“Well that’s for you to judge,” cracked Nigel Farage when asked if he will be prime minister back in May.

Amid the celebrations, Mr Farage was clearly lapping up Reform UK’s success in the local elections, winning 1,454 councillor seats and taking control of 14 councils, while the party opened up a seven-point lead ahead of a languishing Labour party in the polls.

Using a racing metaphor, he said in another interview: “This [local election] for me was our Becher’s Brook.... if we cleared Becher’s Brook and landed well, we go on to win the Grand National. What is very clear to me is that our voters will stick with us now all the way through.”

With the party’s pre-election slogan “vote Reform, vote Starmer out”, Reform HQ got what they desired, but without the desired general election when Sir Keir eventually threw in the towel.

However, a subsequent rise in popularity for Labour under new prime minister Andy Burnham coupled with a resurgence in Tory support has thwarted Mr Farage, despite the securing of…