Farage: Reform leads Labour by 10% in latest polls. (Image: Getty)

He paused for selfies with locals, but was heckled by one bystander who shouted the name of the former Reform MP Rupert Lowe, who has founded his own political party, Restore Britain. Mr Lowe, the MP for Great Yarmouth, got another mention later in the visit after a local butcher, named Steve, spoke to Mr Farage.

“It’s either you or Rupert Lowe,” he said, before hanging a “Vote Reform, Get Starmer Out” placard on a hook at the front of his stall. Romford, which is part of the London Borough of Havering, is one of several areas being targeted by the party ahead of May 7.

Mr Farage and Mr Rosindell were also joined on the campaign trail in Romford by local Reform London Assembly Member, Keith Prince. He became the party’s second assembly member after he defected last year, joining Alex Wilson to form a two-man group in City Hall.

Rosindell defected from the Conservatives to Reform. (Image: Getty)

Speaking to the Daily Express, Councillor David Leaf – the Conservative leader in the Borough of Bexley – warned that Reform “has no plans” for the local Government and no interest in representing local residents.

He hailed his authority as “one of the most efficient Councils in the country” saying he had a fully costed plan to “invest in the frontline services that matter to our residents over the next four years.”

The Labour Party did not respond to a request for comment.

Farage urges Express readers to back Reform UK declaring Tories are ‘not the challengers’

Nigel Farage has urged Daily Express readers to support Reform UK, arguing that the Conservative Party should no longer be regarded as the principal challenger in Britain’s changing political landscape.

The intervention reflects a wider strategy by Reform to present itself as the main alternative to the established parties, while putting pressure on Conservatives who continue to compete for voters on the political right. Farage has repeatedly rejected the idea that Reform should simply return voters to the Conservative fold, insisting instead that his party represents a distinct political project.

The argument is particularly significant because Reform and the Conservatives compete for some of the same voters. Immigration, taxation, public spending, national sovereignty and dissatisfaction with established political institutions have all become areas in which the two parties seek to distinguish themselves.

Farage’s message to Express readers therefore goes beyond a simple appeal for votes. It is also an attempt to define the political contest on terms favourable to Reform.

Farage’s argument

Farage has consistently argued that Reform should not be treated as a protest movement whose supporters will eventually return to the Conservatives.

In a statement published by Reform in May, following the 2026 local elections, he said the results represented a significant change in British politics and argued that the traditional two-party framework was no longer an adequate description of the political landscape. Reform said it had made gains in areas historically associated with both Labour and the Conservatives.

That interpretation is central to the party’s current political message.

Rather than asking Conservative voters to choose between two versions of the same political approach, Reform wants voters to regard the party as an independent force capable of competing across different parts of England and elsewhere in Britain.

The Conservatives, meanwhile, continue to have a substantial electoral base, a long-established national organisation and representation in Parliament. The political question is therefore not whether the Conservatives have disappeared, but how much of the right-of-centre electorate can be divided between the two parties.

A battle for Conservative voters

The relationship between Reform and the Conservatives has been complicated since Farage returned to frontline politics.

At various points, Farage has suggested that Conservative politicians who share Reform’s priorities should consider joining his party. LBC reported that in 2024 he encouraged Conservative councillors facing re-election to defect to Reform, describing his party as a vehicle for politicians who shared its values.

The Conservatives rejected the idea that their party was finished and argued that a vote for Reform could instead help Labour retain or gain control of councils.

That argument remains relevant because Britain’s electoral system can produce different outcomes depending on how votes are distributed between competing parties.

A strong Reform performance does not automatically translate into Conservative losses everywhere, just as Conservative support does not necessarily prevent Reform from winning new voters. Local political geography, turnout and the number of parties competing in individual wards can all affect results.

For Farage, however, the strategic objective is clear: establish Reform as a permanent political force rather than a temporary protest vote.

The role of Robert Jenrick

One particularly important development has been the movement of politicians between the Conservatives and Reform.

Robert Jenrick, a former Conservative cabinet minister and former Conservative leadership candidate, joined Reform in 2026 and became an important figure in the party’s economic and policy messaging.

His presence gives Reform an additional connection to voters who previously identified with the Conservative Party. It also illustrates the extent to which the dividing line between the two parties has become a subject of political competition.

