Reform UK, the party founded by Nigel Farage, now has more members than the Conservative Party, according to its leader. The party’s digital tracker indicates that membership numbers have outstripped the 131,680 total declared by the Conservatives earlier in 2022. Farage thanked supporters for helping the party to “make history” and claimed that Reform was now the “real opposition”. However, a spokesperson for the Conservative Party argued that Reform UK had helped to ensure that Labour won the last general election.
Farage hailed the success on social media, stating that “the youngest political party in British politics has just overtaken the oldest political party in the world”. Party chairman Zia Yusuf claimed that Reform had broken the Conservative Party’s “centuries-long stranglehold on the centre-right of British politics”. The mainstream party had previously announced that it had experienced a drop in membership from 172,000 during the previous leadership contest to 131,680.
While Conservative supporters appear to have been drawn to Reform, the Labour Party has, by contrast, seen its membership figures fall below 400,000 for the first time since 2015. While it still has the highest number of members in the country, such a decline is likely to worry its leaders. The reasons behind the fall in membership figures across the major parties are unclear, with one observer describing the metrics involved as “opaque and murky”.
Reform UK may celebrate its success in engaging members disillusioned with other parties, but it remains to be seen how this will translate into votes. The Conservatives have argued that a vote for Reform is effectively a vote for a Labour council, as the latter party will often benefit from splits amongst centre-right voters. Nevertheless, Reform UK’s growing popularity is a reminder that British politics remains in a state of flux, with new parties able to emerge and gain significant support in short order
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