A livid confrontation has damaged out between Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch after Reform UK claimed its membership had surpassed the Tories.
A digital counter on the Reform web site confirmed a tally of members earlier than lunchtime on Boxing Day ticking previous the 131,680 determine declared by the Conservative Party throughout its management election earlier this yr.
Reform chief Mr Farage mentioned it was a “historic moment”, including: “The youngest political party in British politics has just overtaken the oldest political party in the world. Reform UK are now the real opposition.”
But Tory chief Kemi Badenoch accused the reside membership ticker of being “fake” in a collection of posts on X.
Ms Badenoch wrote: “Manipulating your own supporters at Xmas eh, Nigel?
“It’s not actual. It’s a faux clock coded to tick up robotically. We’ve been watching the again finish for days and also can see they’ve simply modified the code to hyperlink to a special web site as folks level this out.
“Farage doesn’t understand the digital age. This kind of fakery gets found out pretty quickly, although not before many are fooled…”
She added: “How do I know for certain the Reform announcement is not true? Because the Conservative Party has gained thousands of new members since the leadership election.
“But we don’t shout about it…we’re constructing quietly and steadily on ideas and values, not gimmicks.
“The road ahead is long and difficult. But our first mission is to win the trust of the British People – you don’t do that by manipulating them at Christmas.”
In response, Mr Farage questioned Tory membership numbers and accused Ms Badenoch of being “bitter, upset and angry”.
He mentioned: “Kemi says I don’t understand the digital age. I have 5.4 million followers and she has 320k.
“We perceive you’re bitter, upset and offended that we are actually the second largest celebration in British politics, and that the Conservative model is dying below your management.
“However, this not an excuse to accuse us of committing fraud. We will gladly invite one of the Big 4 firms in to audit our membership numbers as long as you do the same.
“We have heard from many whistleblowers that can swear below affidavits that ballots had been despatched out to lengthy expired or resigned ex-members.
“It’s an open secret at CCHQ that your membership numbers are fake.”
The rebel celebration projected the quantity onto Conservative Campaign Headquarters in London in a single day to mark the milestone.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/1993234/nigel-farage-kemi-badenoch-reform-membership