Reform UK has made another giant leap towards breaking Britain’s two-party political system after surpassing the Tories in terms of signed-up members.
The populist party, which is setting its sights on sending Nigel Farage to No10 in 2029, confirmed its total membership soared past the 131,680 paid grassroots Conservative base earlier today.
Responding to the milestone moment, Farage said: “This is a big, historic moment. The youngest political party in British politics has just overtaken the oldest political party in the world. Reform UK are now the real opposition.”
Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf added: “History has been made today, as the centuries-long stranglehold on the centre-right of British politics by the Tories has finally been broken. Nigel Farage will be the next Prime Minister, and will return Britain to greatness.”
Reform UK soars past Tories in monumental membership milestone as Farage hails late Christmas gift
REFORM UK/PA/GETTY
Having only exceeded 100,000 members following the defection of ex-Tory MP Dame Andrea Jenkyns in late November, Yusuf has looked to rapidly grow the revamped Brexit Party.
An under-25 membership deal helped attract thousands of young Britons, with the creation of hundreds of local associations also attracting support.
Reform UK only had 40,000 members ahead of Farage’s comeback as leader in June 2024, with the Brexit stalwart’s return handing the right-wing party an exponential growth rate of 300 per cent in just eight months.
The return of Farage gave Reform UK an almost immediate 25,000 boost, with the total membership figure hitting 75,000 in August 2024.
As part of a plan to only further festive celebrations, Reform UK had tried to nudge supporters to sign up in the early afternoon on Christmas Day.
In an email seen by GB News, Farage said: “Are you bored yet? Are family tensions starting to get a bit too much? The fact that you’re on your phone right now probably says it all! Why not do something positive? Visit Reform UK’s website and join our rapidly growing movement. Together, we can save our country. Britain is broken, Britain needs Reform.”
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Reform UK membership has officially overtaken the Tory party
Reform UK
In a separate social media push to reach the milestone target on December 25, Yusuf added: “Can we make it a Christmas miracle? Please take a moment. Think of someone you know who supports us, and WhatsApp/text them the below link encouraging them to join. There will never be a better day!”
Analysis conducted by GB News in early November initially suggested that Reform UK would likely overtake the Tories in mid-February.
However, the People’s Channel estimated that just 114,672 people would sign up by the end of 2024, almost 20,000 short of the current total.
In last year’s Tory leadership race, just 95,000 votes were cast, giving the contest an overall turnout of just 73 per cent.
The number of people signed up to the Conservative Party suffered a sudden collapse after 2021 when 200,000 people were signed up into grassroot Tory ranks.
Conservative membership peaked at 2.8 million in the early 1950s and still stood at 250,000 in 2005.
Labour’s membership appears somewhat out of reach for Reform UK at the moment, totalling 366,604 in March 2024.
Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf
REUTERS
However, Labour is facing a similar crisis to the Tories, with an enormous drop since Jeremy Corbyn stood down as Leader of the Opposition in March 2020.
Despite leading Labour to electoral oblivion in 2019, Labour’s membership reached 532,000 at the end of Corbyn’s tenure.
Reform UK, which returned five MPs in the 2024 General Election after receiving 14.4 per cent of the vote, also far outnumbers the Liberal Democrats in terms of members.
There are just 90,000 people signed up as paying members of the Liberal Democrats, with around 60,000 enlisting into the Green Party’s grassroot ranks.
Reform UK’s milestone moment also means the populist party’s signed-up members dwarf the 40,000 who joined Ukip at its 2014 high point.
Despite membership emerging as a recent priority, Reform UK is also focusing its efforts on filling its coffers ahead of the 2029 General Election.
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Nick Candy, who defected from the Tories earlier this month to become Reform UK’s Treasurer, met with Elon Musk at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home after the Tesla CEO was rumoured to be considering bankrolling the populist party.
Sir Keir Starmer’s Government had initially been mulling over ways to prevent Musk’s donation.
Despite opening the door to changing rules around donations in the future, Commons Leader Lucy Powell later confirmed Starmer has no “immediate plans” to introduce such changes.
At the 2024 Reform UK conference in Birmingham, Farage also made it clear that the populist party must alter its campaigning strategy to maximise its chances of entering power.
Farage, who ended his electoral hoodoo to become MP for Clacton last July, even urged supporters to mimic the Liberal Democrats.
The Liberal Democrats tend to launch well-targeted local campaigns in a move which proves particularly beneficial in by-elections and when tactical voting remains a priority for disgruntled voters
Nigel Farage surrounded by supporters whilst on the campaign trail in Clacton
PA
A major test could come in May when Reform UK hopes to win hundreds of council seats across England in the 2025 Local Elections.
However, Starmer could derail Farage’s momentum-building ambitions by axing a number of contests as part of his move to integrate local authorities.
Farage recently likened the Prime Minister to former Zimbabwean dictator Robert Mugabe after it emerged that Thurrock Council would request imminent polls get postponed to a later date.
He said: “This [is] outrageous. Keir Starmer is behaving like Robert Mugabe.”
Yusuf added: “So all but confirmed: Labour and the Tories have colluded to undermine democracy and cancel local elections.
“The establishment is terrified of Reform. All they do is delay the inevitable. The turquoise tidal wave will only grow larger.”
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Kemi Badenoch walks with her team through the Birmingham International Conference centre
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There are concerns the decision will impact other Reform UK target authorities, including Essex and Southend-on-Sea.
The move will also likely come as a sigh of relief for Kemi Badenoch’s Tories who are defending around 1,300 wards won in Boris Johnson’s history-busting 2021 high-point.
Opinion polls show Tory support has almost halved since 2021, with a modest boost since July 4 leaving the Conservative Party level with Labour on around 26 per cent.
Reform UK is narrowing the gap on 22 per cent as the Liberal Democrats rake in 11 per cent and Green Party support stands at around eight-points.
Despite Labour and Tory voters switching to Reform UK since July 4, Conservative defectors have been the ones putting a grin on Farage’s face as 2024 comes to a close.
Conservative commentator Tim Montgomerie and Suella Braverman’s husband Rael were among the high-profile defectors to enlist into Reform UK’s ranks.
Long-standing Tory donor Sir John Hall was also unveiled as the populist party’s Life President after briefly flirting with backing Robert Jenrick’s leadership bid.
