UK election: Donald Trump congratulates Nigel Farage, ignores new PM Keir Starmer
Farage is a long-standing ally of Trump, who has dubbed the divorced father of four “Mr Brexit” and previously said the British populist would have done a “great job” as the UK’s ambassador to Washington.
US President Joe Biden called Starmer on Friday to congratulate him, the White House said.
Farage is a champion of Brexit who was elected to parliament on his eighth attempt and has made no secret of his desire to take over the now-main opposition Conservative Party, which was trounced at the polls by Labour.
“There is a massive gap on the centre-right of British politics and my job is to fill it,” he said after a comfortable win in Clacton, eastern England.
The result bucks a rightward trend among Britain’s closest allies, with the far-right National Rally in France eyeing power and Trump looking set for a return in the United States.
Farage’s win is likely to embolden the attention-grabbing populist figurehead in his long-term aim of staging a “takeover” of the Conservatives.
Millions of their voters appeared to have already switched their support to Reform, handing the Tories one of their worst-ever results.
An initial exit poll caused a stir Thursday night after predicting Reform would secure 13 seats – far exceeding forecasts in the latter stages of the campaign that it would win just a handful.
Additional reporting by Reuters