Reform aims to make its mark and butcher rival council vote

REFORM UK might pick up dramatic wins in next month's local elections, analysts say.

- By Jonathan Walker Whitehall Editor

The Local Government Information Unit think-tank said Nigel Farage's party "has a lot to gain" and it identified five key battlegrounds.

Parties in power nationally often do badly in local elections but Sir Keir Starmer is fortunate as many city unitary regimes where Labour are big do not vote on May 1 so he cannot lose heavily.

Instead attention will focus on Reform and the Conservatives, the LGIU said. Key sites include Lincolnshire where ex-Tory MP Dame Andrea Jenkyns, who defected to Reform, may win the mayoral race.