And all this took place at a panel event titled “women in politics”.
“It used to be a case of ‘let’s go and see the strange people in the reservation’,” said Reform board member and long-time Farage aide Gawain Towler.
“It’s chalk and cheese [compared to now], they were rallies of the faithful and this is a conference of a government in waiting,” he added.
While that pronouncement may be premature – and awkward moments of the Bloom-era ilk can never be ruled out – the party of 2025 is certainly a world away, in organisational terms, from the rag-tag operations of yesteryear.
As such, this conference will look and feel far more like the annual events of Westminster’s established parties.
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2:04
What do public make of Reform’s plans?
There are fringe events – with former Tory cabinet ministers Michael Gove and Jacob Rees-Mogg making appearances.
Think tanks, pollsters, and mainstream institutes will be in attendance, alongside multinational organisations like Japan Tobacco and TikTok.
Property developer Thakeham homes have a full page advert in the conference programme, with the National Farmers Union and British Association for Shooting and Conservation appearing too.
That said, one report in the Financial Times suggested other chief executives were still wary of attending in case their presence was seen as a sign of support for the often controversial party.
Nevertheless, insiders expect 12,000 people to file into the NEC across two days, with member tickets sold out but “platinum” passes still available for the princely sum of £2,500 – granting holders priority seating and a champagne breakfast with Nigel Farage.
The leader himself will speak on Friday afternoon after landing Thursday morning back from Washington, where he had been giving evidence to Congress about freedom of speech as well as squeezing in a meeting with Donald Trump.
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3:49
Farage likens UK to North Korea in Congress
Who could be on the guest list?
As for the visuals, one official declared simply “there’s always pyro, there are always sparklers”.
A “special guest” will address the conference before the leader’s speech as well, with Reform sources insisting that journalists would not be able to “waterboard” the name out of the party in advance.
Speculation also abounds over surprise appearances more generally. Could there be any more Tory defectors after Nadine Dorries jumped ship? Or an intervention from across the Atlantic?
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1:09
‘Sledgehammer to miss the nut’: Farage on Linehan arrest
What’s on the agenda?
As far as policy goes, many of the events focus on the bread and butter of the Reform pitch – migration, free speech, council waste, crime and net zero.
But there are also panels on more niche and knotty topics such a high street regeneration, tourism and even car finance.
The broader theme of the conference is also relatively restrained with an emphasis on “the next step” in its own evolution.
Reform clearly wants to project a message to the nation that they are a party that has chiselled off the oddness in favour of a serious set of people and proposals that could genuinely work in government.
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2:15
Will Reform really cut spending by millions?
That moment is a long way off, though, and while Reform insists it is now presenting valid policies, big question marks still hang over the feasibility and affordability of much the party puts out.
From deportation and asylum to nationalisation and benefits, the thread running through the offering seems to be less about any set ideology and more about what is popular with the millions of Britons who feel abandoned by the mainstream political system.
In that way, the appeal of Nigel Farage is the same as it has always been.
The decades-long rider of waves of public disenchantment, now trying to figure out how to turn the anger into action.
The new home secretary will host talks on how to stop people smuggling in her first major engagement in the role.
Shabana Mahmood will host the so-called Five Eyes security alliance, holding talks between counterparts from the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
The security alliance discussion comes after an estimated 1,000 people arrived by small boat in Britain over the course of a single day, with French authorities saying 24 people were rescued while trying to cross the English Channel.
Ms Mahmood said the numbers, which take the yearly total to more than 30,000 in record time, were “utterly unacceptable” and that she expected migrant returns under a deal agreed last month with France to begin “imminently”.
Sir Keir will now be hoping to draw a line under the fallout of his former deputy’s departure, as well as a summer dominated by criticism of his government’s handling of the small boats crisis.
Ms Mahmood said the Five Eyes intelligence sharing pact would “agree new measures to protect our border”. The group will also discuss new measures to tackle child sexual abuse online, as well as the spread of deadly synthetic opioids, the Home Office said.
Ms Mahmood said: “Rebuilding our reputation on the world stage is how we tackle serious organised crime and secure our borders.”
“The Five Eyes might be drawn from different corners of the globe, but we are united by our alliance,” she added.
“As the security threats we all face become more complex and span continents, we are stronger and safer together.”
She will be joined at the talks by US secretary of homeland security Kristi Noem, Canadian public safety minister Gary Anandasangaree, Australian home affairs minister Tony Burke and New Zealand minister Judith Collins.
