Reform UK is preparing a huge expansion of its operations around the country in a bid to attract voters in areas where it does not have a foothold, as it works to put Nigel Farage in 10 Downing Street.
The party is advertising dozens of new campaigning roles across parts of England, Wales and Scotland, including for campaign managers and branch co-ordinators.
The 51 adverts say successful candidates will help ensure Farage “reaches the steps of No 10 Downing Street” at the next general election and describe the posts as “not merely a job” but a “mission”.
Where the roles are located gives a strong insight into which voters Reform is targeting in the coming years – and where the party is looking to consolidate its base.
The recruitment drive comes despite a difficult few months for the party. Reform had consistently led the opinion polls for 15 months, but the Labour Party has now caught up, with YouGov’s latest survey putting the two level on 23 per cent.
Reform has also faced multiple controversies over its finances. Farage – who denies any wrongdoing – is facing a parliamentary standards investigation over a £5m donation from billionaire crypto entrepreneur Christopher Harborne.
It also emerged last week that the party has received a record £72m in donations from two crypto-billionaires – £36m from Harborne and £36m from Ben Delo.
Meanwhile, two senior aides were suspended after Channel 4 News broadcast undercover footage appearing to show them discussing how to bypass electoral laws on foreign donations. The Metropolitan Police has opened a criminal investigation into the allegations.
Where Reform is pushing into new ground
Exclusive analysis by The i Paper shows that Reform is focusing much of its hiring blitz in areas where it doesn’t yet have a strong electoral footing.
London, the South East, the South West and the East of England all have a significant number of roles advertised despite Reform having little political representation there.
In London, Reform has advertised three roles – a branch network co-ordinator, a campaign manager and a senior campaign manager post shared with the South East.
The party has yet to make a significant breakthrough in the capital. Its only MP, Andrew Rosindell in Romford, defected from the Conservatives in January rather than being elected as a Reform candidate, and it holds just one of the 25 seats in the London Assembly.
The South East, which has five roles advertised, tells a similar story. Its one MP, Suella Braverman in Fareham and Waterlooville, is also a defector, and the party has just three of 81 seats on Surrey County Council and one of 69 on Oxfordshire County Council.
This is also the case in the South West, which has the heaviest hiring of the four regions with seven roles advertised. Reform holds one MP – Danny Kruger in East Wiltshire, another Tory defection – and does not control a single council in the region.
The concentration of roles in these areas could suggest Reform wants to build a voter base around their high-profile Tory defector MPs, in a bid to keep hold of them at the next election.
Elsewhere, Cornwall is a good example of where the party could break through.
Reform has advertised one campaign manager role there, and while the party is the largest single group on Cornwall Council with 28 of its 87 seats, it fell well short of a majority, and a Liberal Democrat-independent-led administration runs the authority instead.
The exception close to the capital is Essex, in the East of England, where Reform runs the county council outright with 52 of its 78 seats.
But that strength doesn’t extend across the wider region: in neighbouring Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire, the party has only a handful of councillors between them, despite five roles advertised across the East of England as a whole.
Scotland and Wales get comparatively little attention. Reform has advertised just one senior campaign manager role for the whole of Scotland, and four roles across Wales.
In Scotland, the party has no MPs and no council under its control, but it does have 17 of the 129 seats at Holyrood, making it the second-largest party after the SNP.
Wales follows a similar pattern. Reform has no MPs and no council control there either, but holds 34 of the 96 seats in the Senedd, again the second-largest party behind Plaid Cymru.
Where Reform is consolidating its base
Elsewhere, the hiring maps closely on to ground Reform already holds.
The East Midlands and West Midlands each have a branch network co-ordinator and a senior campaign manager, and cover counties where Reform runs the council outright, including Derbyshire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire councils, as well as Staffordshire County Council further south.
The North West follows the same pattern, with a branch network co-ordinator and senior campaign manager sitting alongside five county-level campaign manager posts.
The party’s most recent gains are in the North East and Yorkshire, where hiring appears to be reinforcing very recent breakthroughs.
Reform took Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland councils in May, ending decades of Labour control in each case, while in West Yorkshire the party now runs Wakefield and Calderdale councils outright and is the largest party in Kirklees.
Reform UK was contacted for comment.
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