Reform UK has parked its tanks on the outer London lawn, writes Henry Riley

The party has made large inroads in Outer London, and the prospect of Reform UK being in control of a council in the capital would have been an improbable prospect a year or so ago. But they’ve beaten the odds, again.

Flanked by a sea of turquoise rosettes, the party won 39 out of the 55 seats on offer, a whopping 70 per cent of the total.

Mr Farage couldn’t help but beam when I told him that the Conservatives - who won 23 seats at this authority in 2022 - had won zero seats.

With a glint in his eye, he boasted that Kemi Badenoch’s Tories would “cease to be a national political party”.

But when the celebrations have dissipated, unctuous supporters return to their daily lives, Reform will have to carve out a narrative that they can govern in places like this. The hard work starts now.

Previously criticised for the running of Reform-majority authorities like Kent and Nottinghamshire, Havering gives Farage the chance for a clean break with other authorities and to display a shop window of how Reform can govern.

However, that will be far from easy. The challenges here are vast.

He is flocked wherever he goes on the London-Essex border by adoring supporters, but this is a volatile, impatient and frustrated electorate who expect ‘action this day’.

Adult and children's social care, coupled with homelessness, makes up 70 per cent of the council's expenditure. The authority is in huge financial difficulties, with a mounting debt pile, and the electorate's glaring gaze will be felt by the party’s hierarchy.

There’s also the small issue of whether Havering should remain part of London. Romford’s Reform MP Andrew Rosindell advocates for a vote on ‘Hexit’ (Havering exit), with Nigel Farage telling me today “there are many many here who feel their association is with Essex”.

His starting 11 here (or 39, technically) includes hugely experienced London Assembly bruiser Keith Prince (who is likely to lead the council), 2 pub landlords, a clergyman, and even a former 2002 Big Brother contestant who came third, beating Alison Hammond.

His merry band here are clearly committed and hungry, but whether some are out of their depth will become clear in the months to come.

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Henry Riley is a Presenter and Reporter for LBC.

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