Overview
- Nigel Farage flew into Chelmsford City Racecourse to toast Reform UK’s council wins with new Essex councillors, activists and supporters.
- He mocked claims he neglects his Clacton seat, saying he had not visited since being elected before noting he stopped at several polling stations.
- The party now holds 53 seats to the Conservatives’ 13, ending 25 years of Tory control as council leader Kevin Bentley lost Stanway and Marks Tey to Reform’s Andrew Harding.
- New councillors said their focus turns to running services such as roads, schools and social care that the county council funds.
- Reform also swept every seat it contested in Tendring, which includes Clacton, underscoring the party’s strength on the Essex coast.