In results that made news across the United Kingdom, the 4-year-old Reform UK party won a by-election Friday for its first-ever seat on the Town Council of Cardiff in Wales.
Although elections for local office — even by-elections — are seldom major news stories, this particular contest made headlines because of the ever-increasing strength of the party led by Nigel Farage, father of Brexit (the U.K.'s withdrawal from the European Union in 2016), member of Parliament and now the leading British voice for a moratorium on immigration and deportation of those in the U.K. illegally.
Running in the Trowbridge ward of Cardiff, Reformer Edward Topham topped the crowded field with 39.6%.
As newsworthy as Topham's win was the third-place showing (21.3%) of Prime Minister Keir Starmer's ruling Labour Party and the dismal fifth-place showing (3.1%) of the Conservative Party — historically the party of the right in the U.K. but now hemorrhaging over what many believe has been its acquiescence to mass migration while it was in and out of power over the past 20 years.
All political eyes will now be focused on another by-election for the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) scheduled for Oct. 23. Reform's chance of victory is considered better than even.
The developments in Wales are played against a national backdrop of Conservative Party fixtures defecting to Reform. Last month, former Member of Parliament Adam Holloway made nationwide news by switching from Conservative to Reform and expatiating on his move in a much-read article in The Spectator.
"The Conservative party I thought I joined believed in sovereignty, secure borders, low taxes, personal responsibility, and cultural confidence," wrote Holloway, who in the 2024 general election narrowly lost a seat he had held for 20 years. "That party is no longer in government — and no longer deserves to be."
Since Holloway switched, 14 other former Conservative MPs following him to Reform, including former Health Minister Maria Caulfield. And last week, Danny Kruger, a sitting Conservative MP, crossed over to Reform and thus brought its numbers to six in the House of Commons.
Sensing momentum was on his side, Farage announced on Monday that if Reform came to power, it would abolish the rights of immigrants to qualify for permanent settlement in the U.K. after five years and would instead need to reapply with new visas with tougher rules.
He also vowed to enact legislation banning anyone other than British citizens from receiving welfare and insisted this plan would save the U.K. 234 billion pounds over several decades.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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