CLACTON-ON-SEA, England (Reuters): Nigel Farage, leader of the right-wing Reform UK party, won a seat in the British parliament for the first time on Friday in the seaside English town of Clacton-on-Sea, as voters deserted Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's Conservative Party.

Farage, whose career of anti-immigration, pro-Brexit campaigning has made him one of Britain's most recognisable and divisive political figures, comfortably beat the Conservative candidate Giles Watling who had previously held the seat.

His surprise entry into the election a month ago, having initially ruled out standing, boosted support for Reform UK across the country. That helped scupper Sunak's hopes of closing the gap on the centre-left Labour Party, which is on course for a huge victory.

After seven unsuccessful attempts to win a seat in parliament, Friday's victory finally puts Farage, 60, inside a political institution he has spent decades railing against and will test his ability to deliver on promises to voters.

Reform UK was predicted to win 13 seats according to the exit poll - a tiny proportion of the 650 seats, but one which Farage hopes will give him a platform to usurp the Conservatives and become the main right-of-centre opposition to Labour.

 - Reuters