Why aren’t UKIP combining their efforts with Reform UK, is a common theme I have seen from Reform supporters asking UKIP supporters. Perhaps Reform supporters should direct these questions to their own Reform UK leadership?

For over two years UKIP nationally has approached other like-minded parties on the center-right with an aim to open discussions on either combining, working together or at least co-ordinating candidates, but the Reform leadership - specifically their two senior Company shareholders and Directors, Richard Tice (the then Leader, now Chairman), and Nigel Farage (the then President and now Leader) have refused to engage even in discussions on working together.

Whilst leadership talks are above my pay-grade, I was with the UKIP national Party Chairman at a Parliamentary By-Election when a text reply from Nigel Farage arrived, which I saw, and it was a clear and blunt refusal. The terminology was exactly the same as he describes the Conservative Party today.

Other parties did engage and in the meantime, the English Democrats (formed in 2002) formally entered a "Patriots Alliance" with UKIP which we registered with the Electoral Commission - an agreement to co-ordinate and not stand against each other.
 
The English Democrats recently confirmed to me that Reform did not want to engage in working together here:

https://twitter.com/EnglishDemocrat/status/1799375730712654184
 
However, as a gesture of goodwill, when Nigel recently took over the Leadership of Reform, UKIP offered to stand back in seven prime constituencies. But Reform still refused to talk.

UKIP are therefore fielding candidates in our target constituencies (bar the five promised, as the English Democrats are now contesting the two Barnsley seats in which they have strong local Barnsley candidates).
 
Reform stated they would be fielding candidates in every constituency. However, in my local county (Dorset) Reform failed to field candidates in West Dorset or Mid Dorset and North Poole. UKIP were always going to target what are historically our three best Dorset constituencies - Christchurch, North Dorset and Poole, where Reform appears to have token last-minute or “paper” candidates.
 
I was (briefly) in 2019 a registered supporter (they didn't have members) of the Brexit Party, but when they pulled all their candidates at the last-minute in “Conservative seats” (sic.) in 2019.  I spoilt my ballot paper (first time in my life, but I just couldn't vote for a pro-EU pinko dripping wet "Conservative"-in-name-only MP or Green, Lib Dem or Labour). I also re-joined UKIP, and I have worked for five years to ensure that we will be standing at this election. I was a co-author (with five others on the policy team) of the UKIP manifesto which we have been developing in consultation with members since 2021, the latest version is here:

UKIP Manifesto 2023 Final version 2 (web) (cdn-website.com)
 
As Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Christchurch, I visited every UKIP member in the Christchurch and East Dorset constituency and was endorsed by each one (save one who was out when I visited). None said they are going for Reform. We have considerable support in the constituency and my candidacy has the full thirty nominations. The only other candidate with the same is the outgoing Tory MP Christopher Chope:
 
https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/documents/d/guest/statement-of-persons-nominated-and-notice-of-poll-ukpge-christchurch-4-july-2024
 
Reform UK have not been fielding candidates in most local council elections. In the May 2024 local council elections here in the South West, there were 340 council seats up for election in 8 local authority areas. Reform UK only contested 21 of the 340 seats (17 of the 21 were in Plymouth). Comparing Reform’s 21 contested seats (6%) the Conservatives had candidates for all 340 seats. Lib Dems 293 seats (86%); Labour 273 seats (80%); Greens 240 seats (70%). 

Furthermore, across Dorset there has been virtually no activity on the ground by Reform UK, and indeed I had only heard of Martin Holden (Reform candidate in Bournemouth East, a former UKIP candidate, who we agreed locally to not contest as it was not on our target seat list and he is a genuinely active candidate). The others appear to include a number of “paper candidates” with no “boots on the ground”, doing little or nothing – which is realistically not enough to break-through in our broken First Past the Post system.
 
Further still, Reform's tactics are very different from UKIP's. Reform appear to be appealing to disaffected Conservative voters, and give a very much "Tory lite" tame “not in front of the children” image. UKIP's strategy is virtually the opposite. When UKIP produced our record (almost 4 million votes) in 2015, the Conservative vote ended up being pretty firm (fear of a Labour government). We did exceptionally well in appealing to anti-Conservative voters, and squeezed the patriotic anti-Conservative vote - effectively tactical voting, particularly whilst the Liberal Democrats were being punished by the voters for their unholy coalition with the Conservatives. In 120 constituencies UKIP came a clear second place, knocking aside the Lib Dems, Labour and Greens - which we echoed in five out of the eight Dorset constituencies, or knocking back the Conservatives in more Labour areas. 
 
Now Nigel is standing in Clacton, Reform will likely (and quite rightly) put everything into Clacton.

But what of the rest of the UK? Local UKIP candidates and campaigners will put everything into the target constituencies that UKIP (or our English Democrats colleagues) are contesting.

If you Believe in Britain vote for the Patriotic Alliance of UKIP and the English Democrats.

Steve Unwin

UKIP Spokesman for Home Affairs, Political Reform and Local Government

(UKIP Parliamentary Candidate for Christchurch)