Conservative party members have delivered a series of brutal one-word verdicts on Reform UK, with answers ranging from “sleazy” and “chancers” to “scam”, “corrupt” and “fake”. The quickfire responses came as the party gathered for its annual conference, with members expressing renewed unity behind leader Kemi Badenoch.
Last year, many Tory members told Express columnist Mieka Smiles they were wavering, after years of party turmoil, a historic election loss and the rise of Nigel Farage and Reform. This year, she said, there is an excitement back in the air and a buoyant energy, with the party feeling united behind Badenoch.
Members give their verdicts
Ian Daly, 64, a retired businessman from Worcestershire, said: “At the moment? Sleazy.” His friend Nicola Bell, 61, who is retired but works in the not-for-profit sector, replied: “Chancers.”
Joe, 28, from Ferryhill, County Durham, who works in political communications, said one word was difficult. He said he wanted to say something along the lines of “too good to be true”, adding: “Clearly we're in the age where we need to make tough political choices. The public finances aren't in a good enough place to be able to give everyone everything. Something has got to give. And I think that some of those choices, it's probably better to make them now than once you've won the election, right?”
Scam and corruption claims
Joey Gwinn, 23, who works for MP Desmond Swayne in Northamptonshire and lives in London, said: “Scam.” He compared Reform to an internet scam, saying they offer exactly what people want but do the opposite. He pointed to the party’s record in local government, saying the first thing they did in Lincolnshire was scrap the flooding commission, despite Lincolnshire being the most at-risk county for flooding. He added: “They rail about Tory sleaze and they have all of our sleaziest MPs! They’re promising one thing and giving another.”
Maureen Levy, 60, from Blyth, a long-time Conservative member and deputy chair of the Conservative Women’s Organisation in the North East, said: “Untrustworthy.” She said Reform got in locally on the promise of stopping the boats but that was “complete rubbish” for town and county councillors. She said some Reform councillors don’t turn up for meetings, don’t answer emails and don’t know how to make changes, adding: “I go into the town centre and it’s filthy.” She contrasted this with Conservative-run Cramlington, where the flower beds look “immaculate”.
Fake and corrupt
Oliver Morgan, 21, a politics student at the University of Lincolnshire from Worksop, said: “Corrupt.” He cited scandals during Reform’s own conference and questioned the party’s finances, noting they started accepting cryptocurrency as donations after receiving money from crypto billionaires. He added: “Nigel Farage is not for the country - he’s for his own legacy rather than actually wanting to fix things with the country.” He said Robert Jenrick and Nadhim Zahawi were “backtracking on everything they have said for the past few years”.
Will Hunter, 20, from Grimsby, who studies international relations and politics, said: “Fake.” He said Reform are “fake in their words” and flip-flop from side to side, while bringing in figures from the previous government they criticise, such as Suella Braverman, Robert Jenrick and Nadhim Zahawi. He also said Reform don’t care about local issues, recalling leaflets in Lincolnshire that said “stop the boats”, adding: “Cos they’re coming up the Humber! Just ingenuine.”
Smiles concluded that, judging by her experiment, there is a very neat one-word answer to whether Reform are still turning Tory heads: no.
