Meet Reform's only female MP — Nigel Farage's secret weapon?

Times

11-07-2025

'I know some people think that I've got a women problem, but it's not true,' Nigel Farage said as he introduced his latest recruit, Sarah Pochin. The party of red trousers, warm pints, fag ash, ruddy cheeks and bombastic, Brexit-supporting men has its first female MP, elected to parliament with a majority of just six at the by-election in Runcorn and Helsby in May.
'They are a bit bemused by my gin and tonics, lipstick and chat about clothes, but I'm training them up,' Pochin says when we meet at Reform's headquarters at Millbank Tower, Westminster. 'I'm not sure they know what has hit them.'
Sarah, I'm not sure what to make of you either. 'I'm not a feminist,' Reform's fifth MP tells me firmly but, like me, she believes in career women. Where earlier this year her leader, 'the boss', was saying that men were prepared to sacrifice family life to reach the top, hinting that mothers still prefer to stay at home, make cupcakes and clean the cooker, Pochin disproves his point. She works 14-hour days, prefers Me+Em power suits to dresses and leaves her husband to make his own supper.
Farage, I suspect, isn't used to waiting for women, but he has to stand outside the conference room drumming his brogues while she wraps up our interview. 'This lady is on a mission,' he admits. In her first PMQs, after only a month in parliament, she asked the prime minister whether he would ban the burqa. 'Well, they are an offensive and misogynistic item of clothing, aren't they?' she says now. Last month the foreign secretary, David Lammy, suggested Pochin 'get off social media… and get some help… because she is swallowing conspiracy theories' when she suggested in the House that the US was unable to use the UK-US airbase on Diego Garcia following the government's deal with Mauritius over the Chagos Islands.
Pochin, I realise within the first few minutes, doesn't pull her punches. She believes that women are suffering a surge of sexual violence with the increase of illegal immigrants and asylum seekers 'who must be sent back home', she says. They can return to their 'country of origin' with the burqa wearers. Having been a magistrate for 20 years, she is also now '100 per cent convinced this country operates a two-tier justice system and two-tier policing'.
I'm a centrist. I've voted both Tory and Labour before, but I have never been able to countenance voting Reform. While male friends tell me they'd like a pint with Farage, I've always seen populist Reform as dangerous, pandering to our less appealing characteristics. Would a female Farage encourage me to feel differently?
Some of Pochin's language makes me feel uneasy. But she credits the party's recent rise in the polls to female voices like hers and the new Reform mayor for Greater Lincolnshire, Dame Andrea Jenkyns. Since the general election, support for Reform has doubled among women aged 45 to 60. Almost a third now back Farage, making the party the most popular choice for Gen X women like me. On Mumsnet, the figure is similar.
More extraordinary, perhaps, is that Gen Z women, having been determinedly left wing, are now pivoting towards Reform, according to polling by the More in Common think tank. The party's vote share among them jumped from 12 to 21 per cent last month, almost catching up with Gen Z men at 26 per cent. Where its headquarters was once full of young male staffers wearing three-piece suits, the Reform office is now packed with 'young girls', as Farage refers to them, with glossy locks, and the party is attracting recruits such as Charlotte Hill, the 25-year-old Reform councillor in Derbyshire, a former beauty queen and engineer for National Highways who says that only Reform 'cares about normal people any more'. Nearly a quarter of its local election candidates in May were women.
'It's all very new for them having more women, but for me it's just a job. I have worked all my life in male-dominated businesses, starting with selling marine lubricants for Shell,' Pochin says. 'I never felt at a disadvantage.' So far, so normal — and we're beginning to bond. But then Pochin produces one of many anecdotes to show how ethnic minority immigrants are changing that dynamic. As a magistrate, she says she never faced discrimination as a woman, laughing that she was once called 'Your Majesty', then adds, 'Apart from some of the defendants. I'm afraid to say, from time to time, you would get men who come from different cultures who hated being addressed by a woman. I would have to say, 'Look at me when I am talking to you.' '
• Who is Sarah Pochin, Reform's first female MP?
