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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Rowena Mason Whitehall editor

Sunak faces conflicting calls over Tory path forward after bruising byelections

Reform ​​Rishi Sunak Reform UK Boris Johnson Nigel Farage Starmer Brexit UKIP United Kingdom
Rishi Sunak standing outside No 10 Downing Street
Rishi Sunak downplayed the impact of the Reform UK vote, saying the ‘actual choice’ at the general election would be between the Conservatives and Labour. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

For Reform UK to win 13% of the vote in a byelection is a long way from the heady days of Ukip taking 60% in Clacton in 2014.

However, that share of the vote was still a shock for the Conservatives on Friday morning, given that Reform is a newer party without the draw of Nigel Farage as leader or the rallying cause of Brexit behind it.

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