Jenrick has previously held senior positions within the Conservative Party, while Reform has sought to portray itself as offering a break with the political establishment.

That creates a tension at the heart of Farage’s argument.

If Reform wants to replace the Conservatives as the main force on the right, it needs to attract Conservative voters. Yet the more former Conservative figures it welcomes, the more it must explain how its political identity differs from the party they previously represented.

Immigration remains a central dividing line

Immigration is one of the clearest issues separating Reform’s political programme from the policies of the established parties.

Farage has repeatedly argued for significantly tighter immigration controls, including opposition to current levels of legal migration and tougher measures on illegal immigration.

Reform’s approach has been particularly focused on border control, deportations and changes to Britain’s relationship with international legal frameworks.

The Conservatives have also moved towards tighter immigration policies in recent years, including proposals involving asylum, deportation and the European Convention on Human Rights.

The difference is therefore not simply that one party discusses immigration while the other does not. The disagreement increasingly concerns the scale, mechanism and legal framework of the policies being proposed.

This distinction matters to voters who are considering the two parties.

Reform’s wider message

Farage’s appeal is not limited to immigration.

Reform has also attempted to build a broader programme around taxation, public spending, welfare reform, energy policy, housing and government efficiency.

In September, Farage published a Reform statement asking for 100 days to begin what he described as fixing “Broken Britain”. In the statement, he criticised Prime Minister Andy Burnham and argued that Reform would pursue a different approach to government.

The language illustrates the party’s broader strategy: connect dissatisfaction with specific policies to a larger argument about how Britain is governed.

That strategy also explains why Farage continues to communicate directly with newspapers and their readerships.

A newspaper audience can contain large numbers of politically engaged voters, including people who may have previously supported the Conservatives but are now considering alternatives.

The Conservative response

The Conservatives have their own reasons for resisting Farage’s interpretation.

The party remains one of Britain’s major political organisations, with an established parliamentary presence, councillors across the country and a history of governing nationally.

Conservative politicians have repeatedly argued that voters who want a change of government should support the Conservatives rather than Reform.

The underlying calculation is straightforward. If right-of-centre voters divide their support between multiple parties, individual constituencies and local wards can produce unpredictable outcomes.

That does not mean Reform and the Conservatives are identical, however. Their positions differ on several questions, including the extent of state intervention, Britain’s constitutional arrangements, immigration policy and the future relationship between the different parties of the political right.

The choice between them is therefore not simply a question of personalities.

Farage’s personal position

Farage remains central to Reform’s public identity.

A September 2026 Guardian report described continued loyalty to Farage among Reform members, while also reporting that the party has begun discussing questions about its future leadership. The report noted that Zia Yusuf and Richard Tice were among figures members mentioned when asked about potential future leadership.

This highlights an important feature of the current Reform project.

Farage is simultaneously the party’s most recognisable public figure and the politician most closely associated with its development. His continued leadership gives Reform a clear national profile, but it also means that questions about the party’s longer-term identity are closely connected to questions about Farage himself.

For now, however, he remains the person delivering the central political message.

What Farage is asking voters to decide

The appeal to Express readers can therefore be understood as part of a broader attempt to change the terms of Britain’s political competition.

Farage wants voters to see Reform not as an auxiliary to the Conservatives, but as an independent political organisation. He wants Conservative voters to consider whether their traditional party still represents their priorities, while presenting Reform as the vehicle for those who want a more substantial change in direction.

The Conservatives, by contrast, have an interest in maintaining their position as the principal established party on the right and demonstrating that they can recover voters who moved towards Reform.

Neither argument can determine how individual voters will respond.

What is clear is that the competition between Reform and the Conservatives has become an important feature of British politics. Farage’s appeal to Express readers is another expression of that contest, with the Reform leader seeking to persuade voters that the political landscape has changed and that the old assumptions about which party represents the opposition can no longer be taken for granted.

As Britain moves towards the next general election, the significance of that argument will depend not simply on headline statements but on voting behaviour, local organisation, candidate selection, policy credibility and the way voters assess competing parties.

For Farage, the message is unmistakable: Reform should be judged as a political force in its own right.

For Conservative politicians, the challenge is to demonstrate why their party should continue to occupy that space.

The debate between those two positions is likely to remain one of the defining political contests on the British right.