Reform UK now has extra members than the Conservative Celebration and is “the true opposition”, Nigel Farage has mentioned.

In response to a digital counter on the occasion’s web site, Reform UK had gone previous 131,690 members – the quantity the Conservative Celebration declared earlier than its management election within the autumn – simply earlier than noon on Boxing Day.

Mr Farage, occasion chief and MP for Clacton-on-Sea, hailed the “historic second” and mentioned on X: “The youngest political occasion in British politics has simply overtaken the oldest political occasion on this planet.

“Reform UK at the moment are the true opposition.”

The occasion additionally shared a video of the membership tracker being projected on to the Conservative Celebration headquarters in London in a single day.

Zia Yusuf, occasion chairman, additionally mentioned “historical past has been made as we speak” and that the Tories’ “centuries-long stranglehold on the centre-right of British politics” has “lastly been damaged”.

“Nigel Farage would be the subsequent prime minister, and can return Britain to greatness,” he added.

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The Conservative occasion membership determine – shared after Kemi Badenoch was introduced as the brand new chief on 2 November – was the bottom on file and a drop from the 2022 management contest, when there have been round 172,000 members.

In response, a Conservative Celebration spokesman mentioned: “Reform has delivered a Labour Authorities that has cruelly reduce winter gasoline funds for 10 million pensioners, put the way forward for household farming and meals safety in danger, and launched a devastating raid on jobs which can depart working folks paying the value.

“A vote for Reform this coming Could is a vote for a Labour council – solely the Conservatives can cease this.”

In response to analysis from the Home of Commons Library, there isn’t any uniformly recognised definition of occasion membership and no established methodology or physique to watch the variety of members every political group has.

Reform UK was additionally initially arrange as a restricted firm, however Mr Farage mentioned he would change the occasion’s construction to be member-owned in September.

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It comes after Mr Farage supplied to assist Lord Mandelson, the brand new ambassador to the US, negotiate with president-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration.

An extended-time affiliate of Mr Trump, he has been seen at a number of Republican occasions throughout and after the presidential election.