Getty ImagesWith a giant Union Jack flag draped above his head, Nigel Farage received a hero’s welcome as he arrived at Reform UK’s conference in Birmingham on Friday.
A brief wave to the crowd, and the Reform leader disappeared behind a bus emblazoned with large red ticks, alongside three of his party’s main aims.
“Slash immigration. Slash the cost of living. Boost wages.”
The rock-and-roll entrance music for speakers and the “Let’s Make Britain Great” baseball caps on show are reminiscent of a Donald Trump rally.
Some of the rhetoric feels familiar too. Like many speakers, Ann Widdecombe – a former Tory MP – says the government must “control our borders”.
If it doesn’t do that, “we will do it the day Nigel Farage enters 10 Downing Street”, she says.
The audience lapped it up, cheering and shouting “shame” at any mention of Labour or Conservative politicians.
With 4,000 activists expected to attend, this conference is ambitious in scope.
It is Reform UK’s first since it gained five MPs in July’s general election, giving it a foothold in Parliament.
It’s a celebration of these new MPs – and a meet-and-greet for the many new members the party has attracted since Farage returned as leader during the general election campaign.
One party source told me he’s not entirely sure who’s going to show up this year.
The party says it now has 80,000 members – and I spoke to dozens who said they’d recently joined, as they entered the conference hall.
Lee Frost and Kenneth Frost, a father and son from Kent, said they joined the party last week.
Lee Frost said the Conservative government “didn’t perform the way they should have done”.
“I voted for them quite a few times. I’d rather give Reform a chance. Immigration is going to get worse and worse.”
Anita Tolgyesi Stanley said she joined the party a few weeks ago “because I was so disillusioned with local politics in Wolverhampton, I thought I’d get involved and do a little bit to help”.
She said she may stand as a councillor in next year’s local elections, “so I’m coming here to see what training was available”.
It’s only a snapshot of the new Reform UK membership intake.
But its gives a sense of who’s interested in the party, as it seeks to professionalise and build a base of dedicated activists.
Reform UK will want to encourage many more to pay its £25 membership fee to match its political rivals, and expand its electoral footprint.
The works starts here in Birmingham.