Reform UK Surpasses Labor Party in Membership
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK has emerged as the largest political party in the UK, overtaking the previously dominant Labor Party, which has seen a significant drop in its membership.
“The old two parties are withering and dying. We are the future,” stated Nigel Farage, the leader of the Reform Party and a key Brexit figure, as confirmation of his party’s membership numbers showed it now leads in both paid memberships and opinion polls.
The Reform Party has been transparent about its membership figures, reporting an increase of 1,000 members when the news broke about its rise over Labor. As it stands, the party boasts nearly 270,000 members.
Interestingly, the Labor Party has ceased sharing its membership numbers, presumably to maintain some degree of dignity as their membership count continues to decline. Just a few years ago, under the leadership of Sir Keir Starmer, Labor had “more than 500,000” paid members. However, this figure began to fall after a purge of the previous leadership began.
Jeremy Corbyn, who led the Labor Party from 2015 until 2020, left with a number of supporters, which subsequently contributed to the party’s dwindling numbers. Many Labor MPs quickly aligned with the new leadership, overshadowing the ongoing internal division of the party. Last year, membership was reported at approximately 333,000, and it’s believed to have since fallen below 250,000, while Farage’s Reform Party claims tens of thousands more.
It’s worth noting that party membership alone doesn’t automatically determine electoral success. Overall, membership has declined significantly since the post-World War II era, when political parties had millions of active members. Nevertheless, while traditional party membership fades, the surge in Reform Party numbers and consistent opinion polls showing Farage in first place signal a shift.
Farage described the new membership figures as a “major milestone,” emphasizing, “Reform is now Britain’s largest membership-based party and the fastest growing across the European time zone. Thank you so much to everyone… The old two parties are fading and disappearing. We are the future.”
