Politics

Reform UK faces internal strain and stalled polls ahead of annual conference

A summer of strategic missteps, funding investigations, and internal disputes has slowed the populist party's momentum.

Updated Aug 31, 2026 · 13:55 UTC1 reports

The short version

Reform UK's rapid rise in the polls has stalled, with recent surveys placing them behind the Labour Party as they prepare for their annual conference in Birmingham.
A parliamentary standards investigation into an undeclared £5 million payment to Nigel Farage from donor Christopher Harborne has resumed after being temporarily paused.
Farage's decision to trigger a byelection in Clacton to address the funding controversy limited his national media presence by keeping him anchored in Essex for six weeks.

Reform UK is preparing for its annual conference in Birmingham following a summer marked by internal divisions, funding questions, and stagnant polling numbers.[The Guardian]
Nigel Farage triggered and won a byelection in Clacton against Count Binface, a move critics suggest was a strategic error that confined him to Essex for six weeks and limited his national media exposure.[The Guardian]
A parliamentary standards investigation has resumed into an undeclared £5 million payment made to Farage by megadonor Christopher Harborne.[The Guardian]
Internal friction has emerged within the party, including Farage reprimanding home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf for calling former Defence Secretary Ben Wallace a 'traitor', alongside the suspension of activist Tim Montgomerie.[The Guardian]
Recent polling indicates Reform's support has plateaued, with a More in Common poll placing them at 23% and an Ipsos poll showing Labour leading them 28% to 25%.[The Guardian]

It remains to be seen whether public dissent or challenges to leadership will emerge from within Reform UK during the upcoming annual conference.[The Guardian]