The UK general election met expectations, with the Tories ousted by Labour for the first time in more than 14 years.

But the poll results still held a surprise.

Nigel Farage was elected MP for Clacton on his eighth attempt as his Reform UK party resonated with British voters to become a true force in UK politics after winning four seats.

In his victory speech, Farage said the performance of Reform UK was “extraordinary” given the party had “no money, no branch structure, virtually nothing across the country”.

He said Labour’s win was not an endorsement of Labour and incoming Prime Minister Keir Starmer, but was instead a reflection of the public’s dissatisfaction with the Conservative Party.

The next goal for Reform UK is to challenge Labour in the 2029 general election.

“We will now be targeting Labour votes,” Farage said.

Who is Nigel Farage?

The 60-year-old was originally a commodities trader, but has spent the past few decades entrenched in right-wing, Eurosceptic politics.

Although he was a member of the European Parliament from 1999 until 2020, Farage was a constant advocate for the UK to leave the European Union.

He joined the UK Independence Party (UKIP) in 1993, and was elected leader in 2006 and 2010.

A vocal proponent of Brexit ahead of the 2016 referendum, he became leader of the Brexit Party in 2019.

The party was renamed Reform UK a year later, with a new focus on issues such as electoral reform and opposition to Covid lockdowns.

In 2021, Farage resigned as party leader and announced his permanent retirement from frontline politics, saying he had achieved what he wanted with Brexit.

He went on to host a political discussion program for the right-wing GB News and appeared on the UK version of I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!

After outgoing prime minister Rish Sunak called an early election in May, Farage initially indicated he would not re-enter politics so he could focus on helping close ally Donald Trump succeed in his bid for the US presidential election.

But he soon changed his mind because he couldn’t “let down millions of people” and took back the leadership of the Reform UK Party, calling for a “political revolt”.

Farage shares many political beliefs with Trump, and has been accused of inflaming tensions with some of his views, particularly around race and immigration.

In May, he came under fire after he said a growing number of Muslims do not share British values, claiming recent surveys found “46 per cent of British Muslims support Hamas”; his comments were decried as Islamophobic and racist.

He has also lauded ultra-masculine influencer Andrew Tate as a “huge voice for men”, although he was “horrified” by the charges of human trafficking and rape that Tate is facing in Romania.

Reform UK has weathered more recent scandals, with reports of a racist and misogynistic culture, and the suspension of six party candidates since nominations closed in June for online comments or their former party membership.

Shift to the right

Although Labour’s win is a success for the centre-left, the rise of Farage and Reform UK reflects the increasing shift to the right  across Europe.

Farage’s election as MP could constitute a big problem for the UK’s Conservative Party, as this creates a split in the right vote – something Farage purposely avoided when Reform UK did not contest Tory seats during the 2019 general election.

YouGov research found Reform UK’s supporters’ strongest belief was that “young people today do not have enough respect for traditional British values”.

They were also likely be anti-illegal immigrant, anti-multiculturalism, pro-death penalty, and supporters of same-sex marriage but against transgender people legally being allowed to change their gender.

University of London reader in psychology Francesco Rigoli said Farage is the “unquestionable champion” of the right-wing populist narrative, which is “alive and well in the UK”.

“The Brexit referendum and the recent elections in Europe and the US demonstrate that right-wing populist parties can suddenly surge in popularity and win elections – Farage aims to follow this trend and he should not be underestimated,” he said.

With Reform UK members joining Farage in parliament, University of Leeds associate professor of political communication Lone Sorensen said Farage will be able to “capitalise on his tactic of disruption”.

“We can expect a much more chaotic and difficult-to-control practice of norm-breaking from Farage and his fellow MPs to make life challenging for Starmer and the more sober opposition,” Sorensen said.