Membership of the anti-immigration Reform United Kingdom party has surpassed that of the centre-right Conservative Party for the first time, marking a significant shift in British politics, the party announced on Thursday.
Nigel Farage, the party’s leader and prominent Brexit campaigner, described the development as an “historic moment.”
“The youngest political party in British politics has just overtaken the oldest political party in the world,” Farage posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. “Reform UK are now the real opposition.”
Immigration emerged as a pivotal issue during the UK’s general election in July, which ended the Conservative Party’s 14-year grip on power. Reform UK capitalised on this sentiment, gaining five seats in the 650-seat Parliament and securing approximately 14 percent of the total vote share. By splitting the right-wing vote, Reform UK drew significant support from disillusioned former Conservative voters in key constituencies.
A digital counter on Reform UK’s website displayed a membership tally exceeding 131,680, surpassing the Conservative Party’s last declared membership of 131,680 during its leadership election earlier this year. This marked a steep decline from the Conservatives’ 2022 membership of around 172,000, the lowest in the party’s history.
Zia Yusuf, chairman of Reform UK, described the milestone as evidence of a major shift in British politics. “The long stranglehold on the centre-right of British politics by the Tories has finally been broken,” Yusuf stated.
Farage also asserted that Reform UK’s rise signaled a turning point in the political landscape. “Reform UK are now the real opposition,” he said.
Despite its success, Reform UK’s parliamentary impact remains limited, with only five seats won. The Labour Party dominated the July election in a landslide victory, placing Prime Minister Keir Starmer in office. However, Starmer’s first five months have been challenging, with public discontent growing. An Ipsos opinion poll conducted earlier this month revealed that 53 percent of Britons were “disappointed” with Labour’s performance.
British politics has historically been dominated by two major parties: Labour and the Conservatives. However, commentators warn that political parties can experience irreversible declines in popularity. The Liberal Party, once a dominant force in the 19th and early 20th centuries, was supplanted by Labour as the main opposition after World War I and has never regained its earlier prominence.
Nigel Farage, a supporter of US President-elect Donald Trump, revealed earlier this month that he had been in discussions with tech billionaire Elon Musk regarding potential donations to Reform UK. The party’s growing influence underscores its challenge to the traditional two-party dominance in British politics.
