Particle.news
Download on the App Store
19 ARTICLES
·
5d ago

Reform UK Shows Clout at Biggest Conference as Farage Courts Experience, Shuns Boris Johnson

The gathering doubled as a recruitment drive for seasoned figures to plug Reform’s inexperience.

Image
Nigel Farage with supporters on the final day of the Reform UK party conference (Photo: Oli Scarff/AFP)
Reform is increasing its support across the UK, including in Wales

Overview

  • Reform held its largest-ever conference at Birmingham’s NEC, rolling out slick staging, heavy merchandising and celebrity turns including Marlon and Jackie Jackson, plus a main‑stage song by Mayor Andrea Jenkyns.
  • Former Conservative minister Nadine Dorries defected and appeared on stage with Nigel Farage after declaring the Tory party “dead,” though some Reform activists voiced unease about taking in more ex‑Tories.
  • Farage told the BBC that Boris Johnson would not be welcome in Reform, blaming the former prime minister for a surge in legal migration, a stance echoed by policy chief Zia Yusuf.
  • Acknowledging a lack of governing experience, Farage said Dorries brings needed heft and predicted more former Tory ministers would join, as Jacob Rees‑Mogg offered to advise without defecting.
  • Headline pledges such as deporting 600,000 asylum seekers tied to quitting the ECHR drew legal warnings over the Good Friday Agreement, even as the party touted roughly 240,000 members and polling near 30%.