Mayoral election 2024: Reform UK candidate gets seat on London Assembly
Reform UK candidate Alex Wilson has become the first party member elected to the London Assembly.
Reform UK candidate Alex Wilson has become the first party member elected to the London Assembly.
Wilson, Reform’s parliamentary spokesman for Ilford North, was elected as a London-wide assembly member in what the party described as a “major breakthrough”.
In a video posted to X, formerly Twitter, Wilson said: “I’m delighted to say I’ve been elected to the London Assembly where I will work to hold Sadiq Khan to account on ULEZ, on crime on housing, on all these important issues.
“But above all, I want to thank everybody in London who voted Reform UK on Thursday for giving me this fantastic opportunity. I won’t let you down.”
It comes as the local election results as a whole saw Labour win 1,140 council seats, an increase of more than 200; while the Liberal Democrats beat the Tories into second place, winning 521 seats, up nearly 100.
The Tories are now just behind on 513 seats, down nearly 400; and independent candidates won 228 seats, down 28.
The Greens have won 181, up 64, while Reform UK won two, down one.
The party secured its first MP earlier this year when Lee Anderson joined Richard Tice’s outfit – but despite growing support in the polls it has not yet translated its backing into a trend towards securing council seats.
Wilson stood for the Greater London Authority (GLA), London’s regional devolved governing body, in Havering and Redbridge.
The assembly elects members both at constituency level and London-wide, based on the party’s overall vote share.
Howard Cox of pressure group FairFuel UK stood as Reform’s mayoral candidate and secured fifth place with 78,865 votes.
