Reform’s 20 target seats include Ed Miliband’s as Farage wants ‘to scare pants off’ Labour

former advisor has revealed which areas of the country is targeting in 2025.

Gawain Towler was at Mr Farage’s side for 20 years, including during his time as leader of and , and helped get his latest party going before being sacked.

Mr Towler is still well connected with Reform UK, however, and he has told where the party is looking to make gains as the year unfolds.

Voters in are due to go to the polls for local elections on May 1. Councillors and local mayors will be picked by residents.

Reform has been doing well in the polls, drawing level with and, in some cases, taking the lead against, Labour and the .

Now, Mr Towler has said that Mr Farage is looking to ensuire it is “squeaky bum time” for Sir and Kemi Badenoch, and “scare the pants off them” by grabbing seats across the country.

The spin doctor listed areas where this could be done, such as the south west of England, where support for Reform is “starting to pick up” after a slow start. “We’re starting to cath up there,” Mr Towler said, as it was a stronger area for UKIP.

There are parts of Lancashire that are “looking strong” and could turn bright blue, too.

The Dudley area is also looking good, as is Lincolnshire, a “key target” where Conservative defector Dame Andrea Jenkin is standing to be mayor.

There’s a “more than 50% chance”, Mr Towler said, of her emerging victorious. is the MP for Boston and Skegness in the county. But Lincoln itself is thought to be out of reach.

Further, going down to Kent, Sussex border and “all along the coast”, are apparently “very, very interesting”.

As regards marginal places won by Liberal Democrat candidates and gained from at the general election, such as Somerset and Devon, Reform UK candidates are “more likely to be disrupters than we’re likely to win”, Mr Towler believes.

In the north, York, West Yorkshire and the Blackpool coast seem encouraging. In addition, the party is looking to make local gains in Labour energy secretary Ed Miliband’s patch in Doncaster.

This is because the town previously elected a English Democrat mayor, Peter Davies, who served in the post between 2009 and 2013.

“There’s a tradition of not voting Labour there”, Mr Towley said.

Hull is also a target area, as is Derbyshire – Derby’s former mayor has claimed Reform UK could be in the coming years – Staffordshire, Northamptonshire and Nottinghamshire, where Lee Anderson is the MP for Ashfield.

Other places Reform UK will be keeping an eye on include Northumberland, particularly Durham, and Sunderland. Mr Farage is set to attend Reform UK’s County Durham Conference, held at Sunderland Live in Houghton le Spring on February 1.

These event locations are “not accidental”, Mr Towley said.

The party’s success, he added, would be driven by its membership, which now numbers more than 187,000, according to Reform’s live ticker.

That at least 30,000 of these used to be Tory members Mr Towley thinks is a “reasonable assumption”. Regional organisers are now employed full-time by the party, whereas before they received a monthly stipend.

The traditional parties are gripped by “inertia”, Mr Towley claimed. He added: “More [Reform UK] people get involved. They’re interested, and far more likely to be very active.

“You still need the infantry to take the territory.”

Reform is also focusing on possible future by-elections. A vote in Runcorn and Helsby is looking likely after Mike Amesbury was suspended from the Labour Party after admitting assault.

Reform teams are said to be going out in the constituency every day already. The party is also anticipating a by-election in Hertsmere, where Oliver Dowden is the MP.

This is because it is believed that Mr Dowden might be getting a peerage. The same goes for Julian Smith in Skipton and Ripon.

“We’re things this seriously,” Mr Towley said. “All of these are bloody hard for us. That doesn’t mean we can’t win.”

Express.co.uk approached Reform UK for comment.