Nigel Farage has welcomed Reform UK’s latest defectors from the Conservatives.

The party leader introduced Norfolk councillor Robin Hunter-Clarke and Elmbridge Borough councillor Harrison Allman-Varty, who was 18 when he was first voted into office and became the youngest elected borough councillor, to his party’s South East of England conference on Friday night.

Mr Farage told the conference that support for the party was growing, adding: “We are livestreaming this (conference) on all our platforms, including one called X.”

To laughter, he added: “You have good days and bad days, but that is the way it is.”

It comes after Elon Musk, the billionaire and owner of X has called for him to be replaced as Reform UK’s leader.

The Tesla and SpaceX owner, who met Mr Farage in December and had been rumoured to be considering making a large donation to Reform, appeared to turn on the party leader, tweeting that he “doesn’t have what it takes”.

In apparent response to remarks by Nigel Farage earlier, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has ruled out any return to the UK for Jihadi bride Shamima Begum.

Ms Badenoch, posting on X, said: “A Conservative government led by me will never take back terrorists like Shamima Begum who have been stripped of their citizenship. Actions must have consequences or there is no deterrent.

“Citizenship means committing to a country and wanting its success. It’s not an international travel document for crime tourism.”

Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf brushed off questions about reports that 12 of the party’s councilllors had quit the party when interviewed by GB news at the venue.

He said: “I’m the opposite of concerned about that. I just posted on Twitter that the leader of this group of, and I’m putting in inverted commas here, councillors, was suspended by the party last month, several weeks ago, and the disciplinary committee was due to sit on Monday.”

Mr Yusuf also said the process of “democratising” the party, something which former deputy leader Ben Habib has voiced his concern about, would be completed “within weeks”.

Reacting to Nigel Farage’s ultimatum for Sir Keir Starmer, GB News commentator Darren Grimes said: “Reform’s Nigel Farage has suggested he will give Sir Keir Starmer to “the end of the month” before his party will fund an inquiry into grooming gangs.

“Keep up the pressure!”

Nigel Farage also savaged Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves over their handling of the UK economy.

The Clacton MP said: “They haven’t got a clue. Not a clue. Not one person, not one person on that Labour front bench has ever worked in private business, not one and what they did in that budget and in the weeks preceding it, they’re going to pump more money into the public sector and hammer the private sector.

“They say they’re a government about growth. I promise you we’ll be seeing the next figures, you’ll find we’re in recession already, and economics and money operates as much as anything on confidence.

“But look at Starmer and Reeves together. Does that inspire confidence? They’re miserablists. He even gave a speech, didn’t he? Starmer saying ‘things can only get worse’. What were you in charge? I agree with you.”

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has suggested he will give Sir Keir Starmer to “the end of the month” before his party will fund an inquiry into grooming gangs.

Addressing his party’s South East of England conference on Friday night, Mr Farage said: “If Starmer won’t do it – and I’ll give him to the end of the month – if Starmer won’t do it, I will raise the money and we will hold that full public inquiry.”

Mr Farage told the Commons earlier this week that Reform would “raise the money” for an inquiry.

Turning his attention to the grooming scandal, Mr Farage said: “Don’t we deserve to know the full truth, don’t we deserve to know the extent of this across our country? Don’t we deserve to know how long it’s been going on?

“Don’t we deserve to know how many of those young women have been abused.

“And don’t we deserve, just as importantly, to find out who the guilty men and women are the perpetrated a cover up for what I think is one of the greatest evils that has ever happened in our country?”

Speaking of the move to postpone forthcoming local elections, confirmed today, Mr Farage said: “I thought only dictators cancelled elections.

“What they have done today, what they have done today, is an act of political cowardice. It is denying people their democratic rights. And frankly, I am angry. I think the whole thing is a complete and utter disgrace. I really do.

“But we must not allow what they’ve done to stop or quell our momentum in any way.”

Nigel Farage is addressing Reform UK’s South East of England conference.

He begun by saying: “Westminster doesn’t know what is going to hit it.”

Reform UK Deputy Leader poked fun at Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and his Chancellor Rachel Reeves during his speech at the party’s South East of England Conference in Esher.

The Boston and Skegness MP said: “Exactly a year ago, I launched a new word in the English language. I was sort of half joking, Starmergeddon I called it,

“But even I didn’t think it would be this bad, folks. I mean, there’s bad and there’s seriously bad. This is off the chart. They’ve only been around six months. It feels like six years, and then not wanting to be left out there’s our Rachel from accounts. I call her Reevesageddon.

“The damage that our Rachel is causing to all of our wealth is truly, truly shocking.”

A dozen Reform UK councillors have announced their intention to resign en masse in protest against Nigel Farage’s leadership.

The resignations, reported by the Guardian, and which could take place as early as Friday evening, are set to increase pressure on the Reform leader following Elon Musk’s recent claim that he was “not up to the job.” The timing of the resignations appears calculated to overshadow the party’s south-east conference this weekend.

