Nigel Farage tells reformers how he can be prime minister by 2029 | Politics | News

Nigel Farage insisted that Reform UK could achieve a “truly amazing” result in the general election and gathered a record crowd at his party conference.

As he took the stage at Birmingham’s NEC amid fireworks and rock music, he said “the sky is the limit” – at a time when disappointment with the major parties “has never been greater”.

Mr Farage said the first “trial by fire” would be next May’s local elections, where he hopes to win a number of district councils and Brexit strongholds such as Doncaster in South Yorkshire and Thurrock in Kent.

He told the conference that if the party “gets May right” it could “achieve a truly amazing result”.

Mr Farage said Reform UK represented the country’s “silent, decent majority”.

Mr Farage said: “We have to be credible. We have to be everywhere. We have to show that we can deliver success after success.”

“If we do these things, we can really – I never thought I’d say this – but I really believe we can change the future of politics. We can change the future of our country.”

“Perhaps we can regain our pride in what it means to be British, respect our history, stand up for our values ​​and understand that Judeo-Christian culture is the foundation of everything we are, everything we have ever stood for and everything we believe in.”

Mr Farage is using the conference to “hand over” control of Reform UK as he gives up his position as majority shareholder.

Unlike most other political parties, Reform UK Ltd is a registered company and was registered as the Brexit Party from 2018 to 2021.

That will change today when members vote on a new constitution.

Mr Farage said the party had grown up and left its “teenage tantrums” behind.

And he insisted that he was on track with his promise to professionalise the party and that there would be no more vetting scandals in the future after several candidates were found to have dubious pasts during the election.

The party leader told members he was angry at the way governments had acted in the years since the Brexit vote because it was “damaging to democracy”.

“The last few years since Boris’ victory in 2019 have been marked by a complete breach of trust in the British public on a truly historic scale,” the leader of Reform UK said at the party conference.

“I was angry about it because it was damaging to democracy. But I was also angry because – don’t forget – I didn’t stand in the 2019 general election because we wanted to get Brexit done.”

In a reference to the donations scandal surrounding Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, Mr Farage began his speech by searching his pockets.

“Just give me a second,” he said, before the Clacton MP produced a pair of glasses.

He said, “Do you like them?

“Very expensive, but you know what, I bought it myself, how about it?”

He added: “Have you ever seen a new prime minister get off to a worse start than Keir Starmer?”

The delegates in the crowd answered: “No”

Mr Farage added: “It’s really shocking. I mean, the message ‘It can only get worse’ is not exactly inspiring, is it?

“And now we live in a state – and you all know it, but Westminster will deny it to the end of time – where there is a two-tier police force.

“We live in a state with a dual justice system. We live in a state run by Keir, a dual justice system, and we have had enough already.”

Lee Anderson, a former deputy leader of the Tory Party, insisted that Reform UK would win “hundreds of seats” in the 2025 local elections.

At his party conference in Birmingham, the group leader told members: “Next year we will win hundreds of seats across the country, seats on local councils – that is a fact.”

“But we must take this fight to Parliament so that we can take back control of our country, win the 2019 general election and put Nigel in 10 Downing Street.

“Friends, we can do this, but we can only do it if we stay strong. The establishment hates us deeply. They want us gone, but we’re not getting anywhere.”

Mr Anderson said it was a shame the small boat crisis had not been addressed.

“In the last two years, nearly 150,000 illegal immigrants have crossed the Channel and have been picked up by British boats and put up in four-star hotels, given free legal advice and then allowed to settle in our country. It is a disgrace,” he said.

“Ninety percent of the arrivals are young men, some of whom are destined for a life of crime. We have seen this before. They have come to this country and committed all kinds of horrific crimes. Our governments have passed three laws to stop the boats, and yet they still come.”