Seven weirdest issues I noticed at Reform convention – from Jeremy Kyle to incest warning
Daily Star reporter Sian Hewitt spent three days witnessing all the strange and frankly bizarre goings-on at the Reform party conference
The conference was not the success Nigel may have been hoping for(Image: BBC)
It was never going to be a bog standard party conference, and the 2026 Reform annual meet did not disappoint.
The event took place at the Birmingham NEC from Thursday to Saturday night, but incredibly there was already a scandal before the public doors opened on day one.
Reform bigwigs found themselves immediately on the defensive, when the party was plunged into a dodgy donations scandal.
The party’s plans to appear as a legitimate contender for the next General Election were hit as two of Nigel Farage’s top aides were forced to walk the plank after being caught in undercover filming allegedly seeking to evade the rules on donations.
The report, aired by Channel 4, completely dominated the news agenda during the gathering of Reform party faithful in Birmingham.
But that was not all that we saw. Here are some of the weirdest and wacky moments from our three days of madness:
The Outfits
This man went all in on the outfit(Image: Daily Star)
Just where does one go to get THAT many Union Jack items?
Trainers, suits, waistcoats, dresses and even socks – the masses did not disappoint with showing off their love for everything British.
There were also deely boppers which were fun.
Gary Taggart from Scotland said nothing would ever stop him supporting Reform(Image: Daily Star)
It was either Union Jack or the turquoise shade, although I was later informed by London Mayor hopeful Laila Cunningham that it was NOT turquoise, but “teal”.
Turns out they had asked for some help in getting some Reform-esque garments made, and knew the difference.
Also a special shout out goes to the man who came in a full knight outfit.
The outfit must have been uncomfortable(Image: Daily Star)
Not content with a dress up version, he wore the full chain vest underneath which must have been very heavy and uncomfortable.
He told me it was “important” for one to “show you are patriotic”. Noted.
Sexy Richard Tice
Richard Tice is a big fan of being seen as sexy(Image: Guy Bell/Shutterstock)
What a statement.
Member of Parliament (MP) for Boston and Skegness Richard Tice gave a big long speech, telling everyone just how he was going to “fix Britain” and wanted to let his adoring delegates know about all of the success stories he hd managed in the past 12 months.
One he was very proud of was the fact that he was named the UK’s sexiest male MP in a June 2026 poll by the dating site Illicit Encounters. Who votes in these things?
He told the crowd how he was especially pleased to have dethroned the leader of Reform, Nigel Farage, to make the top spot.
He also then mocked Lee Anderson, saying he did not appear.
Richard again
Richard was a big fans of the “vibes” in Birmingham(Image: X/ @TiceRichard)
He did not stop. Appearing on the people’s stage later in the day with the one and only Jeremy Kyle.
No lie detectors in sight – but Richard did bound about the stage like an excited puppy, telling all of those standing in a circle watching him that the “vibes” were “off the scale”.
All the merch….. from China
There was lots of merch up for grabs(Image: Daily Star)
The party are very quick to tell everyone that they are absolutely not “grifters” but they were also very keen to sell all the Reform merch they possibly could.
You could buy a Nigel Farage football shirt for £35, or if you were very keen, two for £60. A tea towel would set you back £20, while a drinks bottle was £20. Even a pen was a fiver.
But for those who wanted to be part of the cool kids, you could bag yourself the very same tie Nigel himself modelled – for £30.
The pricelist of all the items for Reform fans(Image: Daily Star)
But things got slightly awkward, thanks to our pal Richard…. again.
Farage’s number two opened Reform’s conference by having a dig at China – while standing in the next room to the merch stand selling items manufactured there.
He said he would be championing British businesses only, saying: “I don’t want any Chinese buses in here please.”
But a quick glance over the nearby conference shop revealed the merch including pendants and water bottles were manufactured in China. Bit awkward.
Incest warning
Charles Amos did as his mum said(Image: X)
Now a lot of the delegates were wary of the media – and one of these was a man who had been warned by his mum not to come across as silly.
Pro-incest campaigner Charles Amos revealed how he had “promised his mum not to speak about it or cousin marriage” while attending the Reform conference.
When interviewed, he said: “I am an individual who pursues my own self interests.
“I’m not going to dictate what I say according to what’s in the interests of Reform. I’m just a party member.
“And it doesn’t really matter anyway because I promised my mum not to speak about cousin marriage and incest. And that is one thing I am going to keep.”
The interviewer then said: “i think that’s wise.” We agree.
Lee Anderson being unfriendly to the Daily Star
Lee Anderson wasn’t a fan of chatting(Image: Jonathan Buckmasterr)
Last year we went along to the conference and did a chat with Lee Anderson, who came out and told us exclusively how if Reform won the election he would push for policy to make it so that all school children had to sing the national anthem every day.
We reported this and then this year, managed to catch a glimpse of him as he was walking by.
We said hello again and reminded him of where he knew us from.
“Hi Lee, its Sian from the Daily Star, how are you?” to which we got a simple: “No.”
Seemed a bit harsh. We are also told he slagged off one of our Mirror colleague’s suits.
They asked if Reform will take cash from just about anyone. The politician retorted: “By the looks of your suit, you could do with some money, mate.”
Nadine Dorries rubbishing death threats
Nadine defended banning journalists during a Free Speech talk(Image: Will Colebourne/PA Wire)
A big story of the weekend was the conference mourning the death of Ann Widdecombe.
A very touching tribute was made to the former politician, across all parties, which encapsulated her work over the years.
Just 24 hours later Nadine appeared at a “Free Speech” conference talk, where she rubbished the laws in place now, and called for them to be abolished.
Incredibly in the next breath she defended the fact that many journalists had been banned from the conference for being mean about Reform in the months leading up.
The ironic exchange saw her label one of those refused entry – award-winning broadcaster and writer Michael Crick – a “pain in the bum”. Ms Dorries, a former Tory cabinet minister who defected to Reform, said Mr Crick should be barred from all conferences as he makes a nuisance of himself.
Also barred was Guardian journalist Anna Isaac, who exposed the £5million gift received by Farage, and investigative reporter Peter Geoghegan.
But she then moaned about “Labour female MPs” constantly moaning about receiving death threats, telling them they need to “get on with it.”