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2:08
What PM’s reshuffle reveals about his priorities
The Prime Minister has told his new ministers to “go up a gear” in delivering on Labour’s agenda, part of which now involves a toughened immigration policy as he faces pressure in the polls from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK.
In Ms Mahmood’s first full day in the job, she met the head of Scotland Yard to receive a briefing on the policing operation in response to protests in London.
“Supporting Palestine and supporting a proscribed terrorist group are not the same thing,” she said.
“An honour to visit Sir Mark (Rowley) and the Metropolitan Police to see them at work policing protests yesterday.”
Almost 900 people were arrested in central London at a protest against the banning of Palestine Action.
The leader of Britain’s trade unions is to accuse Sir Keir Starmer of failing to deliver the change Labour promised during the election campaign last year.
In his keynote speech at the TUC conference in Brighton, general secretary Paul Nowak will claim that for too many people change still feels like a slogan, not a reality.
After a troubled first year in government that has seen Labour lose support to Reform UK, Mr Nowak will warn the lack of change cannot continue and the government must deliver on jobs, public services and living standards.
And he will claim Rachel Reeves’ budget on 26 November must include windfall taxes on bank profits and gambling companies, a wealth tax on millionaires and the lifting of the two-child benefit cap introduced by George Osborne during the coalition government.
Mr Nowak’s speech comes just days after the unionslost their champion in cabinet, Angela Rayner, prompting fears among delegates in Brighton that the government is poised to weaken its flagship legislation on workers’ rights.
Image: Paul Nowak. File pic: PA
The Conservatives have responded to Ms Rayner’s demise by writing to the new business and trade secretary, Peter Kyle, calling on him to scrap the Employment Rights Bill, claiming it will reduce jobs and mean more red tape and bureaucracy.
But Labour is losing support to Nigel Farage’s party, not the Tories, and will also – potentially – to left-wing parties in future. And in an unusual move, the new left-wing leader of the Green Party, Zack Polanski, will also address the TUC later.
Labour’s election manifesto last year showed a black and white photo of a shirt-sleeved Sir Keir on the front cover with the single word “Change” in red.
In his attack on the government’s first year in office, Mr Nowak will say: “The Tories took Britain to the brink. That’s why last July, the government was elected on a manifesto that promised change.
“But we have to be honest – for too many people, change still feels like a slogan not a lived reality.
“This can’t continue. Throughout our history, we’ve been at our best when we’ve been ambitious for working people.
“So today, my message to the government is simply this.
“Deliver the manifesto on which you won a huge majority last July. Deliver good jobs, decent public services and better living standards in every corner of the country. Deliver the change people voted for.
“And show working-class communities whose side you are on.”
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1:19
Could Rayner come back?
On the budget, which Labour MPs believe will be crucial to the government’s hopes of recovery in its fortunes, Mr Nowak will declare: “Introduce a windfall tax on record bank profits and gambling companies. And back it with new taxes on wealth.
“If billionaires can afford fleets of private yachts. Day trips into space. Weddings that shut down Venice – they can pay a bit more tax.
“Do what’s best for those who go out to work, day in, day out, and still can’t get by. Deliver the Employment Rights Bill and deliver it in full.
“And make it clear – a Labour government will never stand aside and watch a child’s potential be wasted because of poverty. Lift the two-child cap, and give our kids the future they deserve.”
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1:00
TUC to govt: ‘Deliver on workers’ rights’
And on the issue set to dominate this week’s conference, workers’ rights, Mr Nowak will say: “The government has a manifesto promise to make work pay.
“Stronger rights at work are overwhelmingly popular with voters across the political spectrum.
“The public knows decent work is the best way to deliver the reset this country needs.
“The best way to improve living standards.
“And the best way to rebuild our communities hit hard by low pay and insecure work.
“So here is our challenge to government.
“Deliver that Employment Rights Bill in full and deliver the change you promised at the election.”
But the Tories’ shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith, in a letter to Mr Kyle, claims the bill will be deeply damaging to economic growth and reduce living standards.
“Rather than proceed at this time with a measure which on the government’s own impact assessment will reduce employment and growth, now is the time to put the national interest first,” he wrote.
“Any credible ‘reset’ of this government requires that this bill be shelved and the government look afresh at measures to promote the growth and competitiveness of the UK economy.”