Reform becomes Britain’s largest political party
Nigel Farage’s party says it now has 269,000 members, surpassing Labour for first time
Reform UK has overtaken Labour as Britain’s largest political party.
Nigel Farage declared that “the age of two-party politics is dead” after leaked figures showed Labour has fewer than 250,000 members – well below Reform’s self-reported total of nearly 269,000.
“As we have suspected for some time, Reform is now the largest political party in British politics – a huge milestone for us. The age of two-party politics is dead,” said the Reform leader.
The disclosure is the latest blow to Sir Keir Starmer’s party, which has lagged behind Reform in the polls for much of this year.
It also comes amid speculation over the Prime Minister’s future after Downing Street briefed journalists last month that he would fight any would-be leadership challengers.
Reform continues to ride high in the polls, averaging close to 30 per cent – 10 points ahead of both Labour and the Tories.
In February, Labour was reported to have had 309,000 members. However, leaked figures seen by The Times show this has now fallen to fewer than 250,000. Labour did not dispute the numbers.
When Sir Keir became leader in 2020, the party had more than 500,000 paying members, making it the largest political party in Europe. Numbers fell after the departure of Jeremy Corbyn, whose new Your Party has 50,000 members.
Labour keeps its membership figures under wraps, and even the ruling National Executive Committee is not told for fear of leaks.
A Labour Party spokesman said: “Our membership figures are published in our annual report. We do not give a running commentary on them throughout the year.”
Reform’s membership overtook the Conservative Party’s on Boxing Day last year, with the latest figures showing the Tories have 123,000 members.
That development has been accompanied by a string of defections, including those of Sir Jake Berry, a former Tory chairman, the former Cabinet minister Nadine Dorries and Danny Kruger, the MP for East Wiltshire. This week, the Ex-Tory MP Ben Bradley became the latest to join.
Elsewhere, the Green Party has increased its membership from 126,000 to 180,000 since October. Latest figures show the Liberal Democrats are on 83,174 members, a slight fall on the year before.
Labour’s dire polling record, along with the disastrous run-up to the Budget, has sparked speculation of a challenge to Sir Keir’s leadership.
Possible candidates include Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, Angela Rayner, the former deputy prime minister, and Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester.
Other would-be rivals could include Shabana Mahmood, the Home Secretary, and Ed Miliband, the Energy Secretary.
[Source: Daily Telegraph]
