Farage and Jenrick set to address closing of Reform conference overshadowed by scandal and protests

Reform UK’s London mayoral candidate Laila Cunningham, who left the Conservatives last year, said she joined Reform because “loyalty to a party can never, ever come before loyalty to the public.”

She said she is running for London mayor because the city “is broken in many of the same ways that Britain is,” and “the people who broke it can never be the people that we ask to fix it.”

Robert Jenrick and Suella Braverman, both former Conservative ministers, are among the former Tory MPs who have joined Reform.

Lee Anderson, the Reform UK chair, downplayed the protests during Nigel Farage’s speech, where a woman appeared to be assaulted by a crowd of Reform supporters. He called them “a few nuisances,” saying he saw “an old chap” with a walking stick during the incident. He added: “I don’t condone any sort of that behaviour. But if anybody wants to have a quick whip round later, we are collecting for a new walking stick.”

Police are appealing for a woman who was among the climate activists protesting during Farage’s speech at Reform’s conference to come forward, after footage appeared to show her being manhandled by people in the crowd.

Security at the event on the outskirts of Birmingham removed several protesters who heckled Farage during his speech.

Footage circulating on social media shows one protester having her hair pulled by a woman in the crowd, while another person puts his hand over the protester’s face.

West Midlands police said: “We’re aware of a video circulating from the Reform UK Conference showing an incident with a protester. We haven’t received a complaint but would ask the woman involved to come forward and contact us so we can carry out enquiries.”

Former Conservative MP Nadine Dorries, who has joined Reform, said sensitivities were “heightened” following the killing of Anne Widdicombe. She told LBC: “They tried to completely derail the speech. It was an organised sting again.”

A quarter of Reform UK supporters want to rejoin the EU, according to polling released at the party’s conference in Birmingham. The study by Opinium for the Policy Institute at King’s College London and UK in a Changing Europe found that while 25% of Reform supporters want Brexit reversed, the public estimated that figure at just 9%. Meanwhile, 76% of Reform supporters want to stop all immigration to the UK. The poll also showed that 41% of voters named Reform as the party they most want to block from winning in their area.

Police are dealing with a protest by masked men in Dover, which a local councillor said appeared to be a “coordinated” demonstration related to “illegal migration.” Dozens of men in black clothing and balaclavas blocked roads in and out of the port. Chris Vinson, leader of the Conservative group at Dover District Council, said the protest appeared to be “illegal migration-related.” Kent police confirmed officers were engaging with protesters.

Robert Jenrick is expected to announce a major tax-cutting pledge at Reform’s conference, including increasing the tax-free personal allowance to £15,000 within the first 100 days of taking office. The threshold has been frozen at £12,570 since 2021. Reform said the plan would save the average taxpayer £500 a year and take 2.9 million people out of income tax, costing £17.7 billion in its first year. Jenrick is also expected to announce £80 billion in spending cuts, primarily from the welfare budget.

The conference has been overshadowed by a scandal involving senior Reform figures caught in an undercover investigation discussing potential foreign donations. James Orr, the party’s head of policy, and Dan Jukes, a close aide to Farage, have been “permanently suspended.” Zia Yusuf, the party’s home affairs spokesperson, distanced himself from the two, telling reporters: “anyone who supports Reform is disappointed.”