Badenoch casts doubt on Farage’s claim that Reform UK’s membership surpasses the Conservative Party

Kemi Badenoch, leader of the Conservative Party, has accused Reform UK leader Nigel Farage of manipulating membership numbers after his party claimed it had surpassed the Tories in signed-up members. The row erupted following a digital counter on the Reform UK website, which showed the party’s membership numbers surpassing the 131,680 figure announced by the Conservative Party earlier this year.

Farage hailed the milestone as an “historic moment,” but Badenoch quickly dismissed the claim, alleging that the counter was “coded to tick up automatically.” She further stated that her team had been monitoring the counter’s backend for days, labelling it as a “fake.” In a scathing comment on social media, Badenoch remarked, “Farage doesn’t understand the digital age. This kind of fakery gets found out pretty quickly, although not before many are fooled.”

The Conservative Party’s membership figure of 131,680 was announced during its leadership election earlier in 2024, when Rishi Sunak’s leadership was under scrutiny. However, Badenoch added that the Conservatives had gained thousands of new members since that time, disputing Reform UK’s claims.

Farage, undeterred by the accusations, responded in a Twitter thread, asserting that the “Conservative brand is dying” under Badenoch’s leadership. He then challenged the Conservative Party to audit their membership numbers, offering to invite one of the “Big 4” auditing firms to assess Reform UK’s figures as well.

The back-and-forth between Badenoch and Farage is the latest in a series of public disputes that have surrounded the leadership of both parties. While Reform UK continues to build momentum as a right-wing alternative, the allegations of membership manipulation threaten to undermine the party’s credibility.

As the political climate grows more charged in the run-up to the next general election, this row over membership figures is likely to add fuel to the ongoing debate over the future of the Conservative Party and its competitors.

THE GUARDIAN

Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party is making significant strides in membership and public attention, but the real challenge lies ahead: attracting the financial backing needed to sustain its growth. Farage’s social media success, with over 5.4 million followers, has helped build Reform’s momentum, enabling it to surpass the Tories in membership. His casual, digital-first approach contrasts with the more traditional political styles of leaders like Keir Starmer and Kemi Badenoch, allowing him to connect with a wider audience, particularly on platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

However, while Reform’s growing base of 130,000 members is impressive, its next hurdle will be securing the substantial donor support required for a national campaign. Previous attempts by Reform’s predecessors, including Ukip and the Brexit Party, struggled to attract large-scale financial backing and professionalise their operations.

The upcoming test for Farage is whether donors will follow his growing army of foot soldiers and support Reform UK as a credible, long-term alternative to the Conservative and Labour parties. With Reform’s rising influence in local elections, both Labour and the Tories are beginning to take notice, but the real question is whether Farage can convince big-money donors to believe in his vision of a national political force.

SKY NEWS

Reform UK has claimed a historic milestone, surpassing the Conservative Party in membership, with Nigel Farage calling it a significant achievement. The party’s membership counter reached over 131,690, surpassing the Conservative Party’s declared figure before their leadership election in the autumn. Farage celebrated the moment as a triumph, declaring that Reform UK is now “the real opposition” in British politics.

However, the claim has been met with scepticism from Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who dismissed the figures as “fake” and accused Farage of manipulating the numbers. Badenoch suggested that the website’s tracker had been coded to automatically increase membership, and she pointed out that the Tories had gained thousands of new members since the last leadership election.

In response to the controversy, Reform UK posted a video showing the membership tracker being projected onto Conservative Party headquarters in London. Party chairman Zia Yusuf added that this achievement marked the end of the Tories’ long dominance over the centre-right, claiming that Reform UK had broken their “centuries-long stranglehold.” The dispute highlights the growing rivalry between Reform UK and the Conservatives, as Farage’s party continues to challenge the established political order.