Reform UK is laser-focused on tackling the problem of having “width, not depth” as it plans to unseat Sir Keir Starmer at the next General Election, a party insider tells GB News.
The revelation is a stark reminder that Reform’s rising popularity will not necessarily translate into seats come election time.
The results of the last General Election still haunt Nigel Farage’s party.
Under Britain’s first-past-the-post (FPTP) electoral system, Reform won 14.3 per cent of the national vote share but only won five seats in Parliament.
In the months since July 4, the party has won five by-elections and been buoyed by a series of polls that project big wins in local council elections next May and parliamentary elections in Wales and Scotland.
Reform needs a coherent policy platform to win over hearts and minds
Twitter/Nigel Farage
However, as one party insider tells GB News, all this buzz won’t make a blind bit of difference if Reform cannot deepen its appeal.
He explained: “Our problem is depth, not width. We have support everywhere but it’s not deep enough to win a first-past-the-post election.
“So we can shovel up the millions of votes, but unless we learn to focus effectively, that does not necessarily translate into hundreds of seats.”
The insider tells GB News that the party is “learning to focus and prioritise” places that could pave the way to electoral victory.
How might Reform do this?
It’s generally agreed upon that Reform needs a coherent policy platform to win over hearts and minds.
The Reform insider boasts about his party’s ability to tap into the mood music, but it needs a concrete set of policies to back it up – banging on the drum of immigration won’t cut it.
Nigel Farage’s party also needs to professionalise.
Getting billionaire tycoon Nick Candy on board has helped burnish Reform’s credentials, but it must also separate the wheat from the chaff.
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The buzz around Reform won’t make a blind bit of difference if Reform cannot deepen its appeal, insider claims
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Reform UK had a spluttering start with poorly vetted candidates attracting negative publicity but it has since cleaned up its act.
One insider told GB News that party apparatchiks are rejecting 50 per cent of candidates ahead of the next May’s elections.
Success is far from assured this far out from the next General Election.
As elections guru Professor Sir John Curtice previously told GB News, UKIP – Farage’s former party – never managed to attract widespread support.
“It remains to be seen whether Reform UK can embed itself in the social and organisational life of the country,” he added.
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