Reform UK faces its first electoral test since securing control of Kent County Council in May when voters go to the polls in two Dartford by-elections on Thursday.
The party, which captured 57 of 81 seats at County Hall, will contest Conservative-held wards at Maypole & Leyton Cross and Stone House.
The vacancies arose after Conservative councillors Kyle Stealey and Tom Oliver moved away from the area.
These contests come as Reform seeks to build on its dramatic county council victory, where it swept all Dartford divisions, but follows unexpected defeats in recent by-elections in Newark West and Benfieldside.
PA
|Reform UK faces its first electoral test since securing control of Kent County Council in May when voters go to the polls in two Dartford by-elections on Thursday
Dartford council remains strongly Conservative, holding 29 of 42 seats following the 2023 elections.
Conservative leader Jeremy Kite, who lost his own KCC seat in May, said he was "sorry to see Cllrs Stealey and Oliver go as they had both done a good job" for Dartford.
Reform's KCC leader Linden Kemkaran campaigned in Dartford over the weekend for candidates Stephen Ridley and James Buchan.
Labour MP Jim Dickson has been supporting his party's Stone House candidate Suneetha Giridhar, whilst David Johnson-Lang stands for Labour in Maypole and Leyton Cross.
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The Green Party launched its campaign with the slogan "It's time to give change the Green light," fielding Julian Hood and Lewis Glynn.
The recent by-elections delivered unexpected setbacks for Reform, which lost Newark West to the Conservatives by just eight votes and Benfieldside to the Liberal Democrats by 77 votes.
These defeats came despite Reform having claimed both seats in May, raising questions about the party's ability to retain support.
The party did secure one victory on the same night, gaining Tower in Suffolk from the Conservatives.
Conservative pollster Lord Hayward expressed surprise at the results, telling GB News: "I thought they might lose one. I didn't know which one, but I was surprised when they lost both."
Lord Hayward suggested that having to send voters back to the polls "did not have a good look" for Reform, adding: "They started off with a disadvantage."
He cautioned against reading too much into the results, explaining: "I wouldn't say it was a broader shift until either the polls had continued the slight downturn for a few more weeks, or they had continued not to win certain by-elections, which I would have expected them to."
Party insiders remain aware of the challenges facing Reform, which won only five MPs despite finishing second to Labour in nearly 100 constituencies.
PA | Reform Cllr Linden Kemkaran (front centre), leader of the Reform UK Kent County Council group, with the Reform UK councillors elected to Kent County Council,Meanwhile, Farage's ex-adviser Gawain Towler explained to GB News that Reform has "support everywhere, but it's not deep enough to win a first-past-the-post election".
He added: "We can shovel up the millions of votes, but unless we learn to focus effectively, that does not necessarily translate into hundreds of seats."