Hearts & Minds: Reform is reframing British politics , but it will need to reframe itself too

At a business dinner in London recently, a corporate leader bemoaned: ‘Why can’t Britain have someone promising to make Britain great again?’

That person has arrived with Nigel Farage. The local election results plus the Runcorn by-election confirm his ascendancy and that of the Reform Party. They secured their first mayoralty and won their first parliamentary by-election.

A party that was founded on Euroscepticism, followed by immigration, is broadening its appeal. It’s mirroring, in many respects, MAGA. In greeting her victory, Dame Andrea Jenkyns, the new Mayor for Greater Lincolnshire, said that she is ‘immensely proud to be part of the Reform family’, adding that ‘inch-by-inch Reform will reset Britain to its glorious past’.

The main political parties, and to them can be added Reform, are after the ‘forgotten male’. He was cited last week by a Labour strategist as the target, they are all chasing. With his blokeish humour, penchant for a pint and a cigarette (in his eyes, smokers are ‘heroes of the nation’ for the tax they pay), natty dress and charm, Farage fits the bill. Like Donald Trump, who appealed to the identical constituency in the US, he’s the freedom-loving non-politician, unbridled by history and tradition, ready to challenge and to overturn.

Politics is about more than that, of course, as Trump is finding. If he is to have any chance of becoming Prime Minister, Farage must show he can deliver, he is not just empty rhetoric and a bit of fun, but possesses workable, crafted policies (ironically, Trump’s travails will not play well for him) and convince people he can be trusted with their money, the economy will be better off in his hands and the nation will be more secure. These are the subjects that time and again top the list of voters’ concerns. It’s taxes, personal wellbeing, which includes jobs and the health service, and safety (defence and law and order) that matter most.

Farage is the business disruptor, the corporate newcomer who tears up an industry, sending existing players reeling. Comms-wise, his task is the same. He must frame Reform as having ballast and staying power, prove it’s not a here today, gone tomorrow operator. Expect him to exhibit greater discipline and attention to detail while resisting the fierce fightback. The difficulty he faces is achieving that without sacrificing populism. Care without losing the cavalier will be his approach. He’s here, now he must last.

Chris Blackhurst is one of the UK’s foremost business journalists. He was previously Editor of The Independent and City Editor of the Evening Standard.