Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch became embroiled in an extraordinary public row last night over whose party had the most support.
Reform’s leader claimed it had become ‘the real opposition’ because it had overtaken the membership total of Mrs Badenoch’s Tories.
In a provocative move, his upstart Right-wing party projected an image of its tally of paid supporters on the facade of Tory HQ in London during the night – showing it had apparently outstripped the 131,680 declared by its much older rival in its recent leadership contest.
It also posted an image on X of what it said was a ‘screenshot of our internal membership numbers’, standing at 134,832 last night. New supporters must pay £25 a year for membership.
Mr Farage, who formerly led Ukip and the Brexit Party, said: ‘This is a big, historic moment. The youngest political party in British politics has just overtaken the oldest political party in the world. Reform UK are now the real opposition.’
But within hours Mrs Badenoch accused him of peddling fake figures and claimed her party had gained more members since she was elected leader in November.
She claimed Reform had made a ‘fake clock coded to tick up automatically’ on its website, and that ‘Farage doesn’t understand the digital age’.
‘How do I know for certain the Reform announcement is not true?’ Mrs Badenoch asked on social media. ‘Because the Conservative Party has gained thousands of new members since the leadership election. But we don’t shout about it . . . we are building quietly and steadily on principles and values, not gimmicks.
‘The road ahead is long and difficult. But our first mission is to win the trust of the British people – you don’t do that by manipulating them at Christmas.’
Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch became embroiled in an extraordinary public row last night over whose party had the most support
Kemi Badenoch pictured in September 2024 when she launched her Conservative Party Leadership campaign
Farage’s Right-wing party projected an image of its tally of paid supporters on the facade of Tory HQ in London during the night
But Mr Farage pointed out that he had more online followers than Mrs Badenoch. He also challenged her to let one of the so-called Big Four accountancy firms audit both parties’ memberships.
He added: ‘We understand you are bitter, upset and angry that we are now the second biggest party in British politics, and that the Conservative brand is dying under your leadership. However, this is not an excuse to accuse us of committing fraud. We will gladly invite one of the Big 4 firms in to audit our membership numbers as long as you do the same.’
Reform gained its first MP in March when former Tory Lee Anderson defected. It gained four more in the general election, including Mr Farage, having won four million votes as the Tories lost heavily.
Its appeal has grown as it capitalises on fears about immigration and crime. It is also targeting Labour strongholds in local elections after overtaking the governing party in a national opinion poll for the first time this month.
Reform’s finances are also on the up after it recruited property tycoon Nick Candy as treasurer amid rumours that it could get a donation from Elon Musk, the world’s richest man.
The Tories insist that voting for Reform will benefit Labour by splitting the vote on the Right.
Luke Tryl, of the think-tank More In Common, highlighted the fact that Labour membership soared under Jeremy Corbyn, but the party failed to win an election.