The poll suggests Nigel Farage will be smiling on May 2.

Reform UK are on course to make major gains at next month’s local elections – including in Labour’s Red Wall heartlands, according to a new poll.

The right-wing party will also scoop hundreds of seats at the expense of the Tories, the Survation research suggests.

Around 1,600 council seats are up for grabs in town halls across England on May 1.

Among the local authorities going to the polls are those in Hull and east Yorkshire, North Tyneside, Doncaster and Cambridgeshire.

Nearly 1,000 of the council seats are currently held by the Tories, with Labour defending 301, the Lib Dems 230, the Greens 39 and Reform 9. The remaining 147 are held by independents.

According to the Survation poll of voters in those seats for The Sun, support for Reform currently stands at 29%, with the Tories on 24% and Labour on........

© HuffPost