Reform loses Dudley council seat to Labour by just TWO votes after Restore Britain takes 159 ballots

Reform UK's defeat in the Dudley St James's ward came after Labour's support surged by 16.2 per cent, pushing the party to 38 per cent as Andy Burnham's polling bounce rippled through the result. Reform's share fell by 11 per cent, leaving Farage's party just two votes short of holding on in a seat it won in May's sweeping local gains.

Restore Britain, Rupert Lowe's splinter party, finished a distant fourth with 6.9 per cent — 159 ballots that Reform says directly handed Labour victory.

Farage had warned Restore supporters days earlier that the party would be 'competitive in one seat' while Reform could fight 'hundreds', urging them to return as the only centre-right force capable of beating Labour.

Richard Tice fired back with a blunt warning: 'Vote Restore, get Labour.'