logo
Reform UK is on the march - and the most popular party on TikTok. There's just one problem

Reform UK is on the march - and the most popular party on TikTok. There's just one problem

Sky News3 days ago
Reform UK is on the march.
Following a barnstorming performance in this year's local elections, they are now the most successful political party on TikTok, engaging younger audiences.
But most of their 400,000 followers are men.
I was at the local elections launch for Reform in March, looking around for any young women to interview who had come to support the party at its most ambitious rally yet, and I was struggling.
A woman wearing a "let's save Britain" hat walked by, and I asked her to help me.
"Now you say it, there are more men here," she said. But she wasn't worried, adding: "We'll get the women in."
And that probably best sums up Reform's strategy.
When Nigel Farage threw his hat into the ring to become an MP for Reform, midway through the general election campaign, they weren't really thinking about the diversity of their base.
1:48
As a result, they attracted a very specific politician. Fewer than 20% of general election candidates for Reform were women, and the five men elected were all white with a median age of 60.
Polling shows that best, too.
According to YouGov's survey from June 2025, a year on from the election, young women are one of Reform UK's weakest groups, with just 7% supporting Farage's party - half the rate of men in the same age group. The highest support comes from older men, with a considerable amount of over-65s backing Reform - almost 40%.
But the party hoped to change all that at the local elections.
Time to go pro
It was the closing act of Reform's September conference and Farage had his most serious rallying cry: it was time for the party to "professionalise".
In an interview with me last year, Farage admitted "no vetting" had occurred for one of his new MPs, James McMurdock.
Only a couple of months after he arrived in parliament, it was revealed he had been jailed after being convicted of assaulting his then girlfriend in 2006 while drunk outside a nightclub.
McMurdock told me earlier this year: "I would like to do my best to do as little harm to everyone else and at the same time accept that I was a bad person for a moment back then. I'm doing my best to manage the fact that something really regrettable did happen."
He has since suspended himself from the party over allegations about his business affairs. He has denied any wrongdoing.
0:40
Later, two women who worked for another of Reform's original MPs, Rupert Lowe, gave "credible" evidence of bullying or harassment by him and his team, according to a report from a KC hired by the party.
Lowe denies all wrongdoing and says the claims were retaliation after he criticised Farage in an interview with the Daily Mail, describing his then leader's style as "messianic".
The Crown Prosecution Service later said it would not charge Lowe after an investigation. He now sits as an independent MP.
1:04
A breakthrough night
But these issues created an image problem and scuppered plans for getting women to join the party.
So, in the run-up to the local elections, big changes were made.
The first big opportunity presented itself when a by-election was called in Runcorn and Helsby.
The party put up Sarah Pochin as a candidate, and she won a nail-biting race by just six votes. Reform effectively doubled their vote share there compared to the general election - jumping to 38% - and brought its first female MP into parliament.
And in the Lincolnshire mayoral race - where Andrea Jenkyns was up for the role - they won with 42% of the vote.
The council results that night were positive, too, with Reform taking control of 10 local authorities. They brought new recruits into the party - some of whom had never been involved in active politics.
6:11
'The same vibes as Trump'
Catherine Becker is one of them and says motherhood, family, and community is at the heart of Reform's offering. It's attracted her to what she calls Reform's "common sense" policies.
As Reform's parliamentary candidate for Hampstead and Highgate in last year's general election, and now a councillor, she also taps into Reform's strategy of hyper-localism - trying to get candidates to talk about local issues of crime, family, and law and order in the community above everything else.
Jess Gill was your quintessential Labour voter: "I'm northern, I'm working class, I'm a woman, based on the current stereotype that would have been the party for me."
But when Sir Keir Starmer knelt for Black Lives Matter, she said that was the end of her love affair with the party, and she switched.
"Women are fed up of men not being real men," she says. "Starmer is a bit of a wimp, where Nigel Farage is a funny guy - he gives the same vibes as Trump in a way."
'Shy Reformers'
But most of Reform's recruits seem to have defected from the Conservative Party, according to the data, and this is where the party sees real opportunity.
Anna McGovern was one of those defectors after the astonishing defeat of the Tories in the general election.
She thinks there may be "shy Reformers" - women who support the party but are unwilling to speak about it publicly.
"You don't see many young women like myself who are publicly saying they support Reform," she says.
"I think many people fear that if they publicly say they support Reform, what their friends might think about them. I've faced that before, where people have made assumptions of my beliefs because I've said I support Reform or more right-wing policies."
But representation isn't their entire strategy. Reform have pivoted to speaking about controversial topics - the sort they think the female voters they're keen to attract may be particularly attuned to.
"Reform are speaking up for women on issues such as transgenderism, defining what a woman is," McGovern says.
And since Reform's original five MPs joined parliament, grooming gangs have been mentioned 159 times in the Commons - compared to the previous 13 years when it was mentioned 88 times, despite the scandal first coming to prominence back in 2011.
But the pitfall of that strategy is where it could risk alienating other communities. Pochin, Reform's first and only female MP, used her first question in parliament to the prime minister to ask if he would ban the burka - something that isn't Reform policy, but which she says was "punchy" to "get the attention to start the debate".
0:31
'What politics is all about'
Alex Philips was the right-hand woman to Farage during the Brexit years. She's still very close to senior officials in Reform and a party member, and tells me these issues present an opportunity.
"An issue in politics is a political opportunity and what democracy is for is actually putting a voice to a representation, to concerns of the public. That's what politics is all about."
Luke Tryl is the executive director of the More In Common public opinion and polling firm, and says the shift since the local elections is targeted and effective.
Reform's newer converts are much more likely to be female, as the party started to realise you can't win a general election without getting the support of effectively half the electorate.
"When we speak to women, particularly older women in focus groups, there is a sense that women's issues have been neglected by the traditional mainstream parties," he says. "Particularly issues around women's safety, and women's concerns aren't taken as seriously as they should be.
"If Reform could show it takes their concerns seriously, they may well consolidate their support."
According to his focus groups, the party's vote share among women aged 18 to 26 shot up in May - jumping from 12% to 21% after the local elections. But the gender divide in right-wing parties is still stark, Tryl says, and representation will remain an uphill battle for a party historically dogged by controversy and clashes.
A Reform UK spokesman told Sky News: "Reform is attracting support across all demographics.
"Our support with women has surged since the general election a year ago, in that time we have seen Sarah Pochin and Andrea Jenkyns elected in senior roles for the party."
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Police fears over summer riots as forces already ‘stretched to the maximum'
Police fears over summer riots as forces already ‘stretched to the maximum'

