Reform UK, Nigel Farage’s nationalist party, wants to impose itself on the right

2 min

With our correspondent in London, Sara Menai

It is a conference which, according to Nigel Farage, must: mark the passage to adulthood ” of the Reform UK party. Criticized for its image as a far-right party and for xenophobic comments by some of its candidates campaigning for the general elections at the beginning of the summer, Nigel Farage had promised to ” professionalize » Reform UK to become the main opposition party in five years. To keep his promise, the party leader knows that he must restore his image and begin to normalize Reform UK in British political life. A “de-demonization” that therefore begins this Friday, September 20 in Birmingham.

70,000 members

The party, which now claims more than 70,000 members, estimates that this year’s conference is the biggest ever, with ticket sales more than four times those of last year. At the general election in July, Reform got 14% of the vote and elected five MPs to Parliament, a historic first. Born from the ashes of the Brexit party, which itself succeeded UKIP (formed by Nigel Farage), the far-right party convinced a certain section of the British electorate with its radical discourse on immigration.

To professionalize the party, Reform will also change its statutes. In a video posted Thursday on the social network X, Nigel Farage announced that he wanted to change the structure of the party, which currently operates like a company in which Farage holds 50% of the shares.

This Friday afternoon in Birmingham, the five Reform UK MPs will each speak before Nigel Farage delivers his keynote speech, a speech in which he will launch, he says, a ” call for change “.

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