The councillors have accused the party of being run in an “autocratic manner” and criticised Farage for “disloyalty” to longstanding members. Divisions within the party have also emerged over the jailed far-right activist Tommy Robinson, who has received public support from Musk.

Farage was scheduled to address hundreds of members on Friday night at the party’s south-east conference in Esher, Surrey. The event is part of Reform’s efforts to build on general election momentum as the party aims to secure hundreds of seats in this year’s local elections.

Reform-backing pollster Matt Goodwin, speaking at the conference, said: “The establishment is like a drug addict. It’s addicted to cheap migrant labour that is undermining not feeding our national prosperity. It’s crazy. It has to stop.

“And you know, over the last week, we were reminded as to why we should be concerned about the issue of immigration, because I don’t know about you, but I’ve been absolutely outraged and horrified by what the establishment will call the grooming gang scandal, what I call the rape gang scandal, because that’s exactly what it was.

“How has this been allowed to happen?”

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has suggested that the UK government should consider allowing Shamima Begum, who left the country in 2015 to join the Islamic State group, to return to the UK.

Mr Farage told ITV News Political Correspondent Harry Horton: “I’ve never wanted to. I’ve instinctively never wanted to. But I’m now thoughtful, I’m thoughtful. I don’t classify her as an ISIS, an all-out ISIS killer.

“So she’s sort of less… She is a lesser part of the equation,” he added.

Farage made these remarks after Donald Trump’s former counterterrorism advisor, Seb Gorka, stated on Thursday that ISIS members in Syria should be allowed to return to their home countries.

“It’s very difficult for us to think we should take back people, Shamima Begum and others, and instinctively, instinctively, it’s not something I want to do. But Gorka argues that if we and other European countries don’t take back these people and imprison them here, they will be released under the new Syrian regime, creating a problem that we may all ultimately have to face,” Farage said.

The Reform UK leader acknowledged that Gorka’s comments had “started a debate.”

He concluded: “Not one that I wanted to have, and not one the British government wanted to have. But now we’re going to have to.”

Maruyan Senthilnathan also suggested Labour heavyweights were on borrowed time after a shaky first six months.

He told the conference: “I don’t believe Rachel Reeves is going to last very long and I don’t think Keir Starmer is going to last until the end of the year, is my personal opinion.”

Referring to the next general election, he said it was a “critical” one, claiming: “It is the last general election we will have to save this country.”

Nigel Farage has stated that he remains “still friends” with Elon Musk, despite the world’s richest man remarking that the Reform MP “doesn’t have what it takes” to lead his party.

In an interview with Sky’s political correspondent Ali Fortescue, Mr Farage revealed he had spoken with the billionaire owner of X following his critical comments on 5 January, when Mr Musk had said: “The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes.”

When asked if the two were still friends, Mr Farage told Sky News: “Of course we’re friends. He just says what he thinks at any moment in time.”

He added that he had “been in touch” with Mr Musk but declined to disclose the details of their conversation.

Mr Farage concluded: “Look, he said lots of supportive things. He said one thing that wasn’t supportive. I mean, that’s just the way it is.

“By the way, you know, I can’t be pushed or bullied or made to change by anybody.”

Dentist and former Reform UK parliamentry candidate Mayuran Senthilnathan struck a quasi-religious tone during his speech, suggesting: “I believe Nigel Farage came back and took on the burden of leading Reform did so for a higher purpose.

“I believe Richard Tice who valiantly kept the party going and stepped down as soon as Nigel came back did that for a higher purpose.

“And I believe the candidates who stuck their heads above the parapet believe in a higher purpose.

“It stands to resurrect the glory of this country.”

Attempts to postpone the forthcoming council elections are part of a plot to prevent Reform UK getting a “foothold in local government”, London Assembly member Alex Wilson claimed.

Mr Wilson told the rally: “We all know the real reason so many counties are considering cancelling their elections, it’s got nothing to do with structural reorganisation and everything to do with stopping Reform Uk getting a significant foothold in local government.

“It’s so obvious, it’s nakedly political, and it’s just plain wrong. But it’s also, it’s why we must never take our foot off the gas.”

Mr Yusuf also singled out the “half a million people employed in the civil service”, adding: “Many of whom are working from home”.

He added: “In the last seven years their burden on the taxpayer has rocketed to over £15 billion.

“They act as a suffocating parasite feasting on the dynamism and hard work of the British people.”

Mr Yusuf continued: “British should be among the most prosperous in the world and let we languish in 26th place.

“British people are full of energy, talent and dynamism.

“The brightest and best are still falling over themselves to get here.”

Nigel Farage, if he becomes PM, will order the Royal Navy to ensure anyone trying to cross the Channel is prevented from doing so, said Mr Yusuf.

He added: “Tories and Labour have voluntarily inflicted a national security crisis on the UK.

