Nigel Farage has said “bigots” and “extremists” are not welcome in Reform UK, as he seeks to “professionalise” the party after its election success.<\/p>\n Addressing its annual conference in Birmingham, the Reform UK leader said the party was “coming of age” after winning its first MPs in July.<\/p>\n But he conceded the party had not been “professional enough” to properly vet candidates, following a series of controversies over their past comments.<\/p>\n He added that the party represented the “silent majority” and could have won more seats, but that “amateurism let us down”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Among proposed changes to make the party more professional, he said the party would be vetting candidates “rigorously” for all future elections.<\/p>\n He added that they would also seek to emulate the Liberal Democrats by aiming to win more seats on councils to bolster its national electoral chances, with a target to win “hundreds” of seats in local polls next May.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Reform UK, formerly known as the Brexit Party until the UK\u2019s exit of the EU, won five seats at July’s election, giving it a foothold in Parliament.<\/p>\n Following its rebrand in 2021, it is aiming to become a permanent fixture on the right of British politics, with an emphasis on reducing immigration, tougher policies on crime and slashing taxes.<\/p>\n Now, it is aiming to overhaul its party structures, as it seeks to use its election performance as a platform to build longer-term electoral success.<\/p>\n Farage revealed ahead of the conference he would be giving up ownership of the party, which was set up as a private limited company to fast-track its creation ahead of the European Parliament elections in spring 2019.<\/p>\n Addressing delegates, Farage said the initial structure had allowed the party not to be infiltrated by “extremist groups”, adding that new political parties were often vulnerable to being “hijacked”.<\/p>\n He added: \u201cWe don\u2019t want extremists, we don\u2019t want bigots, we don\u2019t want people who think that way, because we represent the silent, decent majority of this great country.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Around 4,000 activists are attending the party’s gathering in the West Midlands, around four times as many as last year and its biggest yet.<\/p>\n To the sound of Eminem’s 2002 hit Without Me, which has become a familiar entrance tune for the Reform UK leader, Farage waved to activists as he lapped the auditorium at Birmingham’s National Exhibition Centre before his speech.<\/p>\n Farage, who was elected as an MP in July at his eighth attempt, was watched by the party’s other four MPs, including Lee Anderson, who sat on top of an open-top double decker bus inside the conference hall.<\/p>\n In his address, he told activists he was on a mission to \u201cprofessionalise and democratise\u201d the party, having given it a “beachhead” in Parliament.<\/p>\n![\"EPA-EFE\/REX\/Shuttershock](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/480\/cpsprodpb\/6055\/live\/fd2abb10-7780-11ef-a2d8-41b483e9eb63.jpg.webp\")
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