Jubilant Reform are kicking off their conference today following the defection of former Cabinet minister Nadine Dorries.
Nigel Farage is set to rally his party in Birmingham after he welcomed Ms Dorries – who announced her move by telling the Daily Mail the Tories ‘are dead’.
Reform has seen an extraordinary surge in support since the general election, and is now enjoying double-digit poll leads over Labour.
Professor John Curtice this morning described Mr Farage as the most influential politician of the century. He told the BBC that Reform could win a majority at an election with the current levels of support – although the contest might still be four years away.
Meanwhile, it has emerged that half the Cabinet might not be MPs if Mr Farage does end up in power.
Reform’s DOGE chief Zia Yusuf said ‘all the talents’ would be deployed in a US-style administration.
They could be made peers in order to serve in office – although critics have warned that would pose problems with democratic accountability.
Mr Yusuf told the Telegraph: ‘The number of people who are coming forward saying that they want to help Reform, either in the background or potentially front line, is growing all of the time.
‘Some of these people are household names. I’m not going to give you them, because I’m not going to betray confidences. But these are incredible – this is galactic-level talent that we’d be very proud to have serving our country.’
Touring broadcast studios this morning, Mr Yusuf said the party is actively ‘preparing for government’.
He told BBC Breakfast: ‘Nigel is preparing for government. We are taking seriously the important work of getting ready for government.
‘We’re not going to be like Labour, if the British people see fit to elect a Reform government, we will come into power with a plan.’
Reform activists will hear speeches from Ms Farage and the party’s four MPs today.
Mr Yusuf, now in charge of the party’s Doge (department of government efficiency) unit, will lead a side event on crypto finance, while MP Lee Anderson is scheduled to appear at a conversation on the ‘crisis facing young men’.
Two Tory former cabinet ministers are also set to attend: Michael Gove will interview Mr Yusuf, while Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg will join a panel.
The gathering kicks off as polling by More in Common found Reform UK’s support base has become more mainstream, with a narrower gender gap, broader age spread and views closer to average Britons on most social issues — though immigration remains the party’s defining concern.
Some 40 per cent of current supporters backed Reform UK in 2024 and others have since switched from Labour and the Conservatives, or were non-voters.
The polling found that Reform UK supporters placed more importance on immigration than the average voter – some 86 per cent would support a reduction in net migration compared with 58% of the wider public.
After months of secret negotiations, former Conservative Culture Secretary Ms Dorries declared she is joining forces with the Reform UK leader.
The staunch Boris Johnson ally is the highest profile Tory to defect after former party chairman Sir Jake Berry, former Wales secretary David Jones and Dame Andrea Jenkyns.
Mr Farage celebrated the decision last night, calling Ms Dorries ‘a significant addition to [the] team’.
‘From this time last year, we had a handful of branches – we’ve now got 450. We’ve won the elections on May 1. We’re publishing policy papers. And the team of people is building and Nadine is a significant addition to that team,’ he said.
‘Because while it’s wonderful to get people from outside politics – and I want to do more of that – we also need people with experience who have been in government and understand how the system works. That’s why Nadine is a big signing for us.’
He added: ‘She’s been there, she knows the problems. She crosses the line from being just a politician into celebrity – she’s been in the jungle like me, she sold 3.5million books, she’s an accomplished columnist on the Daily Mail and this shows that the Conservative Party is beginning to disintegrate before your eyes.’
