It comes amid internal rows in the party over its future direction, as well as a policy platform that begins to fall apart when put under scrutiny.
Reform’s troubles are continuing, as the party comes under growing scrutiny and challenge that it is not quite used to.
Far from riding high in the polls, it is now coming to terms with reality.
After a chaotic few weeks for the far-right party, which has seen newly elected councillors quit, as well as the party chairman, Zia Yusuf, resign from his role only to return to the party within 48 hours, it now turns out that Reform’s membership numbers are also falling, as some begin to have second thoughts.
New party data seen by LBC, shows that Reform UK’s membership dropped by 2,924 members between 2 and 9 June, falling from 237,099 to 234,175. The sharpest decline occurred over four days – from the 5 June to the 9 June when nearly 1,000 members departed.
It comes amid internal rows in the party over its future direction, as well as a policy platform that begins to fall apart when put under scrutiny.
Last week also saw Reform MP Sarah Pochin using her Commons debut speech to ask the Prime Minister to ban the burka, comments which Yusuf called ‘dumb’.
Reacting to the decline in membership numbers, one X user asked if people were finally seeing through Farage’s con! It’s worth pointing out that we could yet see further falls in Reform’s membership, amid the latest scandals to hit the party.
Economic experts have also warned in recent weeks that Reform’s plans for tax cuts and spending commitments have not been fully costed and would have a far worse impact than Liz Truss’ disastrous mini budget.
That has seen Reform MPs endure a number of car crash interviews as they try to defend policies that don’t stack up. After a tumultuous few weeks, Reform has also seen its poll lead fall.
According to polling by Survation, Reform’s lead in the polls has dropped by three percentage points.
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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