The 2024 General Election and its Aftermath: Reform UK as a Disruptive Force in British Politics

From the UK Independence party (UKIP) to Reform UK (including under its original name, the Brexit Party), Nigel Farage and his successive political parties have been major agents of disruption of the British political order, generating significant instability. This is an inherent part of their nature as populist parties. This article focuses on Reform UK, the latest illustration of Farage’s disruptive potential, as a destabilising force during and after the 2024 General Election, with the aim of exploring the party’s use of disruption as both a strategy and an explicit goal. The first part examines the origins of Reform UK, tracing its political lineage back to UKIP and the Brexit Party, with Nigel Farage as its defining figure. The second part delves into the 2024 General Election, analysing how Reform acted as a disruptive force in the campaign, which resulted in a historic breakthrough marking a turning-point for the party, but also for British politics. The third part addresses the post-election period, characterised by an increasing visibility of Reform. The party has actively cultivated a constant media presence, by performing crisis to stage its own disruptive dimension. This was illustrated by the 2024 summer riots, but also by the party’s extensive publicisation of its progress in building up its “people’s army” to carry out its revolt against the establishment.