Reform UK Wins 5th Seat After Recount in Basildon South and Thurrock

Reform UK has won a fifth seat in parliament after a recount in Basildon South and East Thurrock gave candidate James McMurdock victory over Labour by just 98 votes. The former Conservative MP for the Essex seat saw his vote collapse from 29,973 in 2019 to 10,159, and although Labour’s candidate Jack Ferguson increased his vote from 10,051 to 12,080 it was not enough to overhaul Mr. McMurdock. Reform’s leader Nigel Farage said Mr. McMurdock had been a “paper candidate,” a term used in politics for a candidate who is considered to have no real chance of winning. In a video posted on X, Mr. Farage said: “Our candidate James McMurdock was a paper candidate, drafted in at the last minute, former City boy, and he was absolutely neck and neck with Labour.”...