Thursday 26 September 2024

Reform UK Party Conference 2024 – Report

 

I recently went to the Reform UK party conference, in the Arena at the NEC in Birmingham. It was a two-day conference.

I had decided to go by train. The outward journey was easy, apart from one thing. When I arrived at the station, I saw that the train I was aiming for was cancelled! Fortunately, the one before it was late, so I managed to catch it – just.

Day 1

To the first morning of the conference. We had been warned that there would be anti-Reform protesters at the venue, but I didn’t see any. This was partly because the route from my hotel to the Arena led through the NEC Halls, so I arrived at the venue from the opposite direction to the 90%+ of delegates who came from the car parks. This also made for shorter queues. Though there was a lot of security, I didn’t have to wait long to get in on either morning.

David Bull, former deputy leader of the party and compère for the whole conference, told us that there were 4,000 in the audience. It is an excellent auditorium, with clear sight-lines to the stage. Particularly from where I was, in the central block, about half way up and just to the right of the centre-line. Although the seat rows are steeply banked, meaning it isn’t easy to move around for those of us whose balance and mobility are not what they once were.

The atmosphere was a far cry from the party conference I had gone to in Manchester in 2021, which had more the feel of an academic conference than a political one. This was far more like a rally. Indeed, it reminded me the Brexit party rally in 2019, also at the NEC, which started me off on a trail that led to me becoming a Reform party campaign manager.

James McMurdock, the candidate who came from out of nowhere to become, after three recounts, MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock, was handed the first shift. He recalled himself and his wife, having failed to include a planned imprint on his leaflet, having to stamp all the leaflets manually! Ouch. But he seems a pretty common-sense kind of guy, just the kind of MP we will need in order to be “the party that will stand up for common sense.”

The second speaker was Ann Widdecombe. I knew Ann already, because in late June she came down to our constituency for a little canvassing and to give a speech to Reformers from several local constituencies. I have heard her speak several times now, and nothing, absolutely nothing, I have ever heard from any politician can beat her performance at the Brexit party rally in Maidstone in 2019. (I was only about six feet away from her at the time). She was pretty good when she spoke to our local Reformers, too. In the event, this speech had the classic Ann Widdecombe features – well structured, always to the point, admirably clear. But somehow, it didn’t impress me as much as she had on the previous occasions.

Ant Middleton, mountain climber, former soldier and Marine, and TV personality, was an interesting choice as the next speaker. He spoke of “British culture and identity being trampled on” and “a nation of confused people.” He saw a need for “an umbrella identity of British culture.” I found it a pity that he did not try to say just what he meant by “British culture.” But he is right about one thing. Something is seriously awry in the cultural attitudes of far too many people in the UK today.

Rupert Lowe, MP for Great Yarmouth, opened by praising the “refreshing paucity of rainbow lanyards” among the conference-goers. He raised a vital question about the relationship between government and the people. “Who should be the servant, and who should be the master?” He spoke of the private sector being crowded out by the state, and the failure of the Labour/Tory duopoly and of the civil service.

He gave a long list of policies which Reform UK, which he described as “the last hope of a return to normality,” would institute. These included: End two-tier policing. Back small businesses. Scrap IR35. Slash corporation tax. Scrap “diversity” rules. Judge people on merit. De-fund the BBC. Scrap 20mph limits and low traffic neighbourhoods, and end the war on motorists. He concluded – correctly, of course – that Reform represents “fairness, common sense and accountable government.”

Next up was Lee Anderson MP, who began with “I want my country back!” He deplored “Nett Zero lunacy.” He said it is not controversial “to defend British history, heritage and culture,” nor to celebrate the Industrial Revolution. Though he admitted that “we’ve been responsible for some awful things.” His example? The BBC! He said that “Parliament has given up on us” (Reform UK), and the establishment hate us and are trying to cancel us. But he ended on an optimistic note, with Reform being on track towards where “we will get our country back.” To which, my follow-up thought was, and our money back, I hope.

Next came Richard Tice MP, deputy party leader. I saw that he had drawn the short straw of the “calm before the storm” spot, and felt sympathy. He spoke of “Starmergeddon on steroids” and “Rachel Thieves.” He spoke of the three cults which the establishment are imposing on us. One, the cult of mass immigration. Two, the cult of the NHS. Three, the cult of nett zero. And he concluded: “Can we save the country? Yes. So, let’s do it!”

Zia Yusuf, party chairman and in effect CEO of the company that supports the party, was the penultimate speaker. “We are now polling at 18%, up from 14% at the general election,” he told us. He described Labour as “no more than the Tories on fast forward.” And the Tories “betrayed every value their voters elected them to uphold.” The party structures of both Tories and Labour are “designed to turn out leaders who offer more of the same.” “We are building a movement in this country, the likes of which has never before been seen.” “We are going to build a grass-roots election winning machine.”

“The British values that undergird our very civilization have come under all-out assault.” Values such as: Equality before the law. The presumption of innocence. Freedom of speech. And freedom of religion. “British values are the foundation on which human ideas come to flourish.” “By the time of the next general election, we will build the best ground campaign in the country.” “By 2029, Reform UK will be ready to be the party of government, and will embark on the most ambitious and bold reforms this country has seen in our lifetimes.” “The indomitable spirit of the British people will prevail.”

