00:00I am delighted to take up this position as chairman of Reform UK. It is the fastest growing political party this country has.
00:09You have to work very hard, you often get abuse hurled at you, and I want to be there.
00:14Well, a very good morning to all the members, first of all, from Reform UK.
00:20I want to say a very good morning to all the supporters of Reform UK and, of course, ladies and gentlemen of the press.
00:27I am absolutely bowled over. I am thrilled. I am delighted to take up this position as chairman of Reform UK.
00:35It is the fastest growing political party this country has ever seen.
00:41It is an absolutely massive role, which you've heard from Zia. It's a huge role.
00:46I will take it up with vigour, determination, enthusiasm and a smattering of trepidation.
00:53It is an absolutely vast role. I'm also deeply honoured that Nigel has asked me to do this.
01:00We go back a very long way, as you heard. I'm absolutely thrilled that he's put his trust into me
01:07as we continue with the growth, the development and the professionalisation of the party.
01:15Now, I'm really sorry that the story broke last night on Mail Online, and I'm very sorry about that.
01:20The thing that I'm most upset about is, after 30 years of broadcasting in news and current affairs,
01:25from Newsround, Watchdog, Health Check, Tomorrow's World, and also my show on talk TV,
01:31the journalist in question decided to pin my entire career on the world's largest live ghost hunt,
01:38which I used to present some 20 years ago.
01:41Having said that, I'm going to use my skills in the paranormal to dig around and find skeletons in the closet
01:48of the Conservative Party and the Labour Party as well.
01:53Now, as Nigel said, my role is very much going to be externally facing.
01:57I've spent a lot of time on the ground campaigning with Richard over the years,
02:01and the lifeblood of this party is the voluntary party.
02:06They are an extraordinary group of people.
02:10They go out, regardless of the weather, they knock on doors,
02:13they put leaflets through the letterboxes,
02:16they set up market stalls,
02:18and they really are such an important, vital asset to this party.
02:23What I want to do is to go around the country
02:25to show some love to all of those people
02:28who believe that this country deserves better.
02:32So that's the externally facing role.
02:34But one other thing that's crucial
02:36is we are growing and developing the professional party as well.
02:41So my role is about bringing those two parts of the party together,
02:44the voluntary party, the professional party,
02:47and I want to act as a conduit between the two.
02:52I do want to pay enormous tribute to Zia.
02:55He has done an extraordinary job.
02:58If I look back to my involvement in the party,
03:01Zia has professionalised the party beyond belief.
03:05As he talked about, all the branches that he has set up,
03:08the governance structures and the candidates that we've put into place,
03:11that is no mean feat at all.
03:14I'm also, I have to say, on a very selfish note,
03:17delighted you are staying and, of course, heading up the Doge Unit,
03:21which is going to be absolutely vital as we move forward
03:23and show what Reform UK can do in local government.
03:28I'm also thrilled he's going to help with fundraising as well,
03:31because, of course, that's important for any political party.
03:35And also, Zia is the most fantastic media performer.
03:39He's a great charismatic person in front of camera,
03:42and he will also be helping me and the Members of Parliament
03:45in terms of spreading the message of Reform UK
03:48on the national and local media.
03:52Now, I've actually been involved with the party, as Nigel said,
03:56for a very long time.
03:57I was elected in the Brexit party as an MEP for the North West.
04:02I've stayed with the party ever since then.
04:05And, in fact, I think it's fair to say that Reform UK
04:08was founded in my kitchen in Suffolk, I think, with Richard Tyres.
04:14Nigel decided to go off on a sabbatical,
04:16and Richard gamely stood up and became the leader of the party.
04:20I became the deputy leader of the party,
04:23and we grew the party from 2% to 3%, then 6%, 7%, 8%.
04:27But when Nigel came back, we have now rocketed off the charts.
04:33We're now polling consistently at 31% across the board,
04:37pretty much in every single poll you look at.
04:41And the results are evident.
04:42We are now in overall control of 13 councils.
04:47We are the largest party on two other councils as well,
04:50Doncaster and Cornwall.
04:52We have 832 councillors across the country.
04:57We're gaining more by the day when people defect,
05:00or indeed when there are by-elections as well.
05:04When you look at our membership,
05:06it has also rocketed to 233,000 members.
05:11That is just shy of a quarter of a million members in this country.
05:18And let me tell you, in the last quarter of last year,
05:21we gained 70,000 members alone.
05:25That is unprecedented in modern political history.
05:29What else have we achieved?
05:32Well, of course, five members of parliament, of course.
05:35We have two mayors in Greater Lincolnshire with Dame Andrea Jenkins,
05:38and Hull and East Yorkshire with Luke Campbell, MBE.
05:42The key for me with this party is we have grown it from the ground up.
05:48This is a grassroots party.
05:50It is through the strength, determination, hard work of all those people around the country
05:55who have been out and about canvassing, delivering, leafleting,
05:58and setting up those market stalls.
06:02So what happens from here?
06:04Well, as Nigel said, I've just told my boss at Talk TV
06:07that I shall be taking up for this role.
06:09Good morning, Denny.
06:09And so I shall be going around the country.
06:14I want to really be there to support all of our members,
06:17our volunteers, our elected officials,
06:20and, of course, crucially, our candidates.
06:23Being a candidate is really difficult.
06:26And, of course, you have to work very hard.
06:28You often get abuse hurled at you.
06:30And I want to be there because I've been there many times before
06:33to help and to support them.
06:36And given my background,
06:37and I will also be helping the members of Parliament,
06:39Zia, Nigel, being a voice on national and local media as well.
06:45I see this as the ultimate push.
06:49We are going to fight,
06:50and we are going to win the next general election.
06:54And we are going to put Nigel Farage into number 10,
06:59and we will become the governing party of the United Kingdom.
07:03Can we do it?
07:04Well, to quote Bob the Builder,
07:07yes, we can.
07:08Thank you very much.
07:09Thank you very much.
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