Wrapped in a union flag and clad head to foot in red, white and blue as she took in the full spectacle of Reform UK’s conference, Kim Anderson was enjoying meeting like-minded Nigel Farage supporters in the flesh.
“If you were ask me if politics is a big part of my life I would say it is and it isn’t, but I can spend all day commenting on the GB News website. You find that if you say things in a certain way then you can say anything you like,” said Anderson, a retired former ambulance worker and one-time Labour voter who had enthusiastically now thrown her lot in with Reform.
In Hethersett, near Norwich, where she lives, Anderson spoke of having to be cautious about expressing her views, adding: “You can normally judge what people are going to say, but you do have to watch what you say, you can find yourself shut down or they walk away.”
Not so at this year’s conference, where hostility to the “woke agenda”, immigration and the hated “uniparty” – Reform parlance for the Conservatives and Labour – was the order of the day.
Party conference season has kicked off at a time when Nigel Farage’s organisation is enjoying as much as a 15-point lead over Labour. The numbers suggest it is gaining traction from new voters with a diversity of views, but the fervour of the Reform faithful was often as unfiltered as ever.
In the main hall of Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre, an 85-year-old party supporter holding two St George’s cross flags let fly as he was interviewed by Jeremy Kyle on a big screen.
Worried he was going to die before Farage becomes prime minister, he turned his fire on Keir Starmer. “I can’t wait to get this bastard out,” he shouted, to the biggest cheer of the day from audience.
Others found Kyle’s jokes just as entertaining. “Has anyone noticed how Rachel from accounts looks startlingly like Richard III,” he said, using pejorative rightwing shorthand for Rachel Reeves, the chancellor.
Elsewhere, Terry Washington, 47, from London was at pains to insist he was “not tribal” but spoke in evangelical tones about his conversion to Reform, for which he was now considering running as a candidate.
Washington, a former Vodafone worker who was an executive at a carpet firm, described himself as “socially liberal” and “fiscally conservative”. He was among dozens who had invested in light blue Reform UK football shirts, more often than not with the choice of “Farage” and the number 10 on the back.
While an admirer of Farage, the “can do” language of Reform’s chair, Zia Yusuf, had also been a draw. “I’m from the corporate world and we get things done and I think Zia is one of those guys, too, even if it means we are not always popular,” said Washington, who bought his Reform football shirt two weeks ago and estimated that he had given the party hundreds of pounds.
Elsewhere, sporting a “Make Britain Great Again” cap, William Payne rattled off what he described as the “burning priorities” to save Britain, ranging from rolling back attacks on freedom of speech to ensuring that the borders were firmly and securely shut.
“There’s a unity of purpose here and it’s just really refreshing to come up and actually see that there is a plan to save this country. Reform UK is the only hope.”
Kieran Mishchuk, an 18-year-old who won Reform UK’s first seat on Swale borough council, had got out of bed before 7am to travel to the conference, where he was planning to collect as many autographs as possible from senior Reform figures.
“It’s just such a vibrant feeling being here, where everyone really is open to ideas and they’re excited about the future,” said Mishchuk. He said that he “worked well” alongside his Labour counterparts but insisted that radical change was needed at a local and national level.
“This is the next step in terms of fixing our country. That’s why people are here. We realise that something drastic needs to be done to save our culture.”
