The outcome could be “the beginning of a much bigger political earthquake,” said poll officer Matthew Goodwin.
The Reform Party under Nigel Farage had just seized its first by-election victory at its previous Labour base, earning great benefits in local elections and foresaw earthquake changes in British politics.
Runcorn is a typical Northern England constituency, a former fortress of now declining working class loyalty, with years of support for the incumbent Labour party being eliminated.
Voters are leaning towards the emerging movement of Farage, steaming before two founding parties, Labour and Conservatives.
They have dominated two parties of British politics for over a century.
Voters across England headed to the booth on May 1 to vote for four local mayors and 1,750 councillors.
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As of Friday afternoon, the reforms also had avalanches of council seats, including control of Staffordshire County Council and Durham County Council.
The reform was founded in 2021 as a successor to the Brexit Party, and in itself formed as a spinoff of the UKIP Party after Farage resigned from the organization in 2018.
After a break from frontline politics, Farage, a longtime supporter of President Donald Trump and GB News Presenter, joined the reforms as last year’s leader ahead of the July general election.
He said that conservatives, historically one of the most successful parties of modern democracy, are now “cheers.”
“You are witnessing the end of the party, which has been around since 1832,” he said.
The reforms still hold five seats in the 650 House members who won more than 4 million votes in the last general election.
Under proportional representation used in countries such as Israel, the proportion of national votes for reform is In theory Converted to more seats.
Popular former reform MP Rupert Lowe lost his party whip in March amid allegations of bullying.
However, after Portin wins, the total remains at five.
Academic, writer and voter Matthew Goodwin told the Epoch Times:
He added that winning the Runcorn and Healthbee, which he characterized as “the 155th most reform-friendly seat in the country,” means they can win more.
“They can get dozens of predominantly labour-holding seats in England and Wales,” he said.
“It also shows the continued restructuring after Brexit. The Conservatives have been wasted since 2019 by imposing a large number of uncontrolled immigrants.”
Anand Menon, a professor of European politics and diplomacy and director of the changing European think tank UK, told the Epoch Times in an email that he believes the outcome is “some sign.”
“Most obviously, the decline in popularity of two large parties (a common phenomenon across Western Europe) and fragmentation of the party system,” he said.
However, he was more skeptical of the outcome at this point.
“It’s a by-election, with only a few seats being contested and we’re a long way from (general elections),” he said.
