Reform UK Tory right may be taking wrong lesson from rivals

Reform winning 13% of the vote in a byelection is a long way from the heady days of 2015 when Ukip took 60% in R Clacton.

- Rowena Mason

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

When a rightwing government has lost two byelections to a centreleft opposition, it would seem a strange response for the prime minister to veer further to the right.

But instead of considering Labour as the biggest threat, the loudest voices urging Rishi Sunak to change path were those of Jacob Rees-Mogg, a former Conservative cabinet minister, and the New Conservatives - Miriam Cates and Danny Kruger - who claimed that uniting the "Tory family" of Reform and Conservative voters was a winning strategy.