LONDON -- The hard-right party Reform UK led by Nigel Farage won a seat in Parliament by a handful of votes and looked set to make more gains in results Friday from local elections the party hopes will show it is a major player in British politics.

Britain's right-wing Reform UK party won a vacant parliamentary seat, two mayoralties and control of several councils on Friday in early results from elections that its leader Nigel Farage said proved it was now the real opposition.

Reform UK has hit 230,000 members in a milestone for Nigel Farage's party. It comes after the party gained more than 600 seats and took control of 10 local authorities in last week's local elections.