Birmingham was a canny choice of location for Farage’s mega-rally in the aftermath of a race scandal. Less than half the city’s population is white, with British Asians making up almost a third of the total; 30% are Muslim, compared to the 34% who identify as Christian. The make-up of yesterday’s NEC audience went some way in reflecting this: not exactly a white British minority, but more diverse than Reform’s critics would suggest.

Besides punters, one of the speakers at the rally was Zia Yusuf, a 37-year-old Muslim entrepreneur who has given Reform hundreds of thousands of pounds — the exact figure has not yet been reported — and in doing so has become the party’s single biggest donor. During his speech, Yusuf stated: “My parents came here 40 years ago, and have given half a century’s service to our NHS.” He added: “Nobody knows better than I do the good that immigrants can do for Britain.”

The benefits of immigration is not a talking point usually associated with Farage’s party. And for Reform’s opponents, this young Muslim entrepreneur is an unexpected poster boy. Yet borders remain a key issue for many Muslim voters too. One attendee I spoke to, 29-year-old software engineer Mahir, said that he and his family liked Reform because “no other party is telling the truth about immigration here.”

Reform’s manifesto doesn’t make explicit reference to British Muslims or radical Islam, but it does propose a “one in, one out” migration policy, which it bills as “smart immigration”. Four in 10 ethnic-minority Britons believe immigration is too high; the figure for British Indians is 61%, with 36% of British Pakistanis and Bangladeshis — who are predominantly Muslim — thinking the same.

Farage’s own history with Islam is complicated. After the 2017 Westminster terror attack he claimed there was a “fifth column” of Islamists seeking to undermine European countries from within; he used the same term in 2015. Most recently, last month he argued that many Muslims in the UK do not share British values.

When I asked Yusuf after the rally whether he agreed with this assessment, he answered that “most British Muslims I’ve met are patriots. They’re hardworking and they love their country. But Nigel has a point about some — and it is a minority — young immigrants who are constantly negative about our history, and who don’t share our values.” At the NEC, Farage had earlier warned of the dangers of “sectarian voting”, calling it “a new form of politics in which women are completely excluded”.

Farage’s position on Islam is still considerably more accepting than some of the figures associated with his previous party, Ukip. In 2018, having stepped down as leader two years prior, he left Ukip altogether because of its increased “fixation” on Muslims. In particular, Farage objected to then-leader Gerard Batten’s appointment of far-Right activist Tommy Robinson as an advisor, adding that Ukip “wasn’t founded to be a party fighting a religious crusade”. Much of Ukip’s support base moved to Farage’s next vehicle, the Brexit Party, renamed Reform UK in 2021. Several of Reform’s candidates this year have been accused of Islamophobia: as the party broadens, attitudes to Muslims may become a dividing line between a hardline base and a leader seen as being too soft on the issue.

It is this history which has led the Reform leader to claim that he has “done more than anyone else to defeat the far-Right in Britain”. Farage was keen to remind the audience yesterday of new polling from YouGov which revealed that his party presently has more ethnic-minority supporters than the Liberal Democrats.

One of the reasons Zia Yusuf revoked his Tory membership and threw his lot in with Reform was that he feels the UK has lost control of its borders. I told him that it was unusual for party donors to be so prominent at campaign rallies. How public-facing would his role be in the next few days? “I just want to help Nigel as best I can,” he responded — a politician’s answer. What about standing as a candidate in the next election? His speech prompted some to tip him as a possible successor to Farage as party leader. “I’ve only just got involved with Reform,” he said quickly. He paused. “Let’s see. You never know.”

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is UnHerd’s Deputy Editor, Newsroom.

RobLownie

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