Reform surge sets the stage for North East’s new political reality

Labour still holds the mayoralty in North Tyneside and the Conservatives are still the largest party in Northumberland.

But the reality is very different – and it is a Reform UK surge that is the real story. 

Karen Clark may have won the race to succeed Dame Norma Redfearn in North Tyneside, but only by a slim margin.

Just 444 votes separated her from Reform’s John Falkenstein, as Labour just about managed to avoid what would have been a major embarrassment in an area where Dame Norma won a majority of more than 13,000 in 2021.

In Northumberland, Labour endured a brutal night. Going into election day they held 18 seats on the council, and this morning they have just eight.

Given that Labour made history less than a year ago by claiming all of the Parliamentary seats in Northumberland at the general election, the scale of their collapse in the county is remarkable.

The Conservatives suffered too – though, despite dropping seven seats, their total of 26 seats means they remain the biggest party on a council which remains in no overall control.

They were run very close by Reform, though, who made huge gains. Going into the night without any representation on the council, they are now the county’s second largest political group with 23 seats.

How the council will be governed from here on is very much up in the air. The prospect of the Tories working with Reform at County Hall seems an unlikely one this morning, but their lack of majority means they would then need to rely on the support of some combination of independents, Lib Dems, Greens, or even Labour.

People waking up across the country this morning will have been greeted by the sight of a beaming Nigel Farage dominating the news, after Reform won the Runcorn and Helsby by-election and the Greater Lincolnshire mayoral race.

Mr Farage says Reform has now overtaken the Tories as the “the main opposition party” to Labour nationally and today’s results are already putting pressure on Sir Keir Starmer to change tack in order to win back voters furious over cuts to winter fuel payments and benefits. 

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Reform is making big gains in council seats across the country and there will be a lot of eyes on County Durham, where the party will expect to make more big inroads across traditional Labour heartlands.

Votes are being counted in Durham this morning, with the county expected to be fully declared by around 1pm.

Already, though, it has become clear that the North East’s political map could be shifting radically.