Nigel Farage dealt blow as shock Green victory exposes the real cost of split on the Right

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Many right-of-centre voters argue that the Conservative Party, Reform UK and Restore Britain should merge, form a pact, or work together

Nigel Farage has been handed a major blow after a shock Green Party by-election victory has exposed the real cost of the split on the Right.

The Guston, Kingsdown & St Margarets-at-Cliffe ward by-election for the Dover District Council was up for grabs yesterday, with six candidates putting their hat in the ring.

Right-wing parties won 55.3 per cent of the vote, with Reform achieving 27.5 per cent.

However, in a disastrous result for Mr Farage, the Green Party won by a narrow 1.2 per cent.

Zack Polanski's party achieved 28.8 per cent, with candidate retired GP Ingrid Dodd winning the ward due to a split on the Right.

The Tories fell by a massive 16 per cent from their 2023 vote share but still garnered 17.1 per cent.

Restore Britain won 10.7 per cent, confirming political commentators' fears that, despite Britons increasingly turning to right-wing parties, support remains fractured.

It is yet another example of the divided right-wing vote handing areas of Britain to Labour, Liberal Democrats and the Greens after local contests across Berkshire, Cheshire and Hertfordshire were won by the left.

In Hemel Hempstead's Apsley & Corner Hall, the Liberal Democrats were victorious in their bid to bat off rivals with some 33 per cent of the vote.

However, with the Tories on 18 per cent and Reform UK on 25 per cent, a joint ticket on the right could allow an easy 10-point lead for the blue parties.

In Cippenham Green in Slough, the Greens were able to sneak a win with a mere five votes at the ballot box, booting out the Tories from their long-held seat.

The Conservative Party lost 19.9 per cent of their vote, while Reform UK picked up 19.5 per cent of local support.

Together, with almost 40 per cent of the vote, the right-wing vote would annihilate the Green Party's 24 per cent vote share.

In Christleton & Huntington (Cheshire West & Chester), the Conservatives were able to cling on to their seat with 32.9 per cent of the vote share – despite the Greens hot on their heels with 30.4 per cent.

Again, with Reform UK's extra 17.2 per cent of the vote, the Blues would catapult Zack Polanski's party out of the ward.

On the national level, a new poll of more than 10,000 people has revealed that Mr Farage's Reform UK would win the most seats if a general election were held today, with 227 MPs.

The Survation poll puts Labour in second with 197 seats, having revelled in a "Burnham bounce" in recent weeks as the new Prime Minister appeared to rapidly win back the faith of public opinion.

Shockingly, the Lib Dems would win 72 seats, while Kemi Badenoch's Conservatives would be behind with 71 - further pointing to the "death" of two-party politics in Britain.

The SNP would win 46 seats, while Zack Polanski's Green Party would have a measly four MPs.

Having won the contest at the Clacton by-election earlier this month, Mr Farage appears to be well on his way to winning back public faith ahead of the next general election.

According to pollsters, Reform's margins are thin despite the party's improving popularity, with just 100 of its seats considered safe.

Tactical voting could also prove an obstacle, with fierce rivalry on the right side of politics among Reform, Restore Britain and the Tories.

Commentators have proposed the "unite the right" move in a bid to avoid votes splitting across the three parties and handing Labour a win in 2029.

However, the idea seems far from reality as Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe took to social media to celebrate his party coming 5th.

He wrote: Restore Britain is six months old - we just achieved our best over election result outside of Great Yarmouth. 11 per cent for Jez Hermer in Guston, Kingsdown and St Margaret’s-at-Cliffe by-election in Dover. Massively outperforming national polling.

"No other party has shown such rapid growth - we are the fastest growing political party in British history. Other parties have historic support to rely on. We have none. Every single one of those votes was earned by Jez and his team.

Mr Lowe added: "I offered to work with Reform, on the correct policy platform. They refused. The offer remains on the table, but the Reform leadership have made it clear they will not work with us. That is their choice. Restore Britain is on the march."

It comes after Mr Lowe proposed an alliance that aimed to unite the two right-wing forces.

However, an agreement was never reached due to ideological demands and leadership clashes.