Reform UK will ‘resist’ asylum seekers being housed in the counties now under the party’s control - including in Staffordshire. Leader Nigel Farage made the statement as he celebrated more than 600 seats and taking control of 10 local authorities in Thursday’s local elections.

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.

The upstart Reform UK party has emerged as a serious contender in British politics. The anti-immigrant populist movement has overtaken the main Conservative opposition to jostle with the ruling Labour Party for the lead in opinion polls,