A week is a long time in politics – especially if you are Reform UK

Before you start reading this, I firmly believe articles shouldn't be too long, so my columns will be to the point and never long or rambling. Be sure to hold me to that.

This is my first column as your 'resident' Reformer, and it has taken a week or two to find my feet and pluck up the courage to put fingers to the keyboard! My various social media bios describe me as 'Thatcherite, Brexiteer, & Faragiste,' which should adequately summarise my political journey, from voting for the first time on 4th May 1979, to the latest leg, which started the day Nigel Farage declared he was standing in the 2024 General Election. Since late 2022, having given up on the Conservatives (for the second time), I had been planning to vote #NoneOfTheAbove, but on that day in June 2024, when he declared he was running in Clacton, I became a Reformer and, 5 weeks later, a member of Reform UK.

I started writing this column the day after the annual Reform UK Conference at the NEC in Birmingham – I did not go in case you were wondering. I have, on occasion, described myself as an inverted optimist – the logic being if I am overly pessimistic, things will always work out better than my unnecessarily negative views. The Thursday before last's late-night WhatsApp messages didn't help this outlook, and all day the following Friday I was in a foul mood after the funded polling sting, which resulted in the suspension/resignation of two key Reform UK 'contractors,' pending an investigation.

That makes THREE key figures being investigated by the Party Chairman, Lee Anderson and the General Secretary, Tom Waterhouse. Of course, in addition to the two naive 'officers,' James Orr and Dan Jukes, there is also the case of Tim Montgomery, the former Conservative commentator and blogger, now a 'critical friend' and recently suspended member of Reform UK.

Tim was suspended for various critical remarks about the Reform top brass; the two key ones being his criticism of Nigel's absence at the Clacton Count and calling out Zia Yusuf (Reform UK's Home Affairs spokesman) for describing former Secretary of State for Defence and Army Veteran, Ben Wallace, as a traitor. I agreed with Tim on the latter, it was foolish for Zia to use such intemperate language to describe a former soldier as a traitor, however, I think Farage was totally within his rights to avoid the by-election count and prevent the press from photographing him next to a bin and thirty-two other 'losers.'

I originally presented this piece last Tuesday afternoon, but later that evening Tim released a few media pieces (Telegraph, GB News, Not Another One Podcast) announcing that following a chat with Lee Anderson (Party Chairman), he had decided to resign. And they say a week is a long time in Politics?

Anyway, my sour mood eased late Friday when I replayed Nigel's conference speech, delayed by an undiscovered banner and then interrupted on no fewer than FOUR occasions by 'boring' protestors. Yes, the speech did cheer me up, but who was responsible for security with the undiscovered 'Monopoly' banner, and who oversaw the vetting of conference delegates? Can you see a theme developing here?

Then late last week, just when you thought Party funding would quietly slip away from the media and public’s conscience, KERCHING - Ben Delo (BitMAX…no, me neither) donates a whopping THIRTY-SIX MILLION sterling. Then before the dust settles, on the same day, another THIRTY-SIX MILLION from Farage’s old mate, Christopher Harbourne – the guy who triggered the whole funding issue with his £5m gift to Nigel 3-years ago, and which was one of few factors which helped precipitate the recent Clacton By-Election.

Of course, this has now triggered outrage in the media and ‘leftie’ circles, with dear Angie declaring on the Sunday TV rounds that the current Party Funding paper going through Parliament would be retrospectively applied to make these donations illegal. Honestly, this is box-office stuff, but I would advise Reform UK to find some party infrastructure investment or advertising opportunities ASAP and spend as much of this as they can before any attempt is made to sequester these funds.

This is all rather nostalgic for me to be honest – all I can think about is Harry Enfield and his ‘Loadsamoney’ character!

Anyway, turning my attention closer to home, our new Reform UK County Council Leader, Michael Hadwen, is not short of confidence and on the three occasions I have met him since his elevation, has shown a good grasp of the issues facing him and has responded well to questions. But who was there advising him on some of the more 'trivial' decisions he has made to date? Mind you, no one can deny his early victory against the Ginger Growler, Angela Rayner?

Following his call for a Judicial Review of the three-council plan, LGR (Local Government Reorganisation) has now been suspended. I was always in favour of Unitary Authorities, but not the three mini councils gerrymandered with the help of Ipswich's MP, Jack Abbott. For nearly 20-years I have been convinced a single Suffolk Unitary Council would be best for the County. In fact, and I now have to admit it, I was the mystery blogger Graham Dines (EADT) referred to in April 2008, sending emails to ALL Suffolk councillors encouraging them to support the project.

Back to Reform UK issues, I see a pattern forming, both locally and nationally: ill-considered, poorly thought-through actions by well-meaning activists, but without the maturity and experience needed in an increasingly polarised and splintered electoral and political environment.

Reform UK members should be asking themselves: who are the big brains behind the big names? Where are the grey hairs in tweed, and who are the well-coiffed, thrusting young things with tight trousers and pointy shoes? Who is in the inner circle advising Nigel, Richard, Zia, Lee, Suella, Robert, and the other members of the Reform UK 'Shadow Cabinet'? And who do we have locally, tempering the natural dynamic and impatient instincts of our Councillors?

By asking these impertinent questions, I risk the fate of being a critical friend of the party and the suspension/investigation that follows, but in my defence, M'Lord, I will vote Reform UK if they are on my ballot paper. If, in the unlikely event I ever vote Conservative again, at least you'll then know that Reform UK is no more and the Tory party has finally rid itself of those intolerant, remainiac, Limp Dims that squandered much of our advantage in the Brexit negotiations.

Have we now seen peak Reform, or is this part of the natural political cycle? Am I being overly pessimistic (optimistically inverted?) in suggesting this, or is the Channel 4 hit job now definitely yesterday's fish & chip paper, or will it be very soon?

With parts of the media focusing mainly on digging up dirt on Farage, it is time for their other national Reform UK figures to front up and take some heat away from Nigel. The Party must be more than just the man, but it must be better than the sum of its parts.

But most importantly, it must clean up its act on the money front, whether through attracting and/or declaring donations; in fact, anything to do with donations must be totally transparent and 100% within the archaic Parliamentary rules.

A week really is a long time in politics. Happy reading, see you next time.

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