If Reform UK can hold this position, Nigel Farage will become UK prime minister

Forget Keir Starmer’s future as prime minister, the story so far of the elections in Britain is Nigel Farage’s apparent future as prime minister. His Reform UK party has surged spectacularly in the 40 local councils that have declared results so far in England. Perhaps most eye-catching of all is the party’s strong performance in the northwest of England and the Greater Manchester area. In Tameside, the backyard of would-be Labour leadership contender Angela Rayner, Reform took 16 of Labour’s 17 seats. In Wigan, the home patch of culture secretary Lisa Nandy, Reform took all 22 of Labour’s seats. Those...