Former Tory MP and Boris Johnson pal Andrea Jenkyns wins mayoral race for Reform UK

Tory defector Dame Andrea Jenkyns has become mayor of Greater Lincolnshire in a big win for .

The divisive ex-MP, who last year after being kicked out at the , won 104,133 votes. She comfortably beat the Tories, who came second with 64,585.

Dame Andrea became Reform's first mayor on a breakthrough night for her new party. In a spiky speech she lashed out at her opponents, accusing rivals of dirty tricks to discredit her. And she also claimed asylum seekers should be forced to live in tents. Dame Andrea said: "I've never experienced such negativity and soul destroying campaigns against me like this one.

"It was soul destroying. The dirty tricks in the US politics, I believe it's now being imported here into Britain. The Conservatives called the police on me and implied I slept with political friends.

"They contacted the mainstream media to smear me. The Independent's husband pushed for a hearing at the council. My barrister had to represent me. The case was dismissed."

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The new mayor, who was a key ally of , is arguably best known for giving protesters the middle finger as she arrived for the shamed PM's resignation speech in 2022. But she is now an enthusiastic member of Team Nigel, saying of the leader: "I know one day he will make a magnificent Prime Minister."

Throwing red meat to Reform supporters during her acceptance speech, she suggested forcing asylum seekers to live in tents rather than hotels. The new mayor said: "We will tackle illegal migration, we've been working on policies.

"I say no to putting people in hotels. Tents are good enough for France, they should be good enough for here in Britain."

Right-winger Dame Andrea was a thorn in Rishi Sunak's side during his leadership. She sparked anger at the general election when she included two pictures of herself with Nigel Farage in her election leaflets, but none with her party leader.

Asked how long she had been thinking about defecting, given her Tory campaign leaflets, she said: “I always like to push the boundaries and be a bit cheeky.”

She claimed before the general election that tycoon Arron Banks offered her £80,000 to defect – which the party has denied. She also insisted she would not join Reform UK in a social media clip two months before joining the party.

Mr Banks missed out on becoming a Reform mayor, but it has been a big night for Mr Farage. His party won the Runcorn and Helsby by-election by six votes.

The Reform leader said: "It's been a huge night for Reform. One or two near misses in the mayoral contests but a huge night for Reform."

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