The Independent

time10 minutes ago

  • The Independent

Police fears over summer riots as forces already ‘stretched to the maximum'

Protests and demonstrations that have turned violent are taking a 'massive toll' on police forces across the UK, it has been warned, as fears rise over the prospect of another summer of riots. Recent scenes of unrest in Epping outside a hotel believed to house asylum seekers have already cost £100,000, with Essex Police forced to draft in support from neighbouring forces after the protests turned ugly with bottles and flares thrown at police, injuring eight officers. Last July and August, 40,000 officer shifts were worked by public order officers over 10 days to tackle the riots sparked by misinformation online after three girls were stabbed to death in Southport. With concerns mounting that the UK could be facing another summer of unrest, the police union has warned that forces are close to breaking point. Brian Booth, deputy chair of the Police Federation, said the UK's national mobilisation plan, which sees officers redeployed to assist other forces when needed, means staff miss rest days and additional hours at a time when resignation rates are 'off the scale' due to low morale and pay. 'What we've seen throughout this year is sporadic incidents that need dealing with. 'It's a good idea, we're not knocking it, but it means officers are pulled from frontline duties and puts an extra demand on forces. It comes from frontline policing and you then have traffic officers missing from duties, those in the community pulled out and they then have to cancel their rest days and extend their working patterns.' He added: 'The demand has got too high, the service is stretched to the maximum. It's like an elastic band, and all of a sudden, we'll have a snap. There's only so much pressure that can be placed on them.' He stressed that while police chiefs had a designated budget to assist lawful protests, that budget is stretched when demonstrations turn violent and require a larger police response. 'The budgets are cut so slim now that there's no fat left,' he said. A new report from the Police Federation, published on Tuesday, found 17,700 police officers have been signed off for mental health reasons – an 182 per cent increase in the past 12 years – with many citing burnout, stress and post-traumatic stress disorder. It comes as anger mounts among police forces, with average annual pay falling by a fifth in real terms since 2010. 'The morale is terrible,' Mr Booth said. 'A lot of my colleagues are really angry. People are leaving, we have the highest rate of mid-service leavers, and the resignation scales are off the scale.' 'I know over the next few weeks that the anger will be rising among the ranks now that the government has broken for recess, and we're the only public service that hasn't had the pay award. We've got an unhappy workforce and I think the government needs to realise that.' It comes as 1,500 officers will be redeployed from frontline duties to Scotland on Friday to support President Donald Trump's private visit to his golf courses. 'We were notified over the Trump visit in a short period, we were told they needed 1,5000 officers only last week. That's one per cent of the population of policing. Chief constables are now trying to scramble around trying to find the numbers to detract from other duties,' he said. On Tuesday, Angela Rayner addressed the Epping protests and warned the UK faces another summer of riots unless 'the government shows it can address people's concerns'. In a dramatic intervention, the deputy prime minister said economic insecurity, immigration, the increasing time people spend online, and declining trust in institutions were having a 'profound impact on society'. On Wednesday, Essex Police said they had arrested 10 people after a series of protests outside the Bell Hotel, in Epping, which began after a 38-year-old, believed to be an asylum seeker being housed there, was charged with sexual assault. Meanwhile, Kemi Badenoch played down the notion of further riots this summer, but said 'we need to be very, very vigilant'. The leader of the Conservatives also blamed Labour for the strains on social cohesion, adding: 'Yvette Cooper is waving things through. Rachel Reeves is not providing the money. I'm not surprised. Angela Rayner is saying the social fabric is fraying, but she needs to do something about it.'

