behind by Labour, left behind by the Conservatives, and left behind by the two-party system," he said.

"There's a sense of change in the air - people see that the two-party system isn't working for them - the so-called Uniparty - and we're here to step into that void."

Woodward said that national sentiment, and the unpopularity of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, had played a part in Labour's collapse.

But he added: "We're also seeing on a local level things where Labour haven't delivered - we're seeing a rise in HMOs [Houses of Multiple Occupancy] across the borough, we're seeing huge scales of deprivation across the town centre, we're seeing lots of flytipping - there's a state of uncleanliness in many, many places."

Woodward said his party would be "financially prudent" but did not make any commitments about how Reform would deal with the ongoing multi-million pound regeneration of St Helens town centre.

Labour narrowly avoided a total wipeout, holding on to two seats, while the Conservatives held on to one seat and the Lib Dems held three of the four they had before polls opened.

Six seats are now held by independent candidates while two are vacant.

Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram said the results had been "bruising" for the Labour Party and that his "heart went out" to councillors who lost their seats.

"Local councillors are the lifeblood of our movement," he said.

"They're the people knocking on doors in all weathers, helping residents with the issues that matter most, and putting Labour values into practice day in, day out.

"Many of them will have lost today not because they failed their communities, but because voters are sending a message about issues far beyond the town hall."

Elsewhere in the city region, Reform won 16 of the 19 available seats in Halton.

While Labour held on to only two of the seats it was defending there, it retained overall control of the local authority.

Chairman of the Reform Halton branch Jonathan Mackie, who was elected in Central and West Bank, said the results were "absolutely unbelievable".

Meanwhile in Knowsley, Labour has held on to its majority despite losses to Reform UK and Independents.

He said: "We were expecting maybe 14, but to deliver 16 out of 19 is unbelievable really.

"The Labour vote collapsed everywhere, which is not really a surprise, because we've been out on the doorstep and it was clear that there was a mood for change, and we've delivered."

In Halton, Labour still retains overall control of the authority, with 32 councillors overall.

Runcorn MP Sarah Pochin, who won the Parliamentary seat for Reform in a by-election last year, celebrated her party's latest electoral showing.

"A fantastic result and a huge step forward for Reform UK in Halton," she said.

In Knowsley, Labour lost six seats, but still has a comfortable majority with 24 councillors in total. Independent candidates gained two seats, while Reform picked up four seats.

Knowsley Council leader Graham Morgan has called for Sir Keir Starmer to consider his position, firmly blaming his party's poor showing at the polls on national leadership.

"There's got to be a complete change in direction here," he told BBC Radio Merseyside.

"The country has spoken. We've lost councillors. We've lost some very good people.

"I think Sir Keir Starmer needs to take notice of that, and maybe there needs to be a change for the better."

In Sefton,Labour held on to control but lost 15 seats, meaning its majority was slashed to six from a pre-poll total of 36 seats.

The Lib Dems gained seven seats, having previously held 10, while Reform picked up its first five seats in the council.

The Greens made a gain of two seats to take them to three, while independent candidates gained five seats.

Labour's Marion Atkinson, leader of Sefton Council, kept her seat.

She said: "My heart goes out particularly to other colleagues in the city region who've lost their seats.

"This job, for me, is something that you absolutely love, you're passionate about it, and when it's taken away from you – sometimes really unfairly – it's very difficult.

"I think for Sefton, we will just keep on working hard for our residents, because that's absolutely what we do. So we will keep on keeping on for Sefton residents."

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