UK reform: Victories give Nigel Farage platform at heart of politics

So Nigel Farage finally goes to Westminster to take his place on the green benches.

After seven failed attempts, the leader of the British Reform Party has won his seat in Parliament, persuading the people of Clacton to put him there after changing his mind mid-campaign and running for office.

And while his party may have fallen short of initial exit poll expectations of 13 seats, there will be four other candidates alongside Mr Farage, striding through the corridors of power wearing the light blue of Reform UK.

The party hails this event as a decisive step forward, and its importance is beyond doubt.

Firstly, because a parliamentary seat gives Mr Farage a new platform at the heart of British politics.

When he was a member of the European Parliament, he used his position to amplify his message, which largely focused on criticism of the very institutions he was elected to represent.

Don’t expect him to stay quiet in Westminster. Nigel Farage certainly knows how to disrupt things.

Second, the party sees this as a stepping stone to something more.

Chairman Richard Tice, the former party leader who stood down when Mr Farage took over, has long had a two-election strategy, with the first – this one – intended to build a base of support on which they could build for the next.

In his victory speech in Clacton, Mr Farage said his aim was to build a “mass movement” to contest the next general election “properly”.

He described a “void in the centre-right of British politics” that he plans to fill.

But even though the party has exceeded their initial expectations this time around, they acknowledge that it has not been without problems.

The final stages of Reform UK’s election campaign have been marred by controversy over alleged racist and homophobic comments made by party activists.

They had to drop candidates because of offensive comments.

They have blamed the speed with which they have had to recruit candidates and the failures in candidate selection. Today, Nigel Farage acknowledged that he needed to “professionalise and democratise” the party, saying he would “get rid of” some of the “idiots” who had been admitted.

The young party’s rapid rise has tested it and exposed cracks.

But the initiative attracted huge support and had a major impact on the elections.

In addition to winning five seats, the party came second in many others, largely at the expense of the Conservatives. This result is already weighing heavily on the minds of the Conservatives who are beginning to think about the future direction of their own party.

Much will depend on how the Conservatives respond, as well as whether Reform UK can put in place the structures needed to withstand the additional scrutiny that comes with electoral success.

But this result will only increase Reform UK’s ambition.

This morning I asked Nigel Farage if he had his sights set on Downing Street in five years’ time, and he said: ‘Whatever happens, happens.’

It may sound very risky, but what is clear is that the man who promised a political earthquake has once again seriously shaken things up.