Reform UK set out ‘immediate focus’ as big test just months away

In a letter to activists in the bastion of populist politics, Reform UK’s East of England branch said: “Our immediate focus is the Local Elections in May 2025, whether they are County Council elections or Borough/District Council we need as many Candidates as possible to stand for Reform UK.”

Three out of five of Reform UK’s MPs represent seats in the East of England, including Nigel Farage in Clacton.

Reform UK received 496,238 votes across the region, representing 17.5 per cent of the vote.

However, the latest recruitment drive comes after Reform UK were at loggerheads with its vetting company.

The populist party had several hiccups with candidates, including a man being suspended for inactivity who was later revealed to be dead.

Two candidates even defected to the Tories following an investigation uncovering racist remarks by an activist in Clacton.

Other candidates lost Reform UK's support ahead of July 4 for controversial comments about black people and Channel crossing migrants.

The latest announcement also comes after Reform UK underperformed in the 2024 local elections.

The populist party gained just two seats, both in Havant, as it fielded candidates in just 12 per cent of wards.

Reform UK put up 323 candidates out of the 2,655 contested wards, well-below the 1,646 fielded by the Green Party.

Ukip previously elected 202 Councillors in 2015, just one year after returning 166 to the local level.

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Speaking to GB News ahead of May’s local elections, a Reform UK insider said: “We will do what we can but it certainly isn’t our focus.”

Reform UK instead fielded a “glut” as the local elections remain a “secondary interest” to the populist party.

“We are fielding hundreds of candidates across the country alongside a number of Mayoral candidates,” a Reform UK spokesperson added.

“Reform UK’s priority is the upcoming General Election.

“As a new and emerging political force in the UK we are prioritising our resources to break through the first past the post system.”

Reform UK is now looking ahead to the future as the populist party sets its sights on mounting a “reverse takeover” of the Tory Party.

Essex, Norfolk, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire all have county council seats up for grabs, with Hampshire and Kent also looking fruitful for the populist party.

Doncaster and the Isle of Wight could also deliver a Reform UK tidal wave as both areas witnessed a surge in support on July 4.

A Reform UK insider also recently revealed to GB News that Wales could also see the populist party make inroads in 2026, with Labour having a controversial legacy in Cardiff Bay and the Principality voting for Brexit.

Reform UK finished second in 13 out of Wales' 32 constituencies, with Farage’s candidates also doing enough to cost the Tories as many as eight others.

A source said: “We’re going to be a major threat. Once we establish ourselves in Westminster, there will be a major focus on devolved elections in 2026.

“If the results last week were replicated at the Welsh Parliament Election, we would become a major player in Wales.

“A grouping of that size would be able to give us a strong infrastructure. We’d push that on Welsh issues but national problems also impact Wales, including immigration.”

Excluding the European Parliament, Ukip used Cardiff Bay as a place to blood young talent after electing seven members to the Welsh Parliament in 2016.

The Carmarthenshire constituency of Llanelli has returned a Labour MP in every election since 1922.

However, Reform UK’s Gareth Beer pulled off the remarkable feat of cutting Nia Griffith’s majority to the smallest held by any Llanelli Labour MP.

Sitting just 1,504 votes behind, and with the Tories on 4,275, Reform UK has brought the Brexit-backing tin town into play for the first time.

In yesterday’s letter seen by GB News, Reform UK activists were also told to wait for details for the populist party’s upcoming conference and were informed about receiving further updates about future institutional changes.

The update came after new chairman Zia Yusuf revealed Reform UK was looking to build a foundation to contest the next general election.

Yusuf said: “Nigel Farage asked me to be Chairman in no small part because of my background in building one of the UK’s fastest growing companies from scratch. I know what it takes to harness enthusiasm and rapidly build something of significance."

He added: "We are under no illusions as to the scale of the task at hand. Mobilising such a vast grassroots movement will be the hardest work of our lives. But we are up to the task. We will rise to the challenge.

“You will shortly hear about our bold plans to build a democratised branch structure. I ask all of you who can, to consider how you may join our mission directly. To those who feel despondent, I promise you this country has faced darker hours and emerged victorious.

“We will do so again. In Nigel Farage we have the greatest political talent of our lifetimes. We have supporters and volunteers with more passion and enthusiasm than any other party. Now we will inject a level of organisation and energy never before seen in British politics. We must save our country from the abyss, and return it to greatness."

Farage re-iterated that he was laser-focused in turning the party into a huge organisation as he plots to win from “Kent to Newcastle”.

He said: “There is an awful lot to do, I’m not deluding myself about that, but there’s an appetite, an appetite for something very different than, let’s be frank, two rather dull middle managers.”

There has also been speculation about Tory defectors to Reform, with GB News identifying four MPs most likely to make the switch.

Suella Braverman breathed some new energy into the conversation after the ex-Home Secretary pulled out of the 2024 Tory leadership contest last night.

Farage appeared more than happy to accept Braverman as a Reform defector, saying: “There’s a place for like-minded people but is that what she wants?”

However, a well-connected Tory source even told GB News that the populist party should look to avoid accepting Braverman into the populist party’s fold. .

The insider asked: “Why would Reform even want Suella Braverman?”