From a former police station in a small English town, a handful of right-wing campaigners used little more than a WhatsApp group to mount a challenge to the century-long dominance of Britain's big two parties at last year's election.
The ramshackle operation secured the populist Reform U.K. party the third-biggest vote share and five parliamentary seats. It also convinced its leader, Brexit veteran Nigel Farage, he had to professionalize the party, and fast.
Now a predicted big win for Reform in Thursday's local elections could see it become a credible right-wing force that could overtake the long-dominant Conservatives to become the main challenger to the governing Labour Party at the next national election.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.