During the General Election campaign, one of the major concerns for voters tempted to vote for Reform was the internal party structure. It seemed odd, to say the least, that a party supposedly campaigning for democratic reform had no internal democratic structures whatsoever.
Media outlets and countless social media posts warned potential voters that Reform UK was a Limited Company with a majority share held by Nigel Farage alone, meaning that he, in effect, had dictatorial control over the party.
This contradiction was well understood by both of Farage’s deputies, Dr David Bull, as illustrated in this clip, and Ben Habib. It seems that both were expecting democratic structures to be put in place. Bull claimed that they were half-way through that process when the election was called.
However, only a week after the General Election concluded, Farage dismissed both from the party leadership leaving many Reform voters dismayed and angry. Within hours of announcing his decision on Twitter/X, Farage was deluged with hundreds of comments from Reform supporters expressing concern at this actions.
Today, Conservative leadership hopeful Robert Jenrick has announced that, if elected as leader, he will institute a series of steps to democratise his party including the election of the Party Chairman and the return of selection of candidates to local Conservative associations, rather than them being in effect heavily influenced by party officials.
Meanwhile, Reform supporters are wondering if Farage really does have any desire to democratise at all. He claimed he did, but then he removed two of its most effective proponents. Rather than giving members the choice of Party Chairman, as Jenrick pledges to Conservative members, Farage appoints an individual with no political experience but who has donated £200,000 to the party.
Farage may currently be the majority shareholder in Reform UK Ltd, but the millions who voted for Reform are the true stakeholders. A political movement can only be built and sustained, if the volunteers are prepared to put in the work to make it happen.
It is therefore ultimately they, not Farage, who will decide Reform UK’s fate. And if Farage fails to deliver what he has promised, but instead continues to move in the opposite direction, Reform will fail.
