Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Reform UK membership surpasses Conservative Party for the first time

A digital counter on the Reform UK website displayed a membership figure exceeding 131,680, surpassing the Conservatives’ last declared total during their leadership election earlier this year.

Nigel-Farage-Getty

Nigel Farage called the milestone a 'historic moment.' (Photo: Getty Images)

MEMBERSHIP of the Reform UK party has surpassed that of the Conservative Party for the first time, the party announced on Thursday.

Nigel Farage, Reform UK leader and a key figure in the Brexit movement, called the milestone a "historic moment."


The shift comes after the July general election, where immigration was a key issue, and the Conservatives were voted out of power after 14 years.

A digital counter on the Reform UK website displayed a membership figure exceeding 131,680, surpassing the Conservatives’ last declared total during their leadership election earlier this year.

Farage wrote on X, formerly Twitter: "The youngest political party in British politics has just overtaken the oldest political party in the world. Reform UK are now the real opposition."

Zia Yusuf, Reform UK's chairman, described the achievement as a sign that the Conservatives’ long-standing dominance over the centre-right has been broken.

The Conservative Party’s last declared membership figure was its lowest on record, down from around 172,000 in 2022.

Reform UK secured five seats in the 650-seat UK parliament during the July election, taking about 14 per cent of the total vote.

The party’s gains came at the expense of the Conservatives, splitting the right-wing vote and attracting former Tory supporters in key areas.

Labour won the election by a landslide, though Prime Minister Keir Starmer has faced challenges in his first five months in office. A recent Ipsos poll showed that 53 percent of Britons are "disappointed" with Labour’s performance so far.

British politics has historically been dominated by Labour and the Conservatives, but some commentators note that major parties in the past have faced lasting declines in popularity.

The divided Liberal Party, for instance, lost its status as a major opposition force after World War I, replaced by Labour.

Earlier this month, Farage mentioned that he was in discussions with tech billionaire Elon Musk about potential donations to Reform UK.

(With inputs from AFP)

More For You

Sheikh Hasina

Hasina left for India at the end of the student-led protests and has not returned to Dhaka, where her trial for alleged crimes against humanity began on June 1. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

Leaked audio suggests Hasina ordered use of force during 2024 protests

SOME leaked audio recordings suggest Bangladesh’s former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who is currently on trial in absentia, ordered a deadly crackdown on protests last year.

According to the United Nations, up to 1,400 people were killed between July and August 2024 when Hasina's government cracked down on demonstrators during an attempt to stay in power.

Keep ReadingShow less
Doctors' strike

The doctors had previously accepted a 22 per cent pay rise covering 2023 to 2025, which brought an end to earlier rounds of strikes.

Getty Images

England's resident doctors announce five-day strike over pay dispute

JUNIOR doctors in England will go on strike from 25 to 30 July, their union said on Wednesday, after the British government said it could not meet their demand for an improved pay offer this year.

The doctors, also known as resident doctors, make up a large part of the medical workforce. They were offered an average 5.4 per cent pay rise but are seeking 29 per cent, saying this is needed to reverse years of real-terms pay erosion.

Keep ReadingShow less
Modi set for UK visit to sign free trade agreement

FILE PHOTO: Keir Starmer (L) with Narendra Modi. (Photo: Getty Images)

Modi set for UK visit to sign free trade agreement

INDIA's prime minister Narendra Modi is likely to travel to the UK by the end of this month for a visit that could see both sides formally sign the landmark India-UK free trade agreement and explore ways to expand bilateral ties in the defence and security sphere, diplomatic sources said.

Both sides are in the process of finalising the dates for Modi's visit to the country by the end of July or the first part of August, they said.

Keep ReadingShow less
gill-bumrah-archer-getty

Bumrah returns to bolster India's attack, Gill eyes more records, while Archer boosts England's hopes at Lord's. (Photo: Getty Images)

Getty Images

3rd Test: India confident after big win, England turn to Archer at Lord's

Highlights:

 
     
  • India levelled the series 1-1 with a 336-run win at Edgbaston
  •  
  • Shubman Gill has scored 585 runs in two Tests as captain
  •  
  • Jofra Archer set for first Test appearance since 2021; Bumrah returns for India

INDIA will look to continue their strong form when they face England in the third Test at Lord's starting Thursday. After losing the first Test at Headingley, India bounced back to level the five-match series 1-1 with a 336-run win at Edgbaston.

Keep ReadingShow less
 Post Office Horizon

A Post Office van parked outside the venue for the Post Office Horizon IT inquiry at Aldwych House on January 11, 2024 in London.

Getty Images

Post Office scandal linked to 13 suicides, says inquiry

Highlights:

 
     
  • Public inquiry finds up to 13 suicides linked to wrongful Post Office prosecutions.
  •  
  • Horizon IT system faults led to false accusations, financial ruin, and imprisonment.
  •  
  • Sir Wyn Williams says Post Office maintained a “fiction” of accurate data despite known faults.

A PUBLIC inquiry has found that up to 13 people may have taken their own lives after being wrongly accused of financial misconduct by the Post Office, in what is now described as one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history.

Keep ReadingShow less