It's Nigel Farage MP: Eighth time lucky for Reform leader as he finally wins election to the House of Commons with thumping win in Clacton - but party's hopes of landing up to 13 seats look set to be dashed

Nigel Farage yet won predetermination to the Commons astatine the eighth effort today, arsenic helium became the Reform MP for Clacton amid a Tory predetermination bloodbath.

The enactment person surged to triumph successful Essex with a bulk of astir 8,000 to articulation Lee Anderson successful representing the enactment connected the greenish benches.

He polled 21,225 votes, comfortably beating incumbent Tory Giles Watling into 2nd with 12,850.

And helium instantly acceptable his sights connected taking connected Sir Keir Starmer, adding: 'We are coming for Labour, beryllium successful nary uncertainty astir that.'

Mr Anderson was returned successful Ashfield earlier this morning, to go the archetypal Reform MP to beryllium elected. 

And the enactment aboriginal added Great Yarmouth, the erstwhile spot of Brandon Lewis, a erstwhile Tory Northern Ireland Secretary, as its 3rd seat.

Mr Farage bushed Tory incumbent Giles Watling arsenic his enactment made serous ballot gains crossed the UK. It came conscionable weeks aft helium shocked the Tories by U-turning connected a determination to beryllium retired the predetermination aft 7 failed bids.

But the historical wins came arsenic the party's hopes of winning much than a twelve seats looked acceptable to beryllium dashed.

The exit canvass suggested that it could instrumentality 13 seats. But it mislaid heavy to Labour in 2 Barnsley seats and Hartlepool, which were among those tipped to fall.

It came as Top Tories brace to beryllium swept distant successful Keir Starmer's reddish tide contiguous arsenic predetermination results rotation in.

Moments aft ballot stations closed astatine 10pm, the melodramatic exit canvass was released - showing Sir Keir winning 410 of the 650 seats. That would beryllium a bulk of 170 - conscionable abbreviated of the 179 achieved by Tony Blair.

The Conservatives are expected to beryllium slashed from the 365 MPs secured little than 5 years agone to conscionable 131 - their worst show successful modern governmental history. 

A big of large beasts, including Jeremy Hunt, Grant Shapps and Penny Mordaunt could autumn unfortunate to the purge. 

Welsh Secretary David Davies has already conceded decision and the Lib Dems assertion they person defeated Education Secretary Gillian Keegan in Chichester - arsenic good arsenic taking retired Justice Secretary Alex Chalk and a big of others.

Party seat Ric Holden is successful a hopeless conflict for Basildon & Billericay, with a recount and claims determination are lone 20 votes successful it.

Mr Farage said helium wants to 'fill' a 'massive spread connected the centre-right of British politics'.

He said: 'It's not conscionable disappointment with the Conservative party, determination is simply a monolithic spread connected the centre-right of British authorities and my occupation is to capable it, and that's precisely what I'm going to do.

'But it's not conscionable what we bash successful Parliament arsenic a nationalist enactment that matters, it's what we bash retired circular the country.

'Getting 5,000 radical successful that country successful Birmingham past week, the energy, the optimism, the enthusiasm, the content that Westminster is conscionable wholly retired of interaction with mean people, says to maine that my program is to physique a wide nationalist question implicit the people of the adjacent fewer years, and hopefully, it volition beryllium large capable to situation the wide predetermination decently successful 2029.'

Mr Sunak is expected to denote helium is quitting arsenic person successful the morning, though helium would enactment connected until a replacement is chosen.  

In the archetypal tangible grounds of the hammering, Labour's Heidi Alexander took ex-Cabinet curate Robert Buckland's Swindon South spot with a 9,000 majority. 

Altogether the Lib Dems are projected to get 61 MPs.

Sir Keir gave a muted absorption to the bombshell, posting connected societal media: 'To everyone who has campaigned for Labour successful this election, to everyone who voted for america and enactment their spot successful our changed Labour Party - convey you.' 

But his allies were acold little restrained, with Lord Mandelson gloating that helium was 'gobsmacked' and an 'electoral meteor' had 'struck satellite Earth'. He said it would person required a 'superman' to prevention the Tories and Rishi Sunak 'is not superman'.

Deputy Labour person Angela Rayner - who could beryllium acceptable to go lawman PM wrong hours - said the numbers were 'encouraging' and praised Sir Keir's leadership. 

Shadow wellness caput Wes Streeting was successful tears arsenic helium was told the figures connected unrecorded TV. 

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said 'the radical person voted for change'. 

Mr Anderson, who won Ashfield  successful 2019 arsenic a Conservative, defected to Nigel Farage's outfit past year. 

He gained notoriety and the nickname '30p Lee' aft arguable remarks astir the mediocre failing to fund for nutrient properly. 

He walked retired connected the Tories successful March aft refusing to apologise for arguable remarks astir London politician Sadiq Khan. The blunt-talking erstwhile ember miner started his governmental vocation arsenic a Labour councillor, earlier defecting to the Conservatives.

Speaking aft his victory, Mr Anderson told reporters: 'As I said a fewer weeks back, there's going to beryllium a reckoning connected predetermination nighttime - determination has been a seismic reckoning successful Ashfield and passim the country.

'Reform are picking up seats contiguous - marque nary bones astir it.

'Next week, I'll beryllium connected the greenish benches with Nigel and a fewer others, and we're going to springiness them hell.'

The enactment has besides seen an aboriginal boost arsenic they polled up of the Conservatives in respective seats successful the north. 

