With a thumping success in local elections this week, the hard-right Reform UK party has loosened Britain's two-party stranglehold and is already eyeing Downing Street. Reform UK, which formed from the remnants of its firebrand leader Nigel Farage's Brexit party,

Reform party leader Nigel Farage and winner of the Runcorn by-election, Sarah Pochin Nigel Farage's Reform UK has made big gains in English local elections, cementing it as a prime challenger to Britain's traditional main parties.

Six votes is not much of a majority, but it was enough for Mr Farage’s Reform UK to beat Labour in a by-election for Runcorn and Helsby, a seat just outside Liverpool. What was once one of the safest Labour seats in the country fell to Mr Farage’s party,