Just as I'm beginning to worry I'm going to be drawn into a debate about disrespectful male immigrants, she changes tack. Westminster, she says, sailing back into less confrontational territory, has been easier. 'Across the parties, women have been welcoming. Labour MPs like Jess Phillips have been so warm and Lucy Powell, the leader of the House, asked if I needed any help. Most male MPs were lovely. There were a couple who were chauvinistic, but I can deal with that.' The worst offender, she tells me, was the prime minister. 'His response to my PMQs question was utterly chauvinistic and dismissive and that sends a bad sign to the country that you can behave like that in parliament. Bring it on, I say — he is making himself look bad, not me. You have a duty to answer questions in parliament — the difficult ones too.'
Pochin started her political career in the north as a Conservative before switching to Reform. 'I remember campaigning in Bolton South East in 2017 and in some of those streets you didn't feel like you were in this country. They were full of women being forced to cover up from head to toe and they weren't allowed to speak to me.'
Labour and the Tories have made a big mistake refusing to address people's concerns about issues such as the burqa, she believes. 'Switzerland, France, Belgium and many of the prime minister's favourite European countries have banned it. My point was that on national security, you need to see people's faces so criminals can't hide. But this is also about women, misogyny, female oppression and our culture being eroded. It's like you or me walking around the streets of Saudi Arabia in a strappy top and a pair of shorts — we wouldn't do it because we respect their culture. So why isn't it happening in reverse?'
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If someone had come into her court wearing a full face covering, Pochin explains, 'I would absolutely refuse to continue proceedings until it was removed. Children in schools need to see their teacher's face. Patients need to look at their doctors' and nurses' expressions. On every level this is not what this country is about.'
Women, Pochin continues, barely taking breath, have fought hard for their rights. 'We teach our women, especially these days, that they are equal, and that's fantastic, and that men should respect women and do some of the domestic chores. We don't want to return to the dark ages when women were dismissed as vassals, but it's insidious and it's happening on our doorsteps. What has our society come to when you can even find a YouTube video telling women how to eat fully clothed in a burqa?'
It's a persuasive image, but surely women have the right to cover up if they desire — this is a tolerant country that doesn't seek to dictate how people live their lives. Pochin explains why she thinks I'm wrong. 'I was in a debate with a Muslim lady who was supporting the points I was making. She had escaped an oppressive marriage after she had a daughter; the daughter was about to be taken off by the husband for FGM. I'm not saying you can't wear a burqa. I am saying it's not our culture and if you want to wear it, go back to where it is acceptable.'
But even her own adult sons, she admits, thought banning the burqa was an inflammatory first question for PMQs. 'I wanted to pick a topic that was associated with one of the biggest issues I had dealt with during the by-election. On the doorstep in Runcorn it was illegal immigrants: their effect on the culture of the community and on women has been devastating. I promised the people who voted for me that I would be their voice.'
Her party chairman, Zia Yusuf, resigned in protest, calling her question 'dumb', before returning to Reform 24 hours later. 'My boss Nigel, obviously, and the other three Reform MPs knew what I was going to ask. We didn't purposely keep it from Zia — it's just that his is a different role. It didn't occur to me he would mind; we are very good friends. He's given great counsel to me and I am on a vertical learning curve,' she says, coming as near to an apology as I hear in two hours. 'But he had a job that was way too big for one person, however brilliant. The fallout is we have restructured. We are growing so fast. We are trying to meet the demand of the public and we need to keep evolving.'
The polls suggest Reform is on course to win the next election — More in Common found it would be the largest party in parliament, with 290 seats, if an election were held now — but it's still hard to know what they would be like if they take over Downing Street as they have very few firm policies and no experience of government. Undaunted, Pochin believes that is an advantage. 'Having been a magistrate for so long, I know the court system, the prison system, the probation system, inside out. Obviously, nothing is set in stone and potentially we are four years out from a general election and things can change, but I would be very comfortable doing the prisons brief.'
