Reform UK win first Merseyside council seat as Labour struggle

Nigel Farage's party secured a big win after a by-election in St Helens

Reform UK has won its first ever council seat on Merseyside. The party, led by Nigel Farage, was victorious in a by-election for St Helens Council, winning the seat from the ruling Labour Party.

Reform candidate Victor Floyd is the new councillor for the Blackbrook ward of St Helens after securing 41.1% of the vote, with a total of 546 votes. He took the seat from Labour, whose candidate Sally Yeoman finished in second place with 460 votes, representing 34.7% of the overall vote.

The by-election was held on Thursday after the death of former Labour councillor Linda Maloney, who died earlier this year at the age of 71 following a short illness.

While the turnout for the vote was low at just 16.3%, Labour will be concerned about the swing towards Reform, who are challenging the government in national polls at present. Cllr Floyd secured a huge 41.1% swing towards his party, while Labour lost more than 18% of its vote share. The Green Party also had a bad day at the office, seeing their vote decline by 16.4%.

The Conservatives came in fourth place with under 8% of the vote, while independent candidate Trevor McLaughlin came bottom of the pile with just 52 votes, just under 4% of the vote.

Celebrating the result on social media, Reform UK's official account posted: "Congratulations to newly elected Reform UK Councillor, Victor Floyd! Reform UK GAINED the Blackbrook Ward seat from Labour last night, with 41.1% of the vote. We are the real opposition."

The result will be a concern for those who are stand against the policies of Reform, who campaign strongly against immigration, but it continues a trend that saw the party surge in Merseyside seats in the summer's general election. Nigel Farage's party finished in second place in the majority of seats in the region as Sir Keir Starmer's Labour swept to power.

A number of recent national opinion polls have put Reform close to Labour as the new government faces continued struggles in the first months of its term in power. Labour remains comfortably in control of St Helens Council, with the next council elections set to take place in May 2026.