Reform UK’s ‘biggest ever’ rally falls short of expectations

Olivia Barber 

31 March, 2025 

Left Foot Forward


Reform claimed 10,000 tickets were sold, but the many empty seats showed attendance was lower

Reform UK’s rally in Birmingham on Friday night was not the “biggest rally in modern political history” the party billed it as.

The conference host, Talk TV personality Dr David Bull, claimed it was the “largest political conference since the second world war”, with 10,000 £5 tickets sold at the 15,000-capacity venue.

However, large empty sections in the Utilita Arena suggested actual attendance was a few thousand lower, according to the Metro.

Despite the lower-than-expected turnout, Reform spared no expense for their local election campaign launch.

Nigel Farage made his entrance in a JCB digger lent by billionaire businessman and Tory donor Lord Anthony Bamford, while the party built fake streets inside the venue, with fake shopfronts, fake pothole-ridden roads, and a real bus stop.

Farage claimed that Reform now has 220,000 paying members and said the party will field candidates in every possible seat in May’s elections, an increase from the 12% coverage they managed last time.

Adding to the humiliation for Farage, infighting still loomed large at the event, leading to security having to intervene as sections of the crowd chanted “RUPERT!” in support of Rupert Lowe.

Meanwhile, campaign group Led By Donkeys hijacked a giant screen outside the venue, displaying messages such as “The Entrance to the Far Right” and an image of Nigel Farage alongside Vladimir Putin, with the caption: “Vladimir and Nigel welcome you to Birmingham”.

Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward