'Our priority is to stop Reform': tactical voting in local elections could hamper Farage's advance

A new wave of tactical voting could hamper progress for Reform UK in today's local elections, campaigners believe, and even some Conservative voters now say they will vote Labour or Liberal Democrat.

- Peter Walker

This could particularly affect the Runcorn and Helsby byelection, where Nigel Farage's party is favourite to overturn a Labour majority of almost 15,000, in what would be a significant blow to Keir Starmer.

The same phenomenon has been reported in the contest for the new mayoralty of Hull and East Yorkshire, with polls showing the Reform candidate leading, but where the Lib Dems are trying to position themselves as the main challengers.

Reform falling short in either race would be a blow for Farage, particularly as results in the byelection and some of the mayoral contests will be declared overnight tonight - ahead of those for the 24 councils across England being contested - and would thus set the tone for media coverage.

Voters have become increasingly sophisticated at voting tactically. At the 2024 general election there were many instances of Labour, Lib Dem or Green voters switching to whichever of the parties was seen as best placed to beat the Conservatives locally.

But, according to Labour and Lib Dem officials, the rise of Reform, which is now regularly topping national opinion polls, appears to be encouraging this phenomenon.