Reform UK are continuing to prove they are a lethal political force in the UK after a historic night in the local by-elections. Nigel Farage's party has achieved huge gains in the early stages of counting - with more results set to be announced later today.

Sarah Pochin won the key battle for Runcorn and Helsby to become Reform's fifth MP in Parliament. The North West constituency was previously the 49th-safest Labour seat in the nation. Pochin was able to overturn their hefty majority to claim the seat by just six votes from Karen Shore.

The 56-year-old was first elected as a Cheshire East councillor for the Conservatives in 2015. She was expelled by the Tories in 2020 before being elected as mayor from 2021 to 2022.

Pochin also spent 20 years as a Justice of the Peace. She also worked in the DIY industry and for companies in the energy and chemicals sector.

Pochin previously said the Reform party stood for "family, community and country". These are values which she had "dedicated her life" to upholding.

After her victory in Runcorn and Helsby, Pochin spoke about solving key issues such as immigration and the cost of living. She described immigration as "massive", adding people across the constituency "feel unsafe" because of illegal immigrants.

Meanwhile, she said she will "prioritise" local facilities across the area. These include a potential leisure centre and cinema for residents.

Speaking on GB News, Pochin said: "Immigration is massive here. Runcorn feels like a dumping ground for illegal immigrants. We’ve had the Derby Hotel. We’ve got houses and multiple occupancy, it’s a big issue.

"People feel unsafe on the streets in certain parts of the constituency because of that. That’s definitely something and as you know, it’s very much part of our agenda to tackle that problem.

"There’s also a general feeling of the cost of living going up. There’s no public facilities in this constituency. Some of my priorities will be to look at that. There’s no leisure centre here for people.

"There’s no cinema so families are having to go over the bridge. There’s a lot of work to do here and it’s long overdue that someone stood up for the people here of Runcorn and Helsby."

Nigel Farage said the result showed Reform were "not a protest party". He said: "Thirty years ago, Parliament was full of people like [Sarah Pochin] that had successful careers, as she's had in business, in politics, in judiciary and now there are very few of them.

"We're putting candidates up, getting people elected with real life experience and that's what voters want."