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This weekend, I had the privilege of addressing five thousand Reform party members and activists at the party’s national conference in Birmingham. I also gave a few interviews to national media — one of which, on LBC Radio, has since gone viral.
At the conference, Nigel Farage kindly gave me an opportunity to speak from the main stage, sandwiched between Jordan Bardella, President of the National Rally in France and somebody who looks set to be a future president or prime minister or France, and Nigel Farage himself.
It was a big moment.
I wanted to use the opportunity to make a broader argument about what is happening in Britain, drawing on arguments and evidence I have shared with you in this newsletter, and explain why I remain optimistic about the future.
Because whatever you might think of Reform UK, whether you are a supporter or not, the fact remains that its rise has not come from nowhere.
In my mind, it represents the latest chapter in a much longer political revolt that’s been building in this country for more than twenty years — through the rise of the UK Independence Party, the Brexit referendum, the rise of the Brexit Party, through Boris Johnson’s landslide in 2019 and the betrayal that followed, through the rise of Reform in 2024, and now, today, through its ongoing advance across the country.
The party names might have changed. But the message from millions of ordinary men and women out there in the country has not. Like their counterparts in Germany who have just caused a similar earthquake this weekend, they have had enough.
Enough of mass uncontrolled immigration. Enough of broken borders. Enough of a political establishment that promises change at election time but then returns to business as usual. And, above all, enough of being ignored.
Here, in full, is what I told Reform UK.
As always, paid supporters can let me know their thoughts in the comments, our group chat, and during our next live discussion for paid supporters, TONIGHT, at 7pm UK time on the Substack app, when I will also discuss the outbreak of major protests in Dover and Portsmouth over the weekend in response to the small boats.
Here’s the speech:
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It was a pleasure to meet you briefly at the conference, Matt. I also had the privilege of speaking on the AI and innovation panel with Danny Kruger.
What struck me throughout the weekend was that this no longer felt like a protest movement. It felt like a party seriously preparing to govern. Members were not simply united by what they oppose; there was a real appetite to discuss what must be built, how it can be delivered and how Britain can recover its confidence.
Your speech captured the historical significance of the moment. The party names have changed over the past twenty years, but the message from millions of people has remained remarkably consistent: they want secure borders, national sovereignty and a government that listens to them rather than lectures them.
The establishment repeatedly dismissed those people instead of addressing their concerns. Reform’s opportunity now is to turn that long revolt into a credible programme of national renewal. The scale, energy and optimism in Birmingham suggested that process is already well underway.
Matt crushed it at conference. Best speech I've seen him give.