Nigel Farage needed his conference to be a slam dunk — it wasn't
Reform UK needed their conference to go well.
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Nigel Farage wanted to come in looking strong, reviving the party’s reputation amidst dipping poll ratings and mounting scandals. They were hoping for a smash-hit conference that put them on the up.
But this weekend in Birmingham, yet another major scandal hung over the head of the Reform UK leader. On day one of the conference, Channel 4 released an undercover investigation which showed two senior Reform UK aides — Dan Jukes and James Orr — suggested a way around electoral law to secure foreign party donations for the party, one of which would have totalled £500,000.
Speaking at a press conference, Mr Farage said his party had "done nothing wrong" and had taken "no illegal money. In fact no money was taken at all."
He dismissed the comments by the men as "injudicious" and "loose pub talk".
Earlier in the day, Farage told LBC’s Nick Ferrari that his party had "done nothing wrong", but said the recordings "don't look good" which is why they've "taken the action we have.”
The conference focused on what the first 100 days of a Reform UK government would look like, with promises to call the Royal Navy and make sure "not a single unauthorised vessel makes it to the shores of the United Kingdom".
Policy on small boats crossing and migration was a major cornerstone of the conference, with National Rally President and French Prime Ministerial hopeful Jordan Bardella appearing alongside Nigel Farage.
The pair signed a ‘memorandum of understanding’ on the illegal crossings, with the document including a commitment by Bardella that a National Rally-led French government would accept the return of illegal migrants which have launched from French shores.
The move should have boosted Reform UK’s professionalism, proving that it can forge international ties and operate on the world stage.
But instead, questions of the party’s ethics hung over their heads.
Farage, and many members, dismissed the story as an establishment stitch up that was perpetrated by the media which feels threatened by Reform.
But the loss of two senior Reform UK officials is a sign that something has gone very wrong — especially the stepping down of Dan Jukes, one of Farage’s longest serving aides.
Reform will continue dismissing it as an establishment coup, and will say that it is proof that the two major parties and the media are threatened by Reform. But regardless, the party’s major push for a more professional approach to portray them as ready for government has been hugely interrupted.
Regardless of how shiny this conference has been, or how big the smiles are of their politicians, this is not what they were hoping for — it’s not what they needed.
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Bethany Dawson is LBC's Political Correspondent.
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