Chapter 1: What is the significance of the local elections for Reform UK?
Is there anything you'd have to say from, you know, people from around here, from where you're from, you know, ahead of me?
Our values, our values, very simple. Some might say old-fashioned, but they're values of family, community and country. We think all of those things have been under assault, under attack, and frankly, weak government at every level has failed to stand up for what we believe to be British and to be right. And we are going to fight for those values, unafraid of anything or anyone.
Welcome to the Reform UK podcast. I'm Ray Addison, and this week we're going behind the scenes during a critical moment in Reform's local elections campaign. Good luck. Thank you very much. Thank you. Over the next few days, two big questions will be answered. Which party has managed to field the most candidates for May 7th?
And what slogan Reform will use to turn the vote into a direct referendum on Keir Starmer's leadership? Vote Reform on May 7th. Get it, Starmer! With a net approval rating stuck at about minus 49, Zakir Starmer has become one of the most unpopular prime ministers in living memory.
You have given us a clear mandate and we will use it to deliver change, to restore service and respect to politics, end the era of noisy performance, tread more lightly on your lives and unite our country.
Despite promising stability, instead he's cut winter fuel payments for pensioners, hammered small businesses and working families with tax rises, and shown weakness abroad, damaging Britain's defences. This is not Winston Churchill that we're dealing with. Now, with election day fast approaching, reform is clear. Starmer has to go.
Nigel, love what you're doing. Come on, I'll get you in office.
We begin on Wednesday the 8th of April in Welling, a town in the outer London borough of Bexley, a long-standing Conservative stronghold. Hello there. Hey, you all right? I'm doing well, mate. How are you? On the High Street, Nigel Farage is meeting voters face-to-face.
But not everyone is happy to see him.
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Chapter 2: How is Nigel Farage engaging with voters during the campaign?
And by the way, you know, had we bumped into the Green candidate this afternoon or the Labour candidate, I would have been perfectly civil. I wouldn't have thrown abuse at them. But we do get a lot of abuse. But it's from a minority of people. And that's the important thing. He was challenged by one journalist on claims by The Guardian that Reform had been ringing people to stand as candidates.
Can you think of anything more ludicrous than going through the phone book and saying, please would you be a candidate? It's absolute rot. So The Guardian has said that one of their reporters was cold-called? Well, if one of their reporters is a paid-up member of the party, masquerading as a supporter, when in fact they're not, that's why they would have got a phone call.
Do you think paper candidates are fair on voters?
Do you not think people should be able to vote for someone who wants to represent them? Do you think the Conservative Party standing in Sunderland expect their candidates to win? Of course they don't. All parties have candidates that are target seats and candidates that are not target seats. The real challenge is finding 5,000 candidates.
And nominations will close tomorrow afternoon and we'll see where all the parties are. Just a few miles away, in neighbouring Bromley, reform has already shown what's possible. In July 2025, Alan Cook won the Bromley Common and Holwood by-election, reform's first council seat in London, with a decisive swing away from the Conservatives. It's an area Nigel knows well.
He grew up and lived for many years just down the road.
On the doorstep in Orkerton, Greenbelt is massive.
And they believe we are going to build on it because the Tories have just told them.
Local candidates told Nigel they're facing dirty tricks and misinformation on the ground. I've lived in Greenbelt all of my life.
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Chapter 3: What are the key issues voters are expressing about the current government?
As we passed the Mersey, I asked Nigel what he made of Labour's chances in their traditional strongholds. Well, of course, politically, This has been the home of much of the hard left. One thinks back to the Derek Hattons and all that stuff. I think change is in the air. When the Mersey's in full air, it runs at about seven or eight knots through parts of it.
So man overboard means you're a goner. And in political terms, for the Labour Party, in these elections in the north of England, it could be man overboard. He also questioned the lack of campaigning by both Starmer and Badenoch. We were musing earlier that, you know, the leader of the opposition, so-called, is away this week on holiday. Starmer came back from holiday yesterday.
And we just keep going. I have some hand in the planning of it. This particular week, we were on the phone last Thursday. But they showed me the bad eyes and it's not enough. Do more. So it's all self-inflicted stupidity. What followed was an intense day touring six locations across Sefton, Southport, Bursco and Wigan. How do you feel about Nigel coming to town? Astonishing, amazing, brilliant.