“We will never bow to the mob, never succumb to their intimidation, or cower in the face of their threats.” “This is a battle for the soul of our nation, and we will not yield.” “Get involved in your local branch, volunteering to help knock on doors, delivering leaflets, and turning out the vote. This will be pivotal in our success.” “We will leave a Britain for our children of which we can be proud.” There were perhaps a few too obviously Churchillian touches; but the ovation was deserved.

Cue Nigel Farage! In full theatrical mode, though his singing voice is not up to the standards of his speaking. I won’t comment in detail on his speech, as the video is out there on the Internet, and to anyone who shares Reform’s values, it was inspirational. But two quotes stand out. “This weekend is when Reform UK comes of age.” And: “We don’t care about skin colour. We don’t care about orientation. We couldn’t care less who you are. We care whether you share the values of this country.” Put that in your pipe, those that call us racists!

Day 2

On the second day, we began with a ceremony, in which Nigel Farage signed away his ownership of the party, so it is now owned by the members. We then voted on the new Constitution, which had been sent to all of us by e-mail a week or so before. It was supported by virtually all those present; in my field of view, I could see only three dissenting votes.

We then had two Reform local government representatives recount their experiences. Maria Bortell, a councillor from Bridlington, was previously a Tory, but “defected” to Reform before the last local election. The Reform branch there was one of the first to be started, last month. They got 70 people at the first meeting!

Alex Wilson, now a Reform London Assembly member, was previously manager for Ben Habib’s campaign in the Wellingborough by-election. He now describes himself as “a beach-head in City Hall, raising our voice.” And he told us: The Tories have been excellent recruiters for Reform, but Labour are doing the same thing even better!

The most interesting second-day speech came from Timo Soini, a former colleague of Nigel Farage in the European Parliament, who in 2015 rose to the dizzy heights of deputy prime minister of Finland. He commiserated with Nigel for needing 8 attempts to get in to parliament; Timo only needed 6! He charted the growth of his party, from nothing in 1995, to three representatives in 2003, to 19% of the vote in 2011, to 39 seats in 2019 (and that was after an intra-party split!), to five ministers in a coalition government in 2023. But Reform, of course, is going to have to move a great deal faster than that!

The next speaker was Matt Goodwin, political scientist and former academic. He had some interesting things to say. “Hypocrisy underpins many or most of the state’s decisions.” True. “If you ask questions, you will be accused of ‘misinformation.’” Indeed. And he criticized government for failing to make available very relevant statistics, such as crime figures broken down by nationality and immigration status. They don’t want you to know such things.

The conference was closed by Nigel Farage’s keynote speech – as if the one the previous day hadn’t been enough! Yesterday was a resounding success, he said. David Bull had kept things moving “like a modern Bob Monkhouse.” This was the most joyous gathering of a political party in modern history. And he announced that there will be Regional Conferences beginning in November, though unfortunately the South East Region is not yet on that list.

Overall, the Friday was devoted mainly to razzmatazz and cheerleading, and the Saturday more to business. There was lots of time to talk to people, and the general atmosphere was certainly good.

Afterthoughts

To my train journey home. While not actually delayed, it was as bad as the outward journey had been good. Due to engineering works, bus to Leamington Spa. Tight change, and a train to Reading that was chock-a-block due to earlier cancellations. Even tighter change at Reading, into a train whose only loo was out of order. Then absolute chaos finding the right bus for the last leg from Guildford. Still, I got home.

In Godalming and Ash, we are not yet among the constituencies who have been formally invited to start a branch. But we know the request might come at any moment, and our core team are already preparing for it. As I read the requirements, to create a branch, we will need to find a branch chair, a treasurer, a campaign co-ordinator and a branch secretary. The branch also needs a deputy chair, but this role could be done by any of the last three above, or by a separate person.

The idea is to start with an interim branch chair, usually the candidate who fought the general election. (This is certainly so in our case). There may also be interim holders of the other positions; having been campaign manager for the general election, I am currently doing whatever I see needs doing, that would fall under the branch secretary’s role.

At some point, we will have a big meeting of party members in the constituency. I presume that we will ask for nominations for each of the posts, then the meeting will choose from among the candidates who put themselves forward. By this process, the branch will be “democratized,” and its elected officers will become branch officials. But as yet, I don’t have any documentation on the procedures at this level, so this is subject to change.

Surrey County Council elections are coming up in early May 2025. It is vitally important that we put up as many candidates, of as high a quality, as we possibly can. For Surrey County Council has, without consulting the people they are supposed to be serving, made itself a member of UK100. This is an extremist organization, that describes itself as “a network of local leaders who have pledged to lead a rapid transition to Net Zero with Clean Air in their communities ahead of the government’s legal target.”

Reform UK is the only party who oppose “nett zero” and anti-car policies (of which the “clean air” agenda is but one facet). So, we have a very large number of potential supporters in Godalming and Ash, particularly in the suburban and rural areas, where a car is all but an essential. We have a chance to kick-start a massive fightback against these bad policies. All the more vital, because none of them are justified by any real science, or any proper cost-benefit analysis from the point of view of the people, or even any hard evidence that they would produce any nett benefits at all.

We are living in “interesting” times. And we have a lot of work to do!