All that has changed. As Labour struggles over its asylum policies – figures released on Thursday showed a record 111,000 claims from asylum seekers in its first year – and Kemi Badenoch failing to make inroads for the Tories, it is Reform that is leading in the polls.
Reform may only have four MPs, but it came second in 98 seats, 89 of which were won by Labour, controls ten councils, has two directly elected mayors, and picked up a by-election win in May, taking the Runcorn and Helsby seat from Labour.
To address the deficiency, Farage has recruited a roster of ex-public servants to advise him on policy.
As well as helping the party prepare for government, pollsters believe that if Farage can successfully professionalise his outfit, it could push Reform’s potential polling “ceiling” from its current level of about 30 per cent to above 40 per cent.
To beef up its policymaking credentials, several Reform-sympathetic think-tanks have sprung into life, such as the Centre for a Better Britain, which launches next month and will be led by the party’s former chief operating office, Jonathan Brown.
Next followed Vanessa Frake, an ex-governor of HMP Wormwood Scrubs, who joined to advise on prisons.
It is possible that some of these figures could end up in a Reform government – Farage has spoken repeatedly about his desire to appoint experts from outside the House of Commons as cabinet ministers. Appointments to the House of Lords would provide him with the means to do so.
How to deal with the ‘Blob’
However, the party is not just courting people who have left public service. Reform sources say they are talking to current civil servants to help them prepare.
Nigel Farage with Dame Andrea Jenkyns, winner of Greater Lincolnshire mayoralty (L), and Sarah Pochin, winner of the Runcorn and Helsby by-election (R) (Photo: Lia Toby/Getty Images)
The message from the officials – so the insider said – was: “We’re on your side, but obviously we can’t do anything, because we’ve got these jobs. But can we help?”
Reform are convinced that if they do get into power they will face obstruction from officials, government lawyers and quangos. The Reform insider said: “We expect that, of course we do, we’re not thick.
“Every piece of legislation we put in, some jumped-up piece of taxpayer-funded lobby group is going to put in a judicial review.”
But he said that civil servants took seriously rules prohibiting them from taking part in political activities.
“Civil servants take it very seriously, because it has very serious consequences for those who don’t.”
Penman said: “At some point Starmer is going to have to authorise contact pre-election with the civil service. The civil service at that point will be engaging with all the political parties, but will clearly be thinking about who looks likely to form a government, because they’ve got to think and prepare for what that looks like”.
Lack of experience still an issue for voters
Sophie Stowers, research manager at the More in Common think-tank, said that Reform’s lack of experience was still an issue for many voters.
“For those who have moved over from Labour or the Conservatives quite recently, it is on the list of worries. But I think it’s important to remember that for that group of voters, in their heads, their view is they’ve already given all the kind of professional guys a go. They’ve been let down by them, so why not give the scrappy upstart a go and see what happens?
“For them, the professionalisation of the party ranks quite highly as a concern.
Stowers said that voters in this group were aware of some of the controversies which had bedevilled Reform, like the two MPs who have crashed out of the party.
“It is spelling out, what is your policy on the NHS, on tax and spend, on transport and things like that… people generally don’t tend to know much more than the stop the boats stuff”.
“Without that group, they won’t expand that far at all”, she said. “That is a real barrier to their growth.”
However, Farage’s attempt to co-opt former public servants is not without its own risks. For one, bringing people from outside politics into the fold creates the potential for tensions and going off-message.
Appointing ex-public servants as Reform advisers also raises the prospect of a shopping list of demands which Farage may struggle to accommodate.
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Read MoreReform say that all the work they are doing reflects how seriously they are taking the idea that in a few years’ time they could really be in power.
“We recognise we just can’t afford to screw it up. Because if we do, then what price democracy when the country has given up on the main parties and they’re giving us a chance?
“We know we cannot afford to f**k it up, because if we do, what happens next?”
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