Nigel Farage
Reform UK leader; party projected to win seats across Holyrood, Senedd, and English councils in May 2026.
Last refreshed: 10 April 2026
Is Reform UK about to become the dominant opposition force across England, Scotland, and Wales?
Latest on Nigel Farage
- How many seats is Reform UK projected to win across the May 2026 elections?
- Reform is projected to win approximately 30 Senedd seats (YouGov MRP), 14 Holyrood regional seats (Electoral Calculus), and around 2,260 net English council gains (Elections Etc).Source: YouGov MRP; Electoral Calculus MRP April 2026; Elections Etc
- How much is Reform UK spending on the May 2026 election campaign?
- Farage announced Reform UK would spend over £5 million on the May 2026 election campaign, funded substantially by Christopher Harborne's £12 million in 2025 donations.Source: Reform UK / Electoral Commission
- When did Nigel Farage become an MP?
- Farage won Clacton in the July 2024 general election, becoming an MP at his eighth attempt. He simultaneously assumed the leadership of Reform UK.Source: UK Parliament
- How many Holyrood seats is Reform UK projected to win in 2026?
- Electoral Calculus MRP (published 7 April 2026) projects Reform UK to win 14 regional seats at Holyrood, making it joint third-largest party alongside the Scottish Greens.Source: Electoral Calculus MRP, April 2026
Background
Nigel Farage has led Reform UK since June 2024, when he stood aside from his chairmanship of the party to contest and win the Clacton parliamentary seat — his eighth attempt to enter the House of Commons. He announced a £5 million-plus campaign spend for the May 2026 elections, backed in large part by Christopher Harborne's £12 million in donations through 2025. Reform is projected to win approximately 30 Senedd seats (YouGov MRP), 14 Holyrood regional seats (Electoral Calculus MRP, 7 April 2026), and a net gain of around 2,260 English council seats (Elections Etc model).
Farage previously led the UK Independence Party (UKIP) and the Brexit Party (later renamed Reform UK), and was central to the 2016 Brexit referendum campaign. His return to Commons in 2024 transformed Reform from a minor party into a Major electoral force. The May 2026 elections represent its first Major multi-front electoral test since that transformation.
Farage is the most consequential figure in British right-wing politics since Margaret Thatcher in terms of electoral disruption: he has now helped fracture two Major Conservative coalitions across four decades. If Reform's May 2026 projections materialise, he will have simultaneously established a presence in Westminster, Holyrood, and the Senedd, making Reform the only UK-wide Challenger party with meaningful representation in all three legislatures.