Why? Because we're all fed up with Labour, Conservatives.
It's the same old promises, promises, promises and they never deliver. Starmer has to go.
He really brings us hope and we've gotten on at the moment. You know, you're working for nothing. You're working to keep illegal immigrants.
At every stop, Nigel faced the press.
There's a lot of hype around Reform UK at the moment. Are you feeling the pressure heading into these local elections?
Oh, I'm feeling the pressure, but I suspect Keir Starmer is feeling even more pressure because we're not even halfway in to this government and it could be that he's looking at historic losses. Heard the struggles of local business owners But obviously NIC and minimum wage changes and all this stuff. So it's affected us incredibly, you know, the minimum wage thing.
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Chapter 4: How does the Reform UK party plan to challenge Keir Starmer?
I think it all adds to momentum and yeah, you know, it's a long hard slog. I mean, this will be two months on the road with a couple of days off for Easter, but I believe it works. And you know what? I don't think the other leaders had the energy to do it. It was Friday morning, and time for the moment we'd all been building towards, the unveiling of reform's local election slogan.
At 11 a.m., an advan pulled up outside Parliament. On its sides, in bold letters, vote reform, get Starmer out. So, we are taking on the Labour Party in their heartlands, in the Midlands, the North West, the North East, and in particular South Wales and parts of Scotland. And if we achieve anything like our potential, I do not believe Starbuck will still be Prime Minister at the end of May.
Nigel, see this camera please. Sign a bit lower please. A bit lower. And then back to me. I love you, yeah. Back to me, Nigel, please. As the van headed towards Downing Street, an army veteran told me what he thought of the message. Well, Starmer should have never got in. The country is in absolute turmoil. We need reform and we need it yesterday. I don't think we can last another two years.
Here comes another one, look. Another one's coming past us now. Yeah, we need them everywhere. Every single city in the country.
There you are.
From Parliament, Nigel headed straight to Romford Market, a place once famously visited by Margaret Thatcher. Joining him was the local Reform MP, Andrew Rosindell.
Nigel's coming to Romford.
We're going to take him around Romford Market, meet the market traders, meet local residents and show local people that Reform UK is the party that should be running Havering Council. Hello. Hello. Nigel. Hello. How are you doing? A huge crowd quickly formed, following Nigel through the market as he spoke to stallholders and handed out signs saying, get Starmer out.
One local butcher liked the slogan so much he hung the sign in his stall.
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Chapter 5: What reactions has Nigel Farage received from the press?
Reform had put up 4,820 candidates, an incredible 95.2% coverage ahead of the Conservatives, Lib Dems and just 80 candidates less than the governing Labour Party. It's a heck of an achievement for a party that really hasn't been going properly for more than a couple of years. So well done, all of you. And I'll keep going to the end.
People are frustrated with the situation. No, they don't want Starmer. They're passionate about it. They're emotional about what's going on in the borough, in the country, in the world.
Really, people are saying that it's a disaster for the country, and people are passionate about wanting a change. Occasionally, I meet someone who wants to go to the Green Party, but most people in Havering Attiba are for reform.
People are disappointed with the current situation and they want the stormwater out. And they said that this is the time that we want to stand with Nigel because it's a time to change and we really want to change.
But this isn't just about numbers on a ballot paper. It's proof that reform is ready to fight on every front and that May the 7th really can become a national referendum on Keir Starmer's failing leadership, a prime minister who refuses to go even when the country has clearly had enough. But that's not the end of it.
As we were putting this episode together, GB News reported on a major new development.
Big breaking news in Westminster today. Peter Mandelson failed his security vetting, but the decision was overruled by the Foreign Office, headed by David Lammy at the time, so that Peter could take up the post of US ambassador.
It raised fresh concerns that Starmer may have misled Parliament over Mandelson's appointment and renewed calls for him to resign. However, instead of accepting responsibility, the PM denied knowing the information and instead sacked Sir Ollie Robbins, a Foreign Office official appointed two and a half weeks after Downing Street had announced Mandelson's new role.
Nigel reacted to the news on X. Starmer has misled Parliament. He's lied to the public. They knew that Peter Mandelson had failed bedding and they still sent him to Washington. Enough is enough. It's time to get Starmer out. Please sign our petition. Sign it today. Let's get rid of this awful and patriotic prime minister.
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