Reform UK chief Nigel Farage has stated the occasion now has greater than 200,000 members and is aiming to overhaul the Labour Celebration’s whole of 309,000.
Talking to delegates at a regional convention in Wiltshire, the Clacton MP known as his occasion’s progress “truly extraordinary” since its founding in 2021 because the re-launch of the Brexit Celebration.
With the occasion’s dwell membership ticker displayed on a display screen behind him, he stated it was on the right track to change into “the biggest political party in this country”.
Picture:Reform UK chief Nigel Farage advised delegates the occasion had greater than 200,000 members. Pic: PA
“That’s our goal. That’s our aim. That’s our target,” he stated.
Reform UK is already forward of the Conservatives, who revealed in November that just about 132,000 members have been eligible to vote throughout the occasion’s management election to exchange Rishi Sunak.
Referring to final yr’s row with new Conservative chief Kemi Badenoch, when she doubted Reform’s whole membership, he stated the occasion “got people to come in and check and look at the back end, and it’s all absolutely legit”.
Reflecting on Reform UK’s fast progress, he stated: “Within the trendy world to have gotten right here this shortly, isn’t it really extraordinary?
“Doesn’t it show you something is happening in this country? People want real political leadership. They want real change. That’s what that tells you.”
The occasion polled greater than 4 million votes in final yr’s election, profitable 5 seats, together with Mr Farage’s Essex constituency.
Mr Farage, the previous head of UKIP, had dominated himself out of standing however made a U-turn after saying he had a “terrible sense of guilt” for not providing to run.
In one other signal of its rising risk to the primary events, final week, Reform UK got here prime in a ballot of people that voted Conservative on the final election.
Picture:Conservative occasion chief Kemi Badenoch doubted Reform UK’s membership claims. File pic: PA
Switching his focus to their political opponents, he declared that “when we overtake [the Labour Party], we will be the biggest political party in this country”.
The Tories had “betrayed the country with open door immigration, increased taxes, with not delivering Brexit”, he stated.
“A 10 million increase in the population of this country over the course of the last 20 years has devalued the living standards of everybody in this country,” Mr Farage added.
“It’s truly incredible. The wave of people that came under Boris Johnson from 2021, of the millions that came, only 20% are working or contributing. The rest are costing us, the taxpayer. It’s an outrage.”
Spelling out Reform UK’s key platform, he stated: “Anybody that comes right here illegally shall be deported. Easy as that.
“We’re the only party that says ‘no more population increase through immigration for many years to come’.”
Calling it “the one net zero I approve of”, he stated the UK “hasn’t got enough houses, we can’t get GP appointments, our roads are completely overloaded, our infrastructure is crumbling”.
