The party claims it has almost 100,000 members, more than the Lib Dems, whose hyperlocal strategy it aims to emulate

• Podcast: On the ground with Reform UK

It was the grand finale of Reform UK’s September conference and Nigel Farage had a serious message to deliver: it was time for Reform to “grow up” and professionalise.

He couldn’t do it alone, he told 4,000 hyped-up members who had paid £50 each to bask in his presence.