Reform UK, a right-wing party, experienced a surge in support early Friday, gaining seats in parliamentary, mayoral, and local elections. Leader Nigel Farage hailed this as evidence that Reform UK has become “now the opposition party to this Labour government.”

Farage, who earlier predicted a “political revolution,” declared that the long-standing two-party system was “now dead” following losses for both the Labour and Conservative parties in Thursday’s voting.

Reform UK secured a fifth parliamentary seat with Sarah Pochin’s victory in the Runcorn & Helsby constituency, an area considered a Labour “heartland” by Reform leaders.

“Victory in Runcorn & Helsby proves we are now the opposition party to this Labour government,” Farage stated on X. “With this and other results tonight, it’s clear that if you vote Conservative you will get Labour. But if you vote Reform, you get Reform.”

The Runcorn & Helsby race was closely contested, requiring a recount that confirmed Reform’s win by a narrow margin of six votes.

Farage celebrated the victory as “a small margin” but “a huge win.”

The Labour Party, led by , currently holds 403 parliamentary seats, followed by the Conservative Party with 121. The Liberal Democrats hold 72 seats, and Independents hold 14. The remaining 40 seats are distributed among 11 other parties, including Reform.

Andrea Jenkyns also won the mayorship for Greater Lincolnshire, a region traditionally dominated by the Conservative Party.

Reform UK’s deputy leader, Richard Tice, reportedly told Times Radio that the results represented “certainly a political earthquake” as voters across approximately 650 elections showed dissatisfaction with the two main parties.

Farage believes the increased support for Reform UK indicates a decline in support for the Conservative Party, which he left in the 1990s before founding the Brexit Party and later rebranding it as Reform UK in 2021.

“You’re witnessing the end of a party that’s been around since 1832,” he told reporters, according to Reuters.