BITE SIZE: Farage and Tice once doubted the name "Reform" but it is proving to be perfect for these troubled times

There is almost nothing in British society that doesn't require big changes

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A COUPLE of years back, I’d estimate in about late summer 2021, Nigel Farage rang me to ask my opinion. He and Richard Tice were worried about the lack of cut-through for the party name Reform. Hardly any of the public seemed to know what it was or the stances it represented. There was strong internal pressure to revert back to being the Brexit Party.

As Reform, manfully though Tice was leading the ship in tough times, the party was bumbling along at three per cent in the polls and performing terribly at by-elections. So what did I think?

I said I thought reverting to the Brexit Party would be a retrograde step for an election not expected for another few years. Yes, some purists would be motivated to campaign on Brexit not being done yet, but it felt to me that bigger voter issues were out there that suited the Reform name perfectly well. Farage and I had both long agreed that immigration was the thing. Tice’s number one issue was opposing carbon net zero. It was growing in salience, but it wasn’t there yet as a massive “gut” voter issue. Boris was still there was prime minister, convincing some gullible voters that he would implement some actual right-wing policies. He was a terrible prime minister, but a great campaigner, which made things difficult.

So, no I said, I wouldn’t change the name back. You’ve just got to plough on through