‘Anti-Semitic' trans activists ban Zionism at pride event
‘Anti-Semitic' trans activists ban Zionism at pride event

Telegraph

time11 minutes ago

  • Telegraph

‘Anti-Semitic' trans activists ban Zionism at pride event

Trans activists have been condemned for calling for 'Zionists' to be excluded from a pride event in London. The demand was criticised as anti-Semitic by gay Jewish campaigners, who said most Jews regard themselves as Zionist, believing in their right to self-determination and a Jewish homeland. The controversy erupted when London Trans Pride published leaflets and posters stating that its event on Saturday was 'not the place for' racism, religious discrimination, sexism, xenophobia or a number of other attitudes and beliefs. It ended the 'banned' list with the word 'Zionism'. Jewish LGBTQ campaigners have written to the organisers to point out that the blanket exclusion of Zionism and Zionists 'is not only discriminatory, it is anti-Semitic '. The Hineni Project, which works to 'mobilise the LGBTQ+ community in the fight against anti-Semitism in all its forms', wrote in its letter: 'Over 90 per cent of Jews identify as Zionist. 'For the overwhelming majority of LGBTQ+ Jews, Zionism is not an abstract ideology. It is a lived identity tied to survival, self-determination, and ancestral belonging. 'It is a belief that Jewish people – who have endured exile, genocide, and marginalisation for centuries – deserve safety, equality, and a homeland.' It added: 'To declare that Zionism is unwelcome at Pride is to implicitly declare that LGBTQ+ Jews are unwelcome too.' Jewish LGBTQ campaigners have also accused London Trans Pride of double standards in ignoring the oppression and persecution of gay, lesbian and trans people in areas controlled by Hamas and the Palestine Authority. The Hineni Project stated: 'This is not theoretical. Since Oct 7, queer Jewish people across the UK have faced exclusion, isolation, and abuse from the very spaces we helped to build. 'Queer Jews have been central to the fight for liberation – from Harvey Milk to Larry Kramer, from ACT UP to the founders of Pride itself. And yet now we are treated with suspicion, silenced, or forced to renounce a core part of our identity just to participate. 'To equate Zionism with oppression while ignoring the persecution of queer Palestinians by Hamas and Fatah is to promote a distorted, dehumanising narrative. 'To focus your activism on Israel – a democracy with legal protections for LGBTQ+ people, including Palestinians – while remaining silent on the 64 countries that criminalise homosexuality, including many where queer people are imprisoned, tortured or executed, reveals a double standard that demands reflection.' Commentators have said there is a paradox in some anti-Israel campaigners adopting the slogan ' Queers for Palestine ' in protest marches against the Israeli military response to the Hamas attacks of Oct 7 2023. They point out that gay and lesbian people in Gaza have long faced persecution and have struggled to be accepted in societies with hard-line Islamic governments, in contrast to the treatment of LGBTQ people in Israel. A spokesman for Campaign Against Anti-Semitism said: 'This kind of exclusion is despicable. 'Not only are Zionists not welcome at London Trans Pride, but the organisers view Zionism as being in the same category as racism and sexism. 'Eighty per cent of British Jews consider themselves to be Zionists; only 6 per cent do not, according to our polling. Zionism is the right of Jews to self-determination in their ancestral homeland. 'According to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism, denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination, is an example of anti-Semitism. 'Yet again, for all that 'progressive' spaces boast of inclusivity, that inclusivity doesn't extend to Jews. Not very 'progressive' at all.' Saturday's London Trans Pride will see a march from outside BBC Broadcasting House, through central London to Parliament Square for speeches and music.

Wirral leader says 'nothing swept under carpet' in regeneration probe
Wirral leader says 'nothing swept under carpet' in regeneration probe

BBC News

time11 minutes ago

  • BBC News

Wirral leader says 'nothing swept under carpet' in regeneration probe

"Nothing will be hidden" from investigators probing a council's troubled regeneration programmes, its leader has said. Paula Basnett, who became leader of Wirral Council in May, announced an internal investigation of the Birkenhead town centre project early into her regeneration works in the town are behind schedule and over budget, with the council expected to borrow £8m to cover a rise in costs to £24m. Ms Basnett, who is a councillor for Rock Ferry, said the council needed to get a grip on the situation. "I do think that we have to understand why it's been delayed and why there was an overspend. Our residents are entitled and should be made aware," Basnett said."I walk up Grange Road and I see the work taking place. I see the impact it's having on our businesses. I see the impact it's having on our residents."They want to be able to enjoy shopping and browsing around the shops." The Local Democracy Reporting Service said the works, taking place across the entire town centre, were £2.8m over budget the day a contract was were so concerned that on 21 July they decided not to approve any further funding until investigations had said on her election as leader that improving neighbourhoods, sorting out the council's finances, and getting regeneration back on track were her three main priorities."I won't be brushing anything under the carpet," she said."[The investigation] will be open and transparent. We will be holding officers to account."Our residents are entitled to hear what has been going on and I fully appreciate that once we do have those findings, it will be out in the public domain."The findings are expected later this year. Basnett said she hoped the outcome of a wider review would set out realistic timelines and costs, allowing councillors to prioritise projects. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store