Reform UK says it is now the largest political party in Britain and has overtaken Labour, which has reportedly seen its membership fall below 250,000.<\/p>\n
Nigel Farage\u2019s party says it has more than 268,000 members on the live tracker displayed on its website.<\/p>\n
Farage said: \u201cAs we have suspected for some time, Reform has overtaken Labour<\/a> to become the largest political party in British politics \u2013 a huge milestone on our journey to win the next election. The age of two-party politics is dead.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Times reported that, according to internal figures, the Labour party\u2019s paid-up membership had fallen below 250,000.<\/p>\n Mainstream<\/a>, the centre-left group backed by Andy Burnham, said the Labour\u2019s \u201cplummeting membership\u201d showed that its \u201ctop-down model has failed\u201d.<\/p>\n Its interim council said in a statement: \u201cTo transform Britain and defeat the far-right, Labour needs a grassroots movement in every community. The answer is to democratise, open up, and empower members. A vibrant, member-powered Labour party is the only way to win \u2013 for our party and the country.\u201d<\/p>\n Labour does not publish a running tally of its membership figures, disclosing them only once a year as part of its annual reporting.<\/p>\n Party accounts published in August showed in the year ending December 2024 it had 333,235 members, down from 370,450 at the end of 2023.<\/p>\n The numbers have fallen over consecutive years from a high of more than 500,000 under Jeremy Corbyn\u2019s leadership.<\/p>\n A Labour party spokesperson said: \u201cOur membership figures are published in our annual report. We do not give a running commentary on them throughout the year.\u201d<\/p>\n The apparent increasing number of membership contributions to Reform will boost its electoral war chest alongside a recent spate of donations.<\/p>\n The party received a \u00a39m donation in August from the Thailand-based businessman Christopher Harborne, Electoral Commission records recently revealed. The sum was the biggest single donation in modern history to a political party from a living person.<\/p>\n Farage insisted Harborne wanted \u201cnothing in return\u201d for the donation and said he was \u201cvery, very comfortable and confident\u201d in the source of the cash.<\/p>\n