So, what would she do about the prisons? She believes fervently, she says, in rehabilitation, as I do, but is appalled that this government is now letting out prisoners early. She would keep them locked up. 'We've seen the disgraceful pictures of them coming out and popping champagne corks. What message is that sending to the British people? I am worried about the safety of women. Take domestic violence. A woman has been so brave to get to the point where that man has been convicted. The number of times I have waited in court for a victim too intimidated to turn up … So if their attackers come out after a year, imagine how they feel.'
She'd take the same zero tolerance attitude to grooming gangs, forced marriages and FGM, she says. 'This is going on underneath our noses by people from different cultures to ours.' Pochin blames first Labour under Tony Blair, then David Cameron and the subsequent Tory governments for failing to stand up for British values. 'I think that is why people are now looking to Reform and someone like me who, I would hope, comes across as grounded and balanced and has done a lot in life. I am 56; I haven't come to this as a PPE graduate bag-carrier.'
Isn't this dog whistle politics, stirring up racial discontent and dividing communities? And what would Reform actually do about illegal immigration? Keir Starmer would love to stop the boats too. 'I have no problem with having ID cards as a deterrent,' Pochin says. 'Everything is on our phones — I don't even carry a handbag any more. If you have citizenship and you are a law-abiding, hard-working citizen of this country, you will have no issue carrying an ID card.'
Reform's policy is very clear, she tells me: anyone who arrives here illegally will immediately be deported and can never come back. 'We have processes for true refugees — look how welcoming the country was towards Ukrainians. This country has always been caring when we need to step up, but that's being totally abused now. These are not genuine asylum seekers; these are young men of fighting age, generally about 18-25, who are economic migrants.'
So where would Pochin send them back to? 'We haven't got everything worked out perfectly,' she replies, 'but the principle is we send them to a deportation centre, whether offshore or on the beach. You almost need a no man's land; you need to capture, gather them, so they don't settle. Then deport them straight away. In London, you can see them pitching their tents. But they shouldn't have got as far as central London or any other town.'
The two main parties are in denial about the danger of organised gangs from abroad, she says, on a roll now. She believes the north of England has become a 'dumping ground' for asylum seekers. 'It's not happening in the Cotswolds. I have residents on housing lists that are not getting homes because they are going to illegal immigrants. These houses have become hotbeds of knife crime, intimidation, dealing. I've got pictures of machete-wielding men on my phone. They are noisy and rude; the smell of cannabis is overwhelming. I have mothers telling me that their children have been approached in the park: 'Do you want to earn some money, girls?' This is where prostitution, drugs and grooming gangs start.'
But this kind of language helped to incite the riots last summer, surely? 'Is it acceptable to put a lid on evil because you are afraid of opening the box?' she replies. 'If I wasn't 100 per cent sure that I have the facts, I would not be saying these things. I do have evidence. I have the police numbers, the CCTV, the residents' testimonies.'
Does Pochin worry for her life by raising these controversial subjects? 'I understand I am putting myself at risk. I don't get protection. I don't travel on the Tube any more because I am recognised. I do feel nervous at train stations. It just takes one nutcase, but what can I do? I'm not one of those people who say I can't say this because I might get stabbed at Euston station.'
Pochin's father was in the army, based in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. 'A military child is so resilient — I could move home tomorrow and I would be fine. It teaches you strength. My dad encouraged my brother and me to be the best we can. I want to see more of my brother as he lives in London, but I now work from 5am to midnight, so I haven't seen anybody. My poor husband; I come home and go straight to bed.'
Her husband, Johnny, and two sons were initially discombobulated by her decision to run as a Reform MP, she says. 'My husband was like, my wife has disappeared, she's all over the press — it was quite traumatic for him and my oldest. The youngest was more up for it, although at home we don't talk politics. I like a rest sometimes. But they are all coming round to my job now.'
