As Reform UK heads into Thursday’s local elections, opponents are turning to desperate measures to stem the party's momentum. Nigel Farage’s party has consistently been ahead of both Labour and the Conservatives in polls ahead of voting this week, with large gains expected across the country.
Now, some are attempting to coordinate tactical voting in order to stunt Reform’s progress at the ballot box. An X account called “Reform Party UK Exposed” posted over the weekend saying: “HOW TO KEEP REFORM OUT IN YOUR AREA… Great tool just launched – Vote tactically in the May 1st local elections:”
Linked in the post is a website available at stopreformuk.vote, which appears to be a tactical voting tool for voters to understand how to vote “against” Reform most effectively on their ballot.
Tactical voting involves casting a ballot for a party one would otherwise not support, but which stands the best chance of stopping another party from winning.
The tweet's link leads to a website that describes itself as “a tactical voting tool by The Movement Forward.”
This organisation describes itself as a movement aimed at “mobilising voters to show up and vote tactically at scale”, while advocating for a “progressive alliance”, meaning “opposition parties working together to win the next election”.
The StopReformUK site invites users to enter their postcode in order to find out “how to keep the Tories and Reform out in your area”.
It offers alternative candidates to vote for, including in mayoralities where Reform is a major contender on Thursday, such as Greater Lincolnshire and Hull.
Instead of Reform candidates, former Conservative minister Andrea Jenkyns in Greater Lincolnshire and retired boxer Luke Campbell in Hull and East Yorkshire, the website instructs voters to support the Labour and Liberal Democrat candidates, respectively.
Users can browse by party to find out in which areas to vote Labour.
The post on X prompted a range of responses, with many criticising the effort.
One user said it was “panic stations, Star Troopers”, referring to Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, while another said “you lefties will do anything to win”.
A third user added: “The irony is palpable. Those who once championed ‘listening to the people’ now dismiss Reform UK supporters as mere malcontents. Perhaps if mainstream parties hadn’t treated voter concerns as inconvenient truths, there’d be no need for alternatives.”
Richard Cleaver, an independent councillor on Lincolnshire County Council, replied to the post: “Not a great tool, I’m sorry to say.”
Also being held on Thursday is the Runcorn and Helsby by-election, called after Mike Amesbury’s resignation following his conviction earlier this year for assaulting a constituent.
Sir Keir Starmer faces his first by-election since the general election in what had been a safe Labour seat, but is now hotly contested with Reform.
