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Reform UK leader Nigel Farage is set to deliver a keynote speech at the party’s conference in Birmingham.
Mr Farage is expected to announce plans to “democratise” the party structure after he “relinquished” control of the company by giving up his majority shareholder position.
It comes Richard Tice has defended Mr Farage’s attendance record in parliament. The Party’s deputy leader claimed “no one works harder than Nigel Farage.”
Mr Farage has spoken seven times in parliament since he was elected.
“As leader, you’ve got a huge job because you’re campaigning everywhere,” he said.
“You’re sorting out the professionalisation with the chairman and so we’re sharing and sharing alike and that’s an important part of it.
“You can’t be everywhere all the time. It’s really difficult. But let me tell you, no one works harder than Nigel Farage.”
Mr Tice also defended his party leader’s frequent trips to the US, supporting his “friend” former president Donald Trump.
Mr Farage has visited the US three times since being elected as the MP for Clacton, including attending the Republican national convention in Milwaukee two weeks after the election.
Reform UK conference: Key timings to keep an eye on
Here are some key timings to keep an eye on this afternoon during the Reform Party Conference in Birmingham:
3pm: Rupert Lowe, MP for Great Yarmouth
3:15pm: Chief whip Lee Anderson
3:30pm: Deputy Leader Richard Tice
3:45pm: Zia Yusuf, Reform Chairman
4pm: Grand finale speech from party leader Nigel Farage
‘I want my country back’, says Lee Anderson
Speaking to the Reform UK conference, Lee Anderson said it was a “disgrace” for children to be “taught they could be a different gender”.
Opening his address on the main stage, Mr Anderson was met with loud applause. He told the audience: “I want my country back.”
The MP for Ashfield continued: “I remember a time when our children went to school and they were taught how to read and write and become good citizens. They were not taught they could be a different gender.
“They did not have to sit down and listen to a six-foot-five drag queen read stories to them.
“This has been happening under our watch in this country. It is an absolute disgrace.”
Neighbours star Holly Valance tells her kids to call Nigel Farage ‘uncle Nige’
Neighbours star Holly Valance has said she tells her kids to call Nigel Farage “uncle Nige”, according to LBC.
The Australian actress, 40, known for her role as Felicity “Flick” Scully, used to support the Tories but changed allegiance to Reform this year.
She has previously praised Liz Truss and backed Jacob-Rees Mogg for prime minister.
It has previously been reported Ms Valance helped Nigel Farage’s Reform UK raise £1.5m within days of his return as leader.
Woman arrested over Southport attacker posts defended at Reform conference
Panellists at the Reform conference have defended a woman who was arrested after sharing a fake name for the Southport attacker online, and criticised the “weaponisation” of free speech.
During a fringe panel event at the party’s conference in the NEC in Birmingham titled – Polarised Britain: How can we defend free speech? – one panellist also said that “speech is not action” when questioned about consequences of online incitement.
Bernadette Spofforth was arrested after sharing a fake name, commenting that if it were true there would be “hell to pay”.
The false claim that the perpetrator of the Southport knife attack was a Muslim refugee who had arrived by boat in the country in the past year, was spread online by a number of far-right commentators, stoking anti-immigration hostility.
Ms Spofforth apologised once she realised the information was incorrect and did not face any charges.
Alan Miller, chair of the Together Association, told the Reform conference that questioning the UK’s sovereignty or migration numbers leads to being “presented as someone who’s encouraging a riot”.
He said: “Bernie Spofforth many of you would have seen, she had several police come and arrest her. She did a post. Some might say it was a stupid post. You might have even said it was irresponsible, right? But did it deserve to have the police turn up?”
Former Tory minister Dame Andrea Jenkyns attends Reform conference
Former Conservative minister Dame Andrea Jenkyns is attending the Reform UK conference in Birmingham.
Dame Andrea previously claimed she was wooed by a pro-Brexit businessman acting on behalf of Reform who she says offered her jobs to defect. She insists she was never close to defecting.
She also used a picture of Nigel Farage in a campaign leaflet during this year’s general election.
Watch live: Nigel Farage addresses Reform UK conference in Birmingham
Watch: What to expect from Reform UK’s party conference
Our political correspondent Millie Cooke reports:
Pictured: Reform UK supporters show off their outfits
Reform UK conference merch from Save Britain caps made in China to £35 ties signed by Richard Tice
Read the full report from our political correspondent Millie Cooke, who is at the conference in Birmingham
TV personality Ant Middleton suggests UK on brink of ‘civil unrest’ in Reform conference speech
Ant Middleton has suggested the UK is on the brink of “civil unrest” unless action is taken to strengthen British culture and identity.
The former SAS: Who Dares Wins star said “we haven’t got a secure camp” as he likened his work on the television show to the need to address border security.
The former soldier said: “What’s British identity? British culture. What’s British culture? British history. So why is that being eradicated? Why is that being trampled all over? Why aren’t we allowed to be the umbrella culture of this country?”
Mr Middleton went on to highlight the role of Christianity in the UK’s history, saying: “The moment we lose our identity, guess what we lose? Our purpose, our focus, our direction. What happens when we don’t have an identity? We get confused.”
He said he lost his identity and got confused after leaving the military, saying: “When you have a nation of confused people, guess what happens after? Frustration. You get frustrated, very much like the individual. What happens after frustration? Anger, violence. What’s happening on our streets right now? Violence.
“We are at a very, very important and crucial stage before it teeters into civil unrest, which we want to avoid at all costs, but it’s coming, we’re on that edge where violence has hit the streets, we’ve all seen it, I don’t need to mention what it is, we’ve all seen it.”
In August, violent disorder spread across the country in the wake of the stabbings of three young children in Southport after misinformation spread that the killer was a Muslim asylum seeker.
