Reform UK says it is set to have more members than the Conservative Party following a huge drop in Tory numbers.

Around 90,000 Conservative members are believed to be eligible to vote in the current leadership contest, in which former immigration minister Minister is competing with shadow communities secretary Kemi Badenoch, down from the 142,000 that took part in the last leadership vote in 2022.

Rival right-wing party Reform, led by Nigel Farage, claims to have 90,000 members of its own and says its numbers are rising.

Financial information provided by the Conservative Party to watchdog the Electoral Commission shows Tory membership fees dropped by almost a quarter in one year, from £1.97 million in 2022 to £1.5 million in 2023.

Tories do not publish official membership numbers but the figures were released by Daniel Hannan, a Conservative member of the House of Lords and former MEP, who highlighted a massive drop since a leadership contest in 2005

Warning his party is in a poor state, Lord Hannan said: “Membership has collapsed from 260,000 when David Cameron became party leader to perhaps 90,000 now; money has dried up, requiring mass redundancies at CCHQ; candidate selection was late, partial and shambolic.”

Reform UK Chairman Zia Yusuf said: “Reform has all the momentum in British politics. We now have well over 90,000 members and growing every day.

“Whilst the Tory membership continues to plummet, we are reconstituting the centre right of British politics.”

Reform strategists hope to win council seats in next year’s local elections but believe they can make a breakthrough in the 2026 devolved elections in Scotland and Wales, when they hope to beat the Conservatives in both countries.

Reform, which won five Parliamentary seats at the last general election, claims to be transforming into a traditional political party which will continue to be a force in British politics once Nigel Farage retires. It began creating constituency branches following the July general election and now has 300.

Previously it was a business in which Mr Farage owned a majority stake, but it will now be owned by its members.