We will leave the ECHR and replace it with a British Bill of Rights.”

Nobody entering the UK illegally would be permitted to remain, he added.

Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf has kicked off the rally by declaring” “Nigel Farage is now the bookmakers’ favourite to the be next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.”

Mr Yusuf said 46,000 people had joined Reform in December alone.

He also pointed the finger at Kemi Badenoch for disputing Reform’s claim to have overtaken the total membership of the Conservative Party, specifically her pledge “monitor the back end”.

He added: “The only backend Kemi has been monitoring is the one that she was talking out of.”

Nigel Farage has warmed up for tonight’s Reform UK conference in Surrey by blasting a request by local councils to postpone the forthcoming elections, branding it a “denial of democracy”.

The party’s leader and Claction MP, in a clip shared on X, said: “Tonight we have a full house for Reform UK meeting in Surrey. I brought together people from Kent, Surrey, East and West Sussex, to get us ready for the county council elections on May the first the place will be full.

“We’ve just heard those county council elections will be cancelled, yes, postponed, maybe for up to three years.

“I’ll give you my full response to this live at 8pm. The whole conference being streamed from 6.

“This is an absolute denial of democracy, a total disgrace, and it’s happening because they’re scared of Reform.”

Nigel Farage has also voiced his concern about the deal which the UK Government has struck with Mauritius relating to the future of the Chagos Islands.

Mr Farage posted on X: “This week I met one of the closest advisers to the new Prime Minister of Mauritius.

“It is clear that a new relationship with America is vitally important to them.

“The Chagos Islands deal is bad for all concerned.”

Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf has taken a swipe at Kemi Badenoch’s Conservatives in relation to the idea that the two parties may eventually opt for an electoral pact.

With his party riding high in the polls, Mr Yusuf posted on X: “Reform doesn’t need a “pact” with the Tories, in just the same way that Netflix didn’t need a “pact” with Blockbuster video.”

Eleven councils have so far asked to postpone elections this year, ahead of the biggest reorganisation of local government in decades, it is understood.

Local authorities have until Friday to request permission from the Government to postpone their elections, after plans to abolish two-tier council areas were announced in December, as part of Labour’s proposals to devolve more power away from Westminster.

With 21 county councils and 10 unitary authorities due to hold elections this May, some have sought to delay them to allow time to develop proposals on reorganisation.

They include Surrey, Oxfordshire, Devon and Norfolk county councils, which have all voted to push their elections back.

Worcestershire, Hampshire, Kent, Gloucestershire and Thurrock have also requested postponements.

Reform UK, which hopes to make significant gains in May’s polls, has also objected to delays, and deputy leader Richard Tice on Monday accused Conservative-led councils of “bottling it and abandoning the elections”.

Reform UK is live-streaming its South East of England Conference this evening.

The party’s official X account posted: “Tune in LIVE on X from 6pm. You won’t want to miss it.”

Meanwhile fellow Reform MP Lee Anderson has poked fun at his critics by sharing a clip of him working in a fast food restaurant.

The outspoken former Tory, posting on X, said: “I’m loving it.

“Before the election I was constantly told by the left wing nut jobs that I would be flipping burgers after the election.

“Today their wish came true.”

A Reform MP has slammed a reported government assessment into Elon Musk’s posts as “pathetic” amid concerns about the danger they pose to UK security.

The Home Office is said to have ramped up extra monitoring to assess the content and reach of what is being shared X, especially posts from accounts with a large number of followers – including Mr Musk’s.

The tech billionaire has brutally attacked Sir Keir Starmer online, claiming the Prime Minister failed to bring “rape gangs” to justice as director of public prosecutions (DPP) from 2008 to 2013.

The entrepreneur also called him “complicit in the rape of Britain” and accused safeguarding minister Jess Phillips of being a “rape genocide apologist” after the Government decided against a Whitehall-led inquiry into child sexual abuse in Oldham.

Nigel Farage claims his party Reform UK can win the next election.

It might seem crazy. After all, he is one of only five Reform MPs while Labour won 411 at the last election. It would take a massive upset for Mr Farage to become Prime Minister.

Nigel Farage has turned up the heat on Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer over Labour’s refusal to call a national inquiry on the subject of grooming gangs just hours before Reform UK stages a large-scale rally in Surrey.

Posting on X, the Clacton MP, citing a survey published by YouGov this week, said: “76% of Britons want a national public inquiry into the rape gangs scandal. “

In recent weeks, there have been renewed calls for an national inquiry into grooming gangs in the UK, particularly focusing on cases involving the sexual exploitation of young girls by organised groups.

Notably, Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, has expressed support for a “limited” national inquiry, emphasizing the need for a comprehensive approach to address these issues and prevent future occurrences.

Earlier this week, Parliament voted on a Conservative-led motion proposing a new national inquiry into grooming gangs. The motion was defeated by a significant margin, with 364 MPs voting against and 111 in favour.