Reform Party Conference 2025: Energy, Ambition and Unresolved Questions

As expected, this was Reform’s biggest conference yet and the party was brimming with confidence and ambition. It is obviously doing well in the polls and Reform Party members were in extremely high spirits, with the conference feeling like an American style rally at times. The "Make Britain Great Again" branding, pyrotechnics on stage, and the inevitable scrum around Farage were all clear signs of the party's insurgent energy. Yet beneath this lay genuine policy discussions and new corporate interest,reflecting Reform's ongoing evolution from protest movement to potential governing party (at least if you believe the current polls).

For all the energy and optimism, important questions undoubtedly remain for Reform, not least about their readiness for government.Important policy detail is still lacking in so many areas (education, housing and devolution to name but three) and the centrality of Nigel Farage to the operation remains a weakness as much as it is a strength.

They are taking steps to address some of these issues.

 Zia Yusuf has been appointed as a new Head of Policy and there were promises to establish a new policy board as well as to integrate grassroots party members into policy development. New policy positions indifferent areas such as pension reform, local investment and welfare were discussed and the central role of certain think tanks in policy development was made clear. But they are still learning as they go. Farage's headline pledge to stop migrant boat crossings "within two weeks of winning government" became "within two weeks of legislation being passed" by the following day, highlighting the gap between easy rhetoric and implementable policy.

Yusuf and Richard Tice were ever-present at conference,participating on panels covering a broad range of topics. Andrea Jenykns was also hard to miss, not least when donning her catsuit and belting out her own song Insomniac. But the star of the show was, of course, Nigel Farage. The conference shop's shelves overflowed with Farage-branded merchandise and when an announcement rang out that he would be signing shirts, members deserted fringe events featuring Tice and others and queued to pay to get Farage’s signature.

On the main stage Farage used his keynote speech to focus attention on Labour, predicting an internal split within the government and suggesting an election could come as early as 2027. In particular, he talked about taking the fight to Labour in Wales and in London, with Senedd elections and all London boroughs going to the polls in 2026. This represents a notable shift from Reform's traditional focus on the Conservative Party – which he and Nadine Dorries both suggested was a spent force in UK politics. (Dorries was proudly unveiled as having defected from the Conservatives to Reform on the eve of conference and had a cameo in the middle of Farage’s speech, which mainly served to lower the mood in the hall and have many people scratching their heads as Dorries talked about the importance of discipline and loyalty).

Farage’s comments about Labour were as much politics as they were prediction, but Reform’s ongoing popularity certainly has got many Labour insiders rattled. Many see elements of Starmer’s recent reshuffle as a direct response to that threat.

The increased corporate interest in this conference signals Reform's growing mainstream credibility but the party still lacks policy depth in many key areas. This is an opportunity for those willing to engage with Reform’s elected members (MPs, Mayors and Council Leaders), its chosen think tanks and its evolving policy apparatus. Reform recognise that they need help to develop their plans and positions and those willing to step into the space will find willing interlocutors on the other side of the fence. Whether you agree that Britain needs Reform or not, the party is here now and it’s not going away anytime soon.

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