Badenoch not at all worried about ‘protest party’ Reform

Kemi Badenoch has dismissed Reform UK as a “protest party” as Nigel Farage prepares to hold a rally in her constituency.

The Conservative leader told broadcasters she was “not at all” worried about Reform’s presence in her North West Essex constituency, adding that talking about Labour’s farming policy was “much more important than having a rally about myself”.

The rally, which is expected to see speeches from all five of Reform’s MPs, follows a spat between Mrs Badenoch and Mr Farage over party membership figures during the Christmas period.

Mrs Badenoch had disputed Reform’s claim that its membership had overtaken that of the Conservatives, accusing Mr Farage of “fakery”.

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Reform strongly denied the accusation and said it was considering legal action. However, Mr Farage later said he was not going to sue, but would hold a rally with the approximately 400 Reform members in North West Essex to say “we are coming for you at the next election”.

The Reform rally comes as polling suggests the party has pulled level with, and possibly overtaken, the Conservatives.

A Techne UK poll published on Friday showed Reform in second place with 24%, one point ahead of the Conservatives on 23% and two points behind first-placed Labour on 26%.

Asked about the polling numbers on a visit to a farm in Cheshire, Mrs Badenoch said it was “not a surprise that at the moment protest parties are gaining in the polls”.

She added: “The job that the British people have given me is to fight for them, be the leader of the opposition, hold the Government to account.

“That’s why I’m here talking about the family farm tax. It’s really important that we tell people what’s going on with farming and how Labour’s policies are going to destroy it. That’s much more important than having a rally about myself.”