London, 2 May 2025 (PA Media/dpa/MIA) - Nigel Farage's anti-immigration party Reform UK has won a seat in Parliament by just six votes in a special election held in the north-west of England.

The narrow victory for new MP Sarah Pochin saw Reform UK taking a constituency which UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's Labour Party won with a majority of almost 14,700 less than 12 months ago.

The result means Starmer has now failed his first by-election test as prime minister.

The result came as the populist Reform party made gains against both Labour and the Conservatives across England in local contests held on Thursday, the same day as the by-election for the parliamentary seat, with Farage claiming a "big moment" was taking place in politics.

The by-election in the Runcorn and Helsby constituency was triggered when former Labour MP Mike Amesbury quit after admitting punching a constituent.

Amesbury won 53% of the vote at the general election in July – and the defeat, along with Reform gains in other Labour heartlands, will cause unease in Starmer's Downing Street office.

Farage, who was a prominent Brexit campaigner, said: "For the movement, for the party, it’s a very, very big moment indeed, absolutely, no question, and it’s happening right across England."

He said it was a sign that Starmer had "alienated so much of his traditional base, it’s just extraordinary."

In her speech after winning the seat, Pochin said voters had made clear “enough is enough.”

“Enough Tory failure, enough Labour lies,” she said.

“I know our victory here in Runcorn and Helsby will inspire the rest of the country to believe that they too can stand up for fairness, for what is right and for our British values and their voices can be heard. We have made history in Runcorn and Helsby.”

Labour said by-elections are “always difficult for the party in Government” and the events surrounding the Runcorn and Helsby vote made it “even harder.”

But a party spokesman said: “There are encouraging signs that our plan for change is working – [National Health Service] waiting lists, inflation and interest rates down with wages up – but we will go further and faster to deliver change with relentless focus on putting money back into people’s pockets.”

As well as the Runcorn by-election, voters on Thursday took part in contests to elect more than 1,600 councillors across 23 local authorities, along with four regional mayors and two local mayors.

In another win for Farage, former Conservative minister Andrea Jenkyns was elected for Reform UK as Greater Lincolnshire mayor with a majority of almost 40,000 over her former party.

There was some good news for Labour as the party held the West of England mayoralty, with Helen Godwin beating Reform’s Arron Banks by 5,945 votes, with the Green Party’s Mary Page in third.

MIA file photo