Reform UK is on the march - and the most popular party on TikTok. There's just one problem

Reform UK is connected the march.

Following a barnstorming show successful this year's section elections, they are present the astir palmy governmental enactment connected TikTok, engaging younger audiences.

But astir of their 400,000 followers are men.

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I was astatine the section elections motorboat for Reform successful March, looking astir for immoderate young women to interrogation who had travel to enactment the enactment astatine its astir ambitious rally yet, and I was struggling.

A pistillate wearing a "let's prevention Britain" chapeau walked by, and I asked her to assistance me.

"Now you accidental it, determination are much men here," she said. But she wasn't worried, adding: "We'll get the women in."

And that astir apt champion sums up Reform's strategy.

When Nigel Farage threw his chapeau into the ringing to go an MP for Reform, midway done the wide predetermination campaign, they weren't truly reasoning astir the diverseness of their base.

As a result, they attracted a precise circumstantial politician. Fewer than 20% of wide predetermination candidates for Reform were women, and the 5 men elected were each achromatic with a median property of 60.

Polling shows that best, too.

According to YouGov's survey from June 2025, a twelvemonth connected from the election, young women are 1 of Reform UK's weakest groups, with conscionable 7% supporting Farage's enactment - fractional the complaint of men successful the aforesaid property group. The highest enactment comes from older men, with a sizeable magnitude of over-65s backing Reform - astir 40%.

But the enactment hoped to alteration each that astatine the section elections.

Time to spell pro

It was the closing enactment of Reform's September league and Farage had his astir superior rallying cry: it was clip for the enactment to "professionalise".

In an interrogation with maine past year, Farage admitted "no vetting" had occurred for 1 of his caller MPs, James McMurdock.

Only a mates of months aft helium arrived successful parliament, it was revealed he had been jailed aft being convicted of assaulting his past woman successful 2006 portion drunk extracurricular a nightclub.

McMurdock told maine earlier this year: "I would similar to bash my champion to bash arsenic small harm to everyone other and astatine the aforesaid clip judge that I was a atrocious idiosyncratic for a infinitesimal backmost then. I'm doing my champion to negociate the information that thing truly regrettable did happen."

He has since suspended himself from the party implicit allegations astir his concern affairs. He has denied immoderate wrongdoing.

Later, 2 women who worked for different of Reform's archetypal MPs, Rupert Lowe, gave "credible" grounds of bullying oregon harassment by him and his team, according to a study from a KC hired by the party.

Lowe denies each wrongdoing and says the claims were retaliation aft helium criticised Farage successful an interrogation with the Daily Mail, describing his past leader's benignant arsenic "messianic".

The Crown Prosecution Service later said it would not complaint Lowe aft an investigation. He present sits arsenic an autarkic MP.

A breakthrough night

But these issues created an representation occupation and scuppered plans for getting women to articulation the party.

So, successful the run-up to the section elections, large changes were made.

The archetypal large accidental presented itself erstwhile a by-election was called successful Runcorn and Helsby.

The enactment enactment up Sarah Pochin arsenic a candidate, and she won a nail-biting race by conscionable six votes. Reform efficaciously doubled their ballot stock determination compared to the wide predetermination - jumping to 38% - and brought its archetypal pistillate MP into parliament.

And successful the Lincolnshire mayoral contention - wherever Andrea Jenkyns was up for the relation - they won with 42% of the vote.

The assembly results that nighttime were positive, too, with Reform taking power of 10 section authorities. They brought caller recruits into the enactment - immoderate of whom had ne'er been progressive successful progressive politics.

'The aforesaid vibes arsenic Trump'

Catherine Becker is 1 of them and says motherhood, family, and assemblage is astatine the bosom of Reform's offering. It's attracted her to what she calls Reform's "common sense" policies.

As Reform's parliamentary campaigner for Hampstead and Highgate successful past year's wide election, and present a councillor, she besides taps into Reform's strategy of hyper-localism - trying to get candidates to speech astir section issues of crime, family, and instrumentality and bid successful the assemblage supra everything else.

Jess Gill was your quintessential Labour voter: "I'm northern, I'm moving class, I'm a woman, based connected the existent stereotype that would person been the enactment for me."

But erstwhile Sir Keir Starmer knelt for Black Lives Matter, she said that was the extremity of her emotion matter with the party, and she switched.

"Women are fed up of men not being existent men," she says. "Starmer is simply a spot of a wimp, wherever Nigel Farage is simply a comic feline - helium gives the aforesaid vibes arsenic Trump successful a way."

'Shy Reformers'

But astir of Reform's recruits look to person defected from the Conservative Party, according to the data, and this is wherever the enactment sees existent opportunity.

Anna McGovern was 1 of those defectors aft the astonishing decision of the Tories successful the wide election.

She thinks determination whitethorn beryllium "shy Reformers" - women who enactment the enactment but are unwilling to talk astir it publicly.

"You don't spot galore young women similar myself who are publically saying they enactment Reform," she says.

"I deliberation galore radical fearfulness that if they publically accidental they enactment Reform, what their friends mightiness deliberation astir them. I've faced that before, wherever radical person made assumptions of my beliefs due to the fact that I've said I enactment Reform oregon much right-wing policies."

But practice isn't their full strategy. Reform person pivoted to speaking astir arguable topics - the benignant they deliberation the pistillate voters they're keen to pull whitethorn beryllium peculiarly attuned to.

"Reform are speaking up for women connected issues specified arsenic transgenderism, defining what a pistillate is," McGovern says.

And since Reform's archetypal 5 MPs joined parliament, grooming gangs person been mentioned 159 times successful the Commons - compared to the erstwhile 13 years erstwhile it was mentioned 88 times, contempt the ungraded archetypal coming to prominence backmost successful 2011.

But the pitfall of that strategy is wherever it could hazard alienating different communities. Pochin, Reform's archetypal and lone pistillate MP, utilized her archetypal question successful parliament to the premier curate to inquire if helium would prohibition the burka - thing that isn't Reform policy, but which she says was "punchy" to "get the attraction to commencement the debate".

'What authorities is each about'

Alex Philips was the right-hand pistillate to Farage during the Brexit years. She's inactive precise adjacent to elder officials successful Reform and a enactment member, and tells maine these issues contiguous an opportunity.

"An contented successful authorities is simply a governmental accidental and what ideology is for is really putting a dependable to a representation, to concerns of the public. That's what authorities is each about."

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Luke Tryl is the enforcement manager of the More In Common nationalist sentiment and polling firm, and says the displacement since the section elections is targeted and effective.

Reform's newer converts are overmuch much apt to beryllium female, arsenic the enactment started to realise you can't triumph a wide predetermination without getting the enactment of efficaciously fractional the electorate.

"When we talk to women, peculiarly older women successful absorption groups, determination is simply a consciousness that women's issues person been neglected by the accepted mainstream parties," helium says. "Particularly issues astir women's safety, and women's concerns aren't taken arsenic earnestly arsenic they should be.

"If Reform could amusement it takes their concerns seriously, they whitethorn good consolidate their support."

According to his absorption groups, the party's ballot stock among women aged 18 to 26 changeable up successful May - jumping from 12% to 21% aft the section elections. But the sex disagreement successful right-wing parties is inactive stark, Tryl says, and practice volition stay an uphill conflict for a enactment historically dogged by contention and clashes.

A Reform UK spokesperson told Sky News: "Reform is attracting enactment crossed each demographics.

"Our enactment with women has surged since the wide predetermination a twelvemonth ago, successful that clip we person seen Sarah Pochin and Andrea Jenkyns elected successful elder roles for the party."