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Chris_Mason_Reform_conference_shows_partys_growing_ambition_like_never_before.txt
Reform conference shows party's growing ambition like never before4 days agoShareSaveChris MasonPolitical editorShareSavePA/ShutterstockThis is conrad cassino e hotel em punta del estethe most fascinating party conference I have ever been to.Yes, I am an insufferable nerd: I have been coming to things like this for 20 years.I have been to Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat, Scottish National Party, UKIP and Green Party conferences.Firstly, an admission. I arrived late here.I'm blaming Angela Rayner and the government reshuffle that followed her resignation, which meant I had to be in London on Friday.What is fascinating about this gathering is it illustrates the pace of growth of Reform UK.It is a vastly bigger gathering than the party had last year.It now feels like a big party conference - but retains the insurgency vibe that the party is seeking to channel.That is the unique combination I have never seen before.Farage puts spotlight on Labour woes at Reform UK conferenceWe must be ready for early election, Nigel Farage tells partyScaling up while holding onto that newbie energy will be a challenge.We got a sense of that at the conference with two moments.I have written here about the party having to pretty much disown remarks by the cardiologist Aseem Malhotra about the Royal family, cancer and Covid vaccines.The party had chosen to give Malhotra a platform at their conference.And the decision to give a platform to Lucy Connolly, who was jailed for stirring up racial hatred on X.Is she an appropriate guest given the crime she admitted to?The party argues there is a live and very legitimate debate to be had over the appropriateness or otherwise of her sentence and that was the conversation they were having.Two examples of the judgement calls Reform has to make - how to remain distinctive and anti-establishment, while expanding and broadening their appeal.UKIP in its pomp had an insurgency feel about it, but its focus was much narrower and it was never talked of as a potential government.Its conferences, at Doncaster Racecourse, Exeter and Torquay among other places, were proudly rather homespun in feel.This year, Reform has hired Birmingham's NEC.It is huge and it would be easy to leave a sense of rattling around in a tin in here, but it is busy.I recognise one of the big catering trucks in here from one of the other party's conferences.The corporate lounge sponsored by Heathrow Airport is another staple of the big conferences.So far, so conventional, if you like – for a big party.But then I spot a queue of folk waiting for Nigel Farage to sign their light blue Reform UK football shirt, bought at the nearby merchandise shop.The number 10 and Farage on the back of them all is not exactly subtle about this movement's ambitions.Can you imagine Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch, Ed Davey or John Swinney pulling that off?Not in a million years.ReutersFootball shirts with Farage 10 printed on the back proved popular with the Reform activistsIn another corner of the main exhibition hall are 10 stands, each representing a region of England or a nation of the UK.They are indicative of the growth and professionalising Reform is attempting at lightning speed – setting up the local branch network and army of volunteers a successful national political party requires.It's the unglamorous side of politics, a long way from the whizzy pyrotechnics of Nigel Farage's conference speech, but arguably more important.A couple from Suffolk stop for a chat.They have never been to a party conference before and had never been in a political party until they joined Reform recently.Another couple from Glasgow tell a similar story.There are plenty of sharp-suited young men about too.Two blokes having lunch together call me over. One recently worked for a Labour MP, the other had been a lifelong Conservative voter.Those with a former political affiliation are disproportionately disgruntled Conservatives, but not exclusively.All around us flutter the party's banner and the conference's slogan: "The Next Step."And those three words get to the essence of this: the story of Reform's momentum has been the stand out political development of the last year.But can they keep growing - and, ultimately, can they win the next general election?"Can't stop, won't stop" is the mantra of the party's senior figures privately, as their membership numbers tick towards a quarter of a million.And as an indicator of their seriousness of purpose, what did Nigel Farage plead for in his closing address from his activists?Was he tub thumping and cracking gags?Not a bit of it."Discipline" is what he wants.Activists who disagree in private, not in public. Activists willing to stand as council candidates.Nigel Farage has a focus and sense of purpose I haven't seen in the best part of two decades of reporting on him.He sees an opportunity the like of which he has never seen before.Nigel FarageReform UK
