Farage brushes aside Reform controversies in closing conference speech – UK politics as it happened

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4h ago'Sometimes we will get things wrong,' says Farage in conference closing speech

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has downplayed the controversies that overshadowed his party’s conference yesterday.

“Much of mainstream media today says the Reform UK conference was subdued,” he told audience members in his closing remarks. “Are you subdued?”

He continued:

I tell you what we learned yesterday and today. There will be times in this journey when there are good days, and times when there are difficult days.

More often than not, things will be put upon us that are unfair. But sometimes we will make mistakes, sometimes we will get things wrong and get a bit of a kicking for it.

But what this conference has shown is whatever you throw at the leadership, whatever you throw at the people’s army, we immediately pick ourselves up, dust ourselves down and start all over again.”

Nigel Farage delivering his closing speech at the Reform UK conference in Birmingham. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PAKey events

2h ago

Closing summary

3h ago

‘The chancellor is in a bind’: is No 11 at odds with Burnham’s big vision?

3h ago

'It has been the most incredible few days,' says Farage

4h ago

Farage warns Britain faces ‘terminal decline’ unless Reform wins next election

4h ago

'Sometimes we will get things wrong,' says Farage in conference closing speech

4h ago

Raise the Colours leader given access to Reform UK conference while on bail

5h ago

Farage calls protest backlash ‘utter nonsense’

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Farage says he expects more investigations against Reform

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Farage offers legal support to flag activist facing council injunctions

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Dover protest 'disgraceful', says Jenrick

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Police appeal after protester appears to be assaulted during Farage speech

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Opening: turmoil engulfs Reform conference

Closing summary

That’s all from us on the UK politics blog, thanks for following along. Here is a recap of the day’s events:

Nigel Farage closed Reform UK’s conference in Birmingham with a defiant speech, insisting the party was optimistic about its prospects and warning that Britain faced “terminal decline” without political change.

Farage downplayed the controversies that have overshadowed the conference, telling the audience that although there would be difficult days and mistakes along the way, Reform would “pick ourselves up, dust ourselves down and start all over again”.

He said he expected further investigations into Reform, but again insisted the party had not broken any laws over allegations concerning foreign donations. He blamed “the establishment” for the scrutiny surrounding his party, saying: “It won’t end.”

West Midlands police appealed for a female protester who disrupted Farage’s speech yesterday to come forward. Footage appeared to show her being manhandled and having her hair pulled by a Reform audience member as she was removed from the conference.

Activist group Climate Resistance claimed responsibility for the protest, saying it was “horrified at the violence” from Reform conference audience members and that the female protester is considering whether to come forward to police.

Farage hit back at criticism of the treatment of protesters at the conference, calling the backlash “utter nonsense” and accusing critics of taking a one-sided view.

Nigel Farage on stage to deliver his closing speech during the Reform UK party conference in Birmingham. Photograph: Temilade Adelaja/Reuters

Robert Jenrick pledged to raise the tax-free personal allowance from £12,570 to £15,000 within the first 100 days of a Reform government, saying he would resign if he failed to deliver.

A protest involving masked demonstrators disrupted traffic around the port of Dover, prompting Jenrick to condemn the action as “completely disgraceful”.

‘The chancellor is in a bind’: is No 11 at odds with Burnham’s big vision?

Away from the Reform conference, there are questions over whether Andy Burnham’s ambitious economic agenda is compatible with the more cautious approach being signalled by his chancellor, John Healey.

My colleagues Pippa Crerar, Heather Stewart and Jessica Elgot look at the tensions within Labour over its economic plans, including how far Healey is prepared to go on investment and spending while keeping control of the public finances.

They write:

Healey has just returned from the G20 finance ministers’ meeting in North Carolina and is acutely conscious of factors beyond his control that will hit the Office for Budget Responsibility’s forecasts, including the rising cost of oil after bombing resumed in Iran.

It is little surprise, then, that he has repeatedly stressed that fiscal responsibility is the “bedrock” of his approach and he will stick to Reeves’s fiscal rules.

But his cautious tone jars uncomfortably with the prime minister’s large – and costly – policy vision: more public control of utilities, reform of the broken social care system and a mass social home building programme.

“[Healey] is in a bind,” one Treasury source said. “His instinct is to keep things steady, especially while the OBR does its snapshot, but that’s not Andy’s gameplan for his first week back.”

Read more:

'It has been the most incredible few days,' says Farage

Farage ended his speech by praising the “amazing” atmosphere at the conference, despite the controversies and disruption that have overshadowed the event in recent days.

“It has been the most incredible few days,” he said.

“The atmosphere has been amazing. It’s been upbeat, it’s been optimistic, it’s been fun.”

He then invited speakers on stage and audience members to sing the national anthem.

And with that, the conference is over.

Nigel Farage and Reform speakers sing the national anthem on stage at the party conference. Photograph: Sean Smith/The GuardianFarage said that if his cabinet ministers in a Reform government failed to deliver within their first 100 days, he would “sack them, get rid of them and replace them with somebody else”.

He joked that in Robert Jenrick’s case he wouldn’t need to, because he’s got his resignation letter already. Jenrick shared a mock-up of a resignation letter on social media, addressed to Farage as if he were chancellor in a Reform government. He said earlier at the conference that he would resign if he failed to raise the tax-free personal allowance from £12,570 to £15,000 within the first 100 days of a Reform government.

