The queues for the Reform UK conference in Birmingham at the 10am opening time on Friday were biblical, and the party’s Messiah hadn’t even arrived yet. It would be another two hours before there was any sign of party leader Nigel Farage at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC).
In July’s UK election, Farage led Reform, if not to the promised land, then at least to the House of Commons. It won five seats, a breakthrough for the anti-immigration outfit. Friday’s gathering was post-election party time, in every sense. Reform told cheering members in the main arena that it believed it could win the next election.
The organisers claimed there were 4,000 at the Birmingham event, which felt busier than the conference last week of the Liberal Democrats. The lengthy queues at NEC’s bar and restaurant (menu: two types of kebab) also suggested Reform’s lofty attendance claim wasn’t too outlandish. The party later announced it had reached 80,000 members — again, close in size to the Lib Dems.
The Lib Dems last week had been celebrating a record 72 seats, won with fewer votes than Reform. It isn’t hard to see why Farage believes his insurgent movement has plenty of political headroom left.
Like any party conference, there was one rule for the hoi polloi and another for the elite, even at anti-elite Reform. The NEC’s separate Lakeside entrance for holders of platinum tickets (cost: £1,025) was a queue-free zone while ordinary punters braved long lines around the corner.
While the crowd waited for their hero Farage, there were other celebrity draws, of sorts. Jim Davidson, the comedian who garlanded 1990s television screens as the host of snooker gameshow Big Break, arrived through the platinum entrance. His burly companion (possibly a minder — Davidson isn’t universally loved in Britain for his political views) looked miffed they were put through security. Davidson was nonplussed. “Right,” he declared after entering. “Where’s the Smirnoff bar?”
The NEC arena was near capacity as official proceedings started at noon. The crowd was mostly, but not exclusively, older, mostly white, and well turned-out compared to some of the earthier crowds of its pre-election rallies. The organisers of the NEC gig imposed a dress code, including “no studded collars”. A 4ft-high fence kept the crowd from the stage, in case of troublemakers.
The crowd heard from tub-thumping speakers such as new MP James McMurdock and old warrior Ann Widdecombe, who roused the room with a speech laced with anti-immigration rhetoric. Lee Anderson, the MP who defected from the Tories, also spoke to fawning acclaim.
Outside in the main concourse during lunch, members queued for pictures with Joseph Afrane, an immigrant from Ghana wearing an extravagant suit, St George’s flag shirt and Union Jack shades. Afrane said he worked 14 hours per day as a security guard. He began his journey to Reform during Brexit. He was previously a member of Labour and is now a British citizen.
“This country has been generous to me,” he said. “So I want to be generous back. Immigrants can come here, but they have to abide by the rules.”
Zia Yusuf (37), the millionaire Scottish-born son of Sri Lankan immigrants, and who now bankrolls and chairs Reform, gave an upbeat speech about efforts to get the party ready for the next election and the prospect of “prime minister Farage”.
And then it was time.
Farage left much of the fist-waving about immigration to others. Instead, he focused heavily on his plans to “professionalise” the party and push for the next election. Reform votes on a new constitution on Saturday.
“This weekend is when Reform comes of age,” said Farage. He insisted Reform members represented Britain’s “silent, decent majority”. The room erupted.
Reform clearly plans to make even more noise in the years to come.
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