The triumphant new MP Nigel Farage has been pictured on his first visit to Essex after the county backed Reform.
He finally won election to the House of Commons at the eighth attempt after years of trying at Thursday’s election, as he became the Reform MP for Clacton.
The party leader surged to victory in Essex with a comfortable majority of almost 8,000 to join party chairman Richard Tice, Lee Anderson, Rupert Lowe and James McMurdock in representing the party on the green benches.
Mr Farage, 60, has been all smiles since his election success, and was previously pictured celebrating with his girlfriend Laure Ferrari on the night of the election.
He was pictured today continuing the celebrations with his signature pint of beer in tow as he chatted with people at Wyldecrest Sports Country Club in Corringham, around an hours drive from his new seat.
Nigel Farage was pictured today continuing the election celebrations with his signature pint of beer in tow as he chatted with people at Wyldecrest Sports Country Club in Corringham
The party leader surged to victory in Essex with a comfortable majority of almost 8,000 to join his party’s four other MPs on the green benches
Mr Nigel Farage and new Reform MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock, James McMurdock (right)
The political disruption has already been praised for the win by his friend former US president Donald Trump.
The Republican presidential nominee wrote in a post on his social media site TruthSocial: ‘Congratulations to Nigel Farage on his big WIN of a Parliament Seat Amid Reform UK Election Success. Nigel is a man who truly loves his Country! DJT.’
Mr Farage polled 21,225 votes, comfortably beating incumbent Tory Giles Watling into second with 12,850.
More than four million people voted for his party, giving it a 14 per cent share – with its candidates coming second in 89 seats, many in Labour-won areas of northern England and Wales.
The party leader said he wants to ‘build a mass national movement over the course of next few years’ with the aim of challenging the 2029 general election.
Following his election win, he immediately set his sights on taking on Sir Keir Starmer, adding: ‘We are coming for Labour, be in no doubt about that.’
Farage gestures as he walks after winning his first seat in parliament in coastal town of Clacton, gaining nearly 25,000 votes
Mr Farage has been all smiles since his election success, and was previously pictured celebrating with his girlfriend Laure Ferrari on the night of the election
Mr Farage, pictured with Ms Ferrari, said there was now a ‘massive gap on the centre-right of British politics and my job is to fill it’
Mr Farage posed for pictures with people young and old while he enjoyed a drink
Mr Nigel Farage with new Reform MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock, James McMurdock (centre), and Jack Duffin, chairman of East Thurrock CFC (left) today
The party leader has said he wants to ‘build a mass national movement over the course of next few years’ with the aim of challenging the 2029 general election
Mr Farage speaks to the media during the visit to the Country Club in Corringham
Mr Farage said previously: ‘There’s no enthusiasm for Labour or Starmer whatsoever… this Labour Government will be in trouble very very quickly and we will now be targeting Labour votes’
He said: ‘My plan is to build a mass national movement over the course of next few years as hopefully be big enough to challenge the General Election properly in 2029.
‘There’s no enthusiasm for Labour or Starmer whatsoever… this Labour Government will be in trouble very very quickly and we will now be targeting Labour votes.’
Mr Farage’s gains across the UK came just weeks after he shocked the Tories by U-turning on a decision to sit out the election after seven failed bids.
It is predicted the success of Reform will cause a huge battle for the soul of the Conservative Party in the weeks to come, with senior figures on the right open to some form of link-up.
Reform’s manifesto was designed to outflank the Tories on the Right and included a series of single-sentence policies, such as raising the inheritance tax threshold to £2 million, scrapping stamp duty on properties worth up to £750,000 and quitting the European Convention on Human Rights.
It has been said that Reform’s wide but thin support would not help their success in a first-past-the-post system and Mr Farage has been vocal about the need for changes to the electoral system.
Mr Farage celebrated with a glass of win as the exit poll was revealed on Thursday night
Mr Farage beat Tory incumbent Giles Watling as his party made serious vote gains across the UK
Meanwhile Mr Tice blasted the ‘injustice’ of the first-past-the-post electoral system, after the Liberal Democrats gained 71 seats with 3.5million votes. This meant the Lib Dems had 67 more seats than Reform despite having about 500,000 fewer votes.
The official 10pm exit poll projected the insurgent party’s seat haul could hit 13 – a shock tally that sent shockwaves through Conservative headquarters. That was later revised down to four.
But the success at the election will bolster Reform’s confidence as Mr Farage had previously said this election was only the ‘tip of the iceberg’ for the start-up party as they build to bigger success in 2029.
Mr Farage’s electoral agent and Reform UK councillor Peter Harris has said their party leader is ‘up for the challenge’ of facing up to a Labour government.
On Mr Farage’s potential impact in Westminster, Mr Harris said: ‘He stood alone in the European Parliament, and he got the changes that he wanted and as he said to the European Parliament that when he first got there, they laughed at him and then when we left he said ‘well, you’re not laughing now’.
‘So you know, I can see Nigel will be a huge voice not just for Clacton but a huge voice for so many people in this country that have felt abandoned and betrayed. So, yeah, I think Nigel is up for the challenge.’