Farage warns Britain faces ‘terminal decline’ unless Reform wins next election

Nigel Farage has told the Reform conference he wants to lead the party to victory at the next election, warning it could be the country’s “last chance” to avoid “terminal decline”.

He said:

I want us to win the next election, because I believe I can lead us into the kind of fundamental change of direction that this country needs.

If we don’t take it, well, it might be our last chance to turn the country around before we head for terrible and, frankly, terminal decline.”

'Sometimes we will get things wrong,' says Farage in conference closing speech

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has downplayed the controversies that overshadowed his party’s conference yesterday.

“Much of mainstream media today says the Reform UK conference was subdued,” he told audience members in his closing remarks. “Are you subdued?”

He continued:

I tell you what we learned yesterday and today. There will be times in this journey when there are good days, and times when there are difficult days.

More often than not, things will be put upon us that are unfair. But sometimes we will make mistakes, sometimes we will get things wrong and get a bit of a kicking for it.

But what this conference has shown is whatever you throw at the leadership, whatever you throw at the people’s army, we immediately pick ourselves up, dust ourselves down and start all over again.”

Nigel Farage delivering his closing speech at the Reform UK conference in Birmingham. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PABraverman said within the first 100 days of becoming secretary of state for education under a Reform government, she will “scrap the cap on homegrown British doctors”.

Like Jenrick, she said if she fails to deliver this promise, she will “take responsibility, and I will resign”.

She told the Reform conference: “I will scrap all interest payments on student loans for British nurses, so that those young Brits who want to work in our NHS, will be able to do it.”

Nigel Farage is now taking to the stage.

Braverman said under a Reform government, schoolchildren will be forced to sing the national anthem and “our great hymns”.

Some schools have stopped singing hymns at assemblies, reflecting a wider move away from religious worship in school life.

Suella Braverman speaking at the Reform UK conference in Birmingham. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PABack to the Reform conference stage now, where the party’s education spokesperson Suella Braverman is speaking.

The former Conservative home secretary said the last government “broke Britain”.

“They had a home secretary like me telling them repeatedly, year after year after year, to leave the European convention on human rights, to stop the boats, to cut visas, to ban the hate marches. They still refused to listen,” she said.

Raise the Colours leader given access to Reform UK conference while on bail

Ben Quinn

The leader of a flag campaign group who was arrested on suspicion of causing religiously and racially aggravated harassment was given access to Reform UK’s annual conference.

Ryan Bridge, whose Raise the Colours group has put up hundreds of union and St George flags across England, told the Guardian he was invited to the conference.

Ryan Bridge asking a question of Reform UK leader Nigel Farage at conference in Birmingham on Saturday. Photograph: Tolga Akmen/EPARaise the Colours has argued the campaign displays flags as a sign of patriotism, but it has been accused of using them to spread anti-immigrant sentiment.

Bridge’s attendance at the event comes as Reform UK has been attempting to attract more wavering centre-ground voters who have been reluctant to support the party. But a threat from its hard-right rival Restore Britain has given the party reason to pull rightwards.

Read more:

Farage calls protest backlash ‘utter nonsense’

Nigel Farage has hit back at criticism over the treatment of protesters at the Reform UK conference, calling it “utter nonsense” and accusing his critics of taking a “one-sided” view.

West Midlands police has asked a female protester to come forward after footage appeared to show her being manhandled and having her hair pulled by a Reform audience member as she was removed from the conference yesterday (see post at 12:08).

A heckler is surrounded by Reform supporters during Nigel Farage’s keynote speech on Friday. Photograph: Tolga Akmen/EPASpeaking to broadcasters, Farage said: “It’s all one way, isn’t it? I can have milkshakes chucked in my face, be bashed over the head with placards and that’s all fine. That’s absolutely fine.

“Yet, well, we have a big event that people have paid a lot of money to come to and we get people there trying to disrupt it and we remove them. Suddenly we’re in the wrong. Utter nonsense.”

He added: “This is just also one sided. It is ridiculous. There were people there trying to disrupt our conference. We always have them. We always have them and we remove them quickly and expeditiously.”

To be up to speed with the issues plaguing Reform UK, my colleague Jamie Grierson has put together a useful explainer on the controversies surrounding Nigel Farage and the party.

It looks at the latest allegations over foreign donations, as well as the £5m gift Farage received from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne, donations linked to convicted fraudster George Cottrell and other questions surrounding Reform’s finances:

Farage says he expects more investigations against Reform

Before we hear from Nigel Farage on stage later this afternoon, he has been answering questions from the media on his party finances.

He again insisted Reform has not broken any laws after a report by Channel 4 News showed senior party figures discussing how to disguise donations from foreign sources.

Farage told ITV he expected to face more investigations and blamed “the establishment” for the scrutiny surrounding his party.

Nigel Farage walks with his security team during the Reform UK's annual party conference in Birmingham. Photograph: Isabel Infantes/Reuters“You come back and see me in six months, there’ll be five more investigations. It won’t end,” he said.

“They are not going to give us a free ride. They will do anything they can. I expect many more investigations over the course of the next few months, I have no doubt about it.”

Speaking to GB News, he acknowledged that there would be “some people in the middle out there who aren’t quite sure (about Reform), that would be worried by some of these allegations”.