Conference wrap: Reform UK 2026
How the First 100 Days pitch at Reform UK’s 2026 conference was overshadowed by a Channel 4 exposé
Reform UK came to Birmingham with far less momentum than a year earlier. More in Common had it on 22 per cent, behind Labour and the Conservatives; Opinium found only 25 per cent thought it ready for government; and Nigel Farage’s Clacton by-election win, with Count Binface his nearest challenger, looked faintly surreal. Its theme, “The First 100 Days”, was meant to show a party ready to govern.
Instead, a Channel 4 News and Verbatim exposé on the eve of conference set the agenda: Farage aide Dan Jukes and Reform’s head of policy James Orr stepped down pending an internal investigation, and Reform denies accepting illegal donations or breaking electoral law. The programme had more substance than the headlines suggested, but Farage is now spending more time responding to events than dictating them.
The full report · 17 pages, with every chart.
Get the full reportWhat we found
1. Reform promises speed, with senior figures staking their jobs on 100-day pledges
Farage said a Reform government would declare an immediate “national emergency”, introduce dozens of Bills within days and keep Parliament sitting through the summer. Richard Tice promised to cut average household energy bills by £250 or resign, Robert Jenrick pledged a £15,000 personal allowance and Suella Braverman made a similar commitment on training British doctors. Promises that specific leave Reform little room to retreat into generalities afterwards.
2. Jenrick’s £15,000 personal allowance would cost around £17.7 billion in its first year
Raising the allowance from £12,570 in Reform’s first Budget would, he said, take around 2.9 million people out of income tax and save most taxpayers close to £500. Reform says cuts to welfare, net zero, overseas aid and the civil service would pay for it, which critics will challenge. His planned investor roadshow in London and New York shows some senior figures are thinking about audiences beyond the party faithful.
3. Bardella’s memorandum gave Farage an answer on France, but not yet a practical one
National Rally president Jordan Bardella signed a memorandum with Farage envisaging France accepting returns from Britain, tighter border controls and arrangements on enforcement costs under future governments led by their parties. It has no present legal or diplomatic force and cannot bind the French state, but it let Farage demonstrate, rather than merely assert, that French cooperation on small-boat returns might be possible.
4. Farage still commands the hall, but this summer the questions were chosen for him
Hecklers energised him on Friday, but his Saturday closing speech was humbler, admitting Reform would sometimes “get a bit of a kicking”. He has admitted becoming “ratty” and said much of his family wanted him to “walk away”. A Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards investigation into whether he failed to register a £5 million gift from Christopher Harborne has resumed; Farage denies breaking the rules and no finding has been made.
What’s in the report
- Reform UK conference 2026 p. 3
- The first 100 days p. 4
- Nigel Farage on stage, front and centre p. 6
- Keynote speakers p. 7
- Talking to business p. 13
- Conference mood p. 14
- What next for Nigel Farage? p. 15
- Conference round-up p. 16
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