Local elections on May 1 could mark a turning point for Britain. For perhaps the first time ever, Nigel Farage is looking like a future prime minister after his Reform UK party swept to victory. He picked up one more seat in Britain’s Parliament in a by-election after the previous Labour member of Parliament was forced to stand down. The 6-vote margin of victory is the narrowest ever for a by-election in British history.
Of the 23 county councils up for grabs, Reform won 10. The Liberal Democrats won three, and Conservative and Labour—typically the two main parties—won zero. Durham Council was the first ever controlled by Labour, which held it for over 100 years—until this election, when Reform won. If these results were replicated in a general election, Reform would have a comfortable majority in Parliament.
Farage has shown that Reform is a real contender. Now he must show they can govern. He has promised to set up a version of the Department of Government Efficiency in the United Kingdom to cut costs in the local governments he now controls. He has pledged to cancel wasteful environmental programs and has told “diversity” and environmental staff they can expect to lose their jobs.
“There has been no mood like it—this furious euphoria, this rage for hope—since the Brexit vote,” wrote Allison Pearson. “Friday morning was keenly anticipated by Farage supporters as children long for Christmas Day. The present to be torn from its wrapping would be nothing less than this: We get our country back” (May 2).
That analysis may be premature. The current government doesn’t have to hold an election until August 2029—though they could choose to have one earlier. In the meantime, Keir Starmer’s Labour government is moving quickly in the opposite direction. On May 19 he announced a new deal with the European Union that gives it jurisdiction over British food regulations and energy policy, paves the way for a new migrant deal for young Europeans, and sacrifices British fishing waters until 2038. He is giving away the strategic Chagos Islands to Mauritius—a nation that has never owned them—and paying them billions.
He did change his tune on migration though, promising to toughen visa rules and stop the boats of illegal migrants. But with politicians from all parties talking tough on migration for more than a decade while doing nothing about it, don’t expect voters to be impressed until they see actual results.
But for all this, May 1 was the day that Reform stopped being a minority protest party and became a real contender. Starmer’s actions since then only add fuel to Reform’s fire.
In his article “Britain’s and Judah’s Governments Fall—America Next?”, Mr. Flurry described the way Bible prophecy forecast a resurgence in the United States. “Could the same thing happen in the UK?” he asked. It was a question, not a prediction, and the answer still isn’t completely clear. A reprieve in America may be enough to allow God’s message to go out around the world. But today’s news shows that a major shift in Britain is possible. Could we soon see a Prime Minister Farage, a British doge and a more Trumpian UK?