With four days to go until the election, Reform UK is doing better “than anyone in the media or in politics could have imagined in their worst nightmares”, Nigel Farage told the largest political rally in modern British history.
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK: Scenes that look more like a Trump rally than anything else in British politics Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre was packed on Sunday.Farage said the event, attended by 5,000 people, was the biggest of the general election campaign and one of the largest official political events in the UK for decades.
5,000 people gathered at Birmingham NEC to Reform UK. Watch the stream now!
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) June 30, 2024
Speaking for an hour without notes or an automated cue, Farage told his supporters it was important to keep the energy high not just in the final four days until election day but for the next five years, and made it clear that while he did not think he could win this election, he wanted to win the next one.
Mr Farage said:
I know it’s a tough situation in our electoral system. We’re likely to get fewer seats than we deserve. But we will get seats next Thursday. Trust me, we will… I know Starmer will win this election, but this election is a first step. It’s the first big step we take to turn this around in an independent Britain. Britain is broken. Britain needs reform.
… My intention, over the next few years, is to build a mass movement the likes of which have never been seen in the modern history of this country. A mass movement for real change. A mass movement that represents the views of ordinary citizens of this country. And I believe we can achieve this.”
Mr Farage condemned the media onslaught he has suffered over the past week, dismissing it as “the biggest fabrication and smear campaign I’ve ever seen in my life… frankly it’s awful” by Channel 4 and the “campaigner” BBC, but said he remained in good spirits and full of confidence. He added: “I’m not depressed. Are you depressed? We are doing much better in the media and in politics than people would imagine in their worst nightmares. We are doing well.”
After all, no other party could have organised such a massive rally, said Farage’s colleague Richard Tice, because no other political leader was interesting enough. “Do you think Keir Starmer could organise an event like this? Do you think Rishi Sunak could muster this passion and conviction?” Tice asked, predicting the Reform Party would win millions of votes in this week’s election.
“The Conservative party is scared, that’s why we’re being slammed. What does it mean to be slammed? It means you’re overstepping the mark. And there are a lot of people in the media who seem scared,” Tice said.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage speaks at the ‘Rally for Reform’ at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham on June 30, 2024, ahead of the general election on July 4. (Photo: Justin Tallis/AFP) (Photo: Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)
Mr Farage delivered his usual upbeat speech, as he has done at other rallies over the past few days – some of which drew crowds of thousands – again highly unusual in British politics, where hearing a politician speak is not usually a thrilling experience – but the star of the afternoon was perhaps the party’s new donor, Zia Yousuf.
Yousef, a billionaire tech start-up businessman who has reportedly donated large sums to reform causes in recent weeks, used his time at the talk to make a strong case for British values that have shaped the Western world but which he says are increasingly under threat.
… British values. Equality under the law, the presumption of innocence, freedom of religion, freedom of speech, love of family, love of country. These values were exported around the world and gave birth to the United States of America… These values are truly a miracle.
…When my parents moved here in the 1980s, net immigration per year was about 50,000. That meant public services were not overburdened and newcomers could assimilate comfortably. Last year the number was 650,000, we have lost control of our borders and we have no consistent immigration policy. And this is affecting all Britons, regardless of race or religion. And this has real consequences. I say to our young people, you are being betrayed. You are being denied a fair chance. Almost a third of under-30s live with their parents at home because there is no affordable housing. Yes, we have to build more houses, but we have to stop the explosive demand.
Reform UK supporters gather to take part in a “Rally for Reform” at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham on June 30, 2024, ahead of the general election on July 4. (Photo: Justin Tallis/AFP) (Photo: Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)
A Reform UK supporter wearing a “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) cap queues with others before a “Rally for Reform” at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham on June 30, 2024, ahead of the July 4 general election. (Photo by Justin Tallis/AFP) (Photo by Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)
