LONDON (Reuters) - Voters across parts of England on Thursday will choose a new lawmaker, mayors and councillors in local elections expected to favour the right-wing populist Reform UK party and deal a blow to Britain's two main parties.
Both the governing Labour Party and main opposition Conservatives have played down expectations in the contests, which are often a protest vote against the incumbent party and, in this case, also the one it replaced in July 2024.
For Reform UK, until less than a year ago written off as little more than a one-issue anti-immigration party, election wins offer it a chance to deepen local networks and cement its place as the best-positioned party to challenge Labour and the Conservatives at the next national election expected in 2029.
As well as 1,641 local council seats and six mayors, also up for grabs is a parliamentary seat representing northern England's Runcorn and Helsby region after its Labour occupant resigned following a conviction for punching a constituent.
Betting odds suggest Reform could win the Runcorn seat and three of the six mayoral elections, while experts see the party winning about a quarter of the council seats. The results will start to come in during the early hours of Friday until later in the day.
"The elections will be tough. Local elections are always challenging for incumbent governments," said a Labour spokesperson. "But of course, we're fighting for every vote."
The Conservatives, under the new leadership of right-leaning Kemi Badenoch, have yet to recover from their historic defeat by Labour in last year's national election and will feel the losses more because they start from a strong position won in 2021.
For Labour, the party's popularity has slid since it took power after the government limited winter fuel payments to the elderly, got into a row over the use of donations and set out billions of pounds of welfare cuts.
Reform leader Nigel Farage says his party is making the most impact in traditionally Labour-voting areas while he dismisses the Conservatives as "standing for nothing" and a party which will "fall off a cliff" after the local election results.
He has not hidden his drive for Reform to replace the Conservatives, Britain's most successful political party.
"I encourage all of our supporters to go out and cause a political earthquake on Thursday. Your local council needs Reform," Farage said in a statement.
(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)
