Reform conference shows a party keen to present itself as normal

The Reform UK leader, Nigel Farage, addresses the audience at the party’s national conference in Birmingham. Photograph: Anadolu/Getty

One of the most important unwritten rules of politics is that for a party to become a government it must first look like one. In the UK that involves holding not just rallies but a proper conference. Could Reform pull this off? Well, yes – in part.

Previous Reform gatherings have, in effect, been rallies where every speaker was a support act for Nigel Farage.