It volition pb to large questions about Rishi Sunak's determination to telephone an aboriginal election. 

And it volition origin a immense conflict for the psyche of the Conservative Party successful the weeks to come, with elder figures connected the close unfastened to immoderate signifier of link-up. 

Reform were 2nd successful Houghton and Sunderland South, pushing the Tories into 3rd place.

Reform UK campaigner Sam Woods-Brass received 11,668 votes to Conservative campaigner Chris Burnicle's 5,514.

Labour's shadiness acquisition caput Bridget Phillipson won the constituency with 18,837 votes, achieving conscionable implicit 47 per cent of the ballot stock and a bulk of 7,169.

Reform has seen akin occurrence connected the 2nd spot of the night, coming successful 2nd spot successful Blyth and Ashington with 10,857 votes, arsenic Labour secured 20,030 votes and the Tories came 3rd with 6,121 votes.

On a video posted to X, Mr Farage said: 'It's midnight, determination are 2 results successful from the northbound eastbound of England that enactment Reform connected 30 per cent of the vote, that is mode much than immoderate imaginable prediction oregon projection. It is astir unbelievable.

'And what does it mean? It means we're going to triumph seats, galore many seats I deliberation close present crossed the country.'

He added: 'This is going to beryllium six cardinal votes plus. This folks is huge.'

Dr David Bull, Reform's lawman leader, was asked connected Sky News if helium though Reform had divided the Tory vote. 

'I deliberation the Conservatives person managed to divided themselves successful half,' helium replied. 

Andrea Leadsom has said the exit canvass whitethorn bespeak it was 'wrong not to spell aft Reform consecutive away'.

The Conservatives astatine times seemed acrophobic to adjacent accidental Nigel Farage's sanction aft e U-turned connected a determination not to run, and aboriginal took clasp of the enactment reins from ex-leader Richard Tice.

Ms Leadsom, the erstwhile Tory Cabinet curate said it was a 'devastating' nighttime for her party.

She told BBC News: 'It's ne'er casual erstwhile you are the premier curate to determine erstwhile to telephone a wide election... it is simply a very, precise hard and precise idiosyncratic determination for immoderate premier minister.'

She added: 'Maybe it was incorrect not to spell aft Reform consecutive distant but again, each of these are precise cautiously thought done arsenic to what is the close attack and what we wanted to bash was absorption connected what Labour would beryllium doing with people's taxes.'

Labour is connected people for a landslide, according to the exit canvass projection, with 410 seats. The Conservatives are acceptable for conscionable 131 seats - the lowest fig Tory MPs connected record.

The exit canvass besides forecasts the Liberal Democrats connected 61 seats and The Green Party connected two.

In Scotland, the SNP are expected to unafraid jus 10 seats with Plaid Cymru successful Wales connected four. 

Ahead of polling booths closing past night, Mr Farage took to X, formerly Twitter, to taunt the Tories implicit Reform's popularity nether his leadership.

In 1 station directed astatine Rishi Sunak, helium said: 'Time to deed the panic button.'

In different post, which featured a video of him visiting a boxing gym connected the run trail, helium said: 'Let's present a knockout stroke to the governmental constitution today.'

Mr Farage besides posted a bid of single-sentence policies from Reform's manifesto designed to outflank the Tories connected the Right, including raising the inheritance taxation threshold to £2 million, scrapping stamp work connected properties worthy up to £750,000 and quitting the European Convention connected Human Rights.

Mr Farage had earlier declined to accidental what fig of MPs they would classify arsenic a win, but 13 elected representatives is higher than predictions by astir polls.

It has been said that Reform's wide but bladed enactment would not assistance their occurrence successful a first-past-the-post strategy and Mr Farage has been vocal astir the request for changes to the electoral system.

It has been said that Reform's wide but bladed enactment would not facilitate their occurrence successful a first-past-the-post strategy and Mr Farage has been vocal astir the request for changes to the electoral system.

So, the aboriginal successes volition bolster Reform's assurance arsenic Mr Farage had antecedently said this predetermination was lone the 'tip of the iceberg' for the start-up enactment arsenic they physique to bigger occurrence successful 2029.

Mr Farage's electoral cause and Reform UK councillor Peter Harris has said their enactment person is 'up for the challenge' of facing up to a Labour authorities and the exit canvass prediction of 13 seats is 'hugely exciting'.

Mr Harris told the PA quality agency: 'Anything's imaginable if capable bully decent radical privation change, past they tin ballot for it, arsenic Brexit has proved before.

'So, we were ever hoping for aggregate seats, 13 I'd similar adjacent much than that, really. So I deliberation we hold and spot erstwhile each the votes are counted we'll spot however galore we've really got, but yeah, hugely exciting.

'Obviously, I'm wholly focused connected Clacton and our campaigner here, Nigel Farage, we're highly assured that he's going to beryllium 1 of those 13 seats that gets elected to Westminster.'

On Mr Farage's imaginable interaction successful Westminster, Mr Harris said: 'He stood unsocial successful the European Parliament, and helium got the changes that helium wanted and arsenic helium said to the European Parliament that erstwhile helium archetypal got there, they laughed astatine him and past erstwhile we near helium said 'well, you're not laughing now'.

'So you know, I tin spot Nigel volition beryllium a immense dependable not conscionable for Clacton but a immense dependable for truthful galore radical successful this state that person felt abandoned and betrayed. So, yeah, I deliberation Nigel is up for the challenge.'