General election 2024: SDLP leader Colum Eastwood likens Reform to a 'neo-fascist party'

The results are still being confirmed but in some constituencies in Great Britain Reform (led by Nigel Farage and twinned with the TUV in Northern Ireland) have gained in excess of 20% of the share of the vote.

An Ipsos exit poll reported by the BBC puts it on course to win 13 seats – beating the SNP to become the fourth biggest party in Parliament, behind the traditional big three.

When he arrived at the count centre in Magherafelt in the early hours of the morning, SDLP leader Mr Eastwood praised the unfolding Labour landslide.

Asked about the Reform surge, he said it was a result of “the Tory Party totally collapsing and being all over the place and not knowing what they were for – and indulging the right wing and the worst elements of politics".

He continued: “And that’s why we end up in these situations with sort of neo-fascist parties doing well.”

Asked if he was saying Reform is a “neo-fascist party”, he replied: “I’m saying they indulge in the rhetoric that is very similar to neo-fascist politics.”