Can Nigel Farage’s new party, Reform, grow up?

Reform UK is fielding candidates in all 62 seats on Staffordshire County Council on 1 May .

The local elections will be the party’s first big test of how solid these numbers are.

Reform is tied with Labour in the polls, with the Tories a few points behind; all three hover around 20 to 25%.

Without Reform, the Conservatives would have won at least 50 more MPs, says Deltapoll .

Reform has taken every opportunity to present itself as the de facto opposition.

In December , the party’s membership numbers overtook that of the Tories .

It has lured over several Conservative defectors, most notably Andrea Jenkyns , who is running to be mayor of Lincolnshire .

Reform is running a national-focused campaign in the Runcorn and Helsby by-election.

But there are still doubts over its ability to govern.

Farage’s closeness with Donald Trump and admiration for Vladimir Putin remain a liability.