Is Nigel Farage's Reform Party becoming real-deal scary?

Post date: 2025-05-04 03:51:43

Anglophile American here hoping to hear from some friends across the pond about Reform's recent electioral success.

Until recently Reform's electoral impact paled in comparison to its political impact. Farage and his party were a lunatic fringe that off and on topped polls but never translated their popularity into wins at the ballot box. In other words, their popularity could be attributed to artefacts of polling, rather than bonafide electoral clout.

I'm not sure that can still be said given:

--Reform's May 1 by-election win in Runcorn and Helsby, which had long been one of Labor's safest seats
--Reform's overwhelming win in the mayoral race in Linconshire, one of most conservative of conservative regions in the UK
--Reform taking control of the Durham City Council, which displaced 38 Labor Party loyalists in the process
--Reform kicking Conservative's ass in Lincolnshire and Staffordshire

Is it fair to say Reform now poses a legitimate threat to Labor and Conservative alike? What consensus, if any, is emerging on the ground, among commentators and editorial writers, in pubs and around the water cooler?

Thanks

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