Nigel Farage has celebrated what he called a major breakthrough for Reform UK after the party secured a narrow but significant victory in a Salford council by-election.
The result in Barton and Winton saw Reform candidate Michael Felse win the seat by just 33 votes, marking the party’s first-ever council foothold in the city. The closely fought contest ended with Felse receiving 676 votes, edging past Labour’s Catherine Goodyer, who finished on 636.
The by-election, held on Wednesday and announced shortly after midnight, featured six candidates competing for the ward—previously regarded as a reliable Labour stronghold. The outcome has raised eyebrows among political observers, given the scale of the swing away from Labour.
Reacting to the result, Nigel Farage took to social media platform X to underline the significance of the win. He described it as a “huge win for Reform,” pointing to what he claimed was a 30-point drop in Labour’s vote share.
For Reform UK, the victory represents more than just a single seat—it signals growing momentum in areas traditionally dominated by established parties. For Labour, meanwhile, the result may prompt questions about voter confidence in some of its long-held urban bases. Photo by Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, Wikimedia commons.
