Reform MP Richard Tice thanks voters after elections

On May 1, the party—led nationally by Nigel Farage—won 44 out of 70 seats in the county council elections, unseating several key Conservatives in the process. Reform UK also saw its candidate, Andrea Jenkyns, elected as the first Mayor of Greater Lincolnshire, securing 104,133 votes—42 per cent of the overall total.

The MP for Boston & Skegness, Richard Tice, said: “Huge thanks to so many who have placed their trust in us and given us a big mandate to stop wasting money, especially on daft things like diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and net stupid zero so we can provide better frontline services.”

In the aftermath he also posted on X, formerly Twitter, to say: “If you are thinking of investing in solar farms, battery storage systems, or trying to build pylons, think again. We will fight you every step of the way. We will win.”

Before heading to the mayoral count at Grimsby Town Hall, Mr Tice stopped at the count at Louth’s Meridian Leisure Centre, where he told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he was already feeling “bullish” about Reform’s chances in both Lincolnshire contests.

“Some of these county divisions could be very close, but we could do better than people expect.”

He added: “We’re very enthused by what we’re seeing and hearing so far. It’s just before 1am, I’ve just come from the Boston count, and we’re very encouraged by how the mayoral numbers are looking there. And here we are in Louth and we’re hearing very encouraging things.

“Elsewhere in the country, we have won five or six by-elections from Labour already, including in my old stomping ground of Hartlepool. So, so far so good.

“There’s always shocks and there’s always disappointments, and of course we have the big parliamentary election in Runcorn, which I think will declare in about an hour and a half—and that’s on a knife’s edge.”

Reform UK candidate Sarah Pochin ultimately won the parliamentary by-election in Runcorn and Helsby by just six votes after a dramatic recount—becoming the party’s fifth MP.

Nationally, the party also took control of several other major local authorities, including Durham County Council, Lancashire County Council, Nottinghamshire County Council, Derbyshire County Council, Staffordshire County Council, North Northamptonshire Council, West Northamptonshire Council, and Kent County Council.

In total, Reform UK secured 677 council seats, while the Conservatives and Labour lost 674 and 187 respectively.