Young men were one of the first demographics to support Reform before older women and form the vast majority of Farage's 1.3 million followers on TikTok. 'Nigel has incredible support among young men. He has some kind of magic; it's astonishing. He has a charisma and magnetism the other leaders just don't.'
Yet women used to find his blokeish banter offputting. 'I hope I will broaden the interest among women. I have brought up a family and I have been a businesswoman. I like being a woman, having someone to pour my drink — I hate opening my own bottle of wine. I am delighted if I am complimented by a colleague; I am sad people are too afraid to say anything in the office now. But I also believe women should be paid the same amount as men. I don't think they should be on the front line of a war zone, but they could be working in drone bunkers and IT or in MI6 like the new female head.'
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The mainstream parties began to lose the female vote over the trans issue, Pochin suggests. Women became infuriated, she thinks, in particular by being told to share toilets with trans people. 'I hate the new unisex loos, partly because men are messy and dribble everywhere, but also, I don't want to be in a situation where a man might walk in when I am doing my lipstick and hairspray.'
Don't get me started on pronouns, she says, before I even mention them. 'They drive me nuts — you are a man or a woman, not a 'they'. When I see an email from a woke place, probably the Home Office, saying they/them/theirs, I immediately feel annoyed.'
Then there's the bias this government has against children attending private schools, she adds. It's old-fashioned class warfare, she believes. 'I went to a private school. My parents would be so affected now by the addition of VAT to school fees. I couldn't have gone. My dad was in the army, my mother worked in the post office and they believed in the power of education — they scrimped and saved, went without holidays, cars and presents, because they wanted me to get the best education.'
Her parents have both died, but she is convinced they would have been Reform voters, having been staunch Margaret Thatcher fans. 'I was brought up not to rely on the state. Reform is all about looking after the people who really need looking after, but not the ones who are taking the mickey, because that is what is happening now.'
She is not against looking after the rich too, though not the woolly liberal elite who have been in power too long. Her party has just introduced a new Robin Hood tax to charge non-doms a flat rate of £250,000 for a 'Britannia Card' and redistribute it to the poorest — an idea dubbed a bonanza for billionaires by Labour. 'We need to keep the super-rich here, not fleeing the country. It's in our DNA to strive to improve and be successful, yet as soon as you achieve anything here you are derided.'
She strongly believes that Reform is doing so well because of a sense of unfairness among those who are just trying to work hard and get on. Look at all the industrious farmers in the countryside in my constituency, she says. 'I feel this Labour government has a terrible problem with the rural community. They think that it is all toffs hunting and shooting and wealthy farmers.'
Dogs are another issue where Labour is evidently getting it wrong. 'In Wales now, in certain areas, they are looking at a policy where you can't walk your dogs even on a lead because it is intimidating to some people who don't come from rural communities.' What kind of people? 'Some ethnic minorities. This is an utter attack on our pets. It's a stupid area for Labour to go at, because we are a nation of animal lovers. We spend a fortune on them. I have two dogs. Why are they going there? It is another example of attacking the British culture.'
Britain is going to the dogs and we can't even walk them any more, appears to be Pochin's pitch. I know some women will identify with her worries that their hard-won rights are being eroded and their safety compromised. But I am still unconvinced all our woes can be blamed on immigrant cultures; we have benefited hugely from being a diverse, open-minded, inclusive country. Hers are the easy politics of derision and division, like Farage's, but neither she nor her party have yet provided well thought through, costed policies or solutions.
Pochin is undeterred by my concerns. The details can come later, she says — this is a vibe, not a vision. 'I feel my parents would be so proud of me,' she tells me. 'I have found my purpose. Everything has fallen into place and come together at the right time. I almost feel like I have got a little protection around me. I am here for a reason and I know it.'