Some think Britain's 'broken', and they are looking to Australia for inspiration

Nigel Farage's Reform UK party is enjoying a surge in popularity. (Reuters: Jack Taylor ) Link copiedShareShare articleFor most of his life, Nigel Farage was known in Britain for being a fervent right-wing activist, perched at the political fringes. When he started the Reform party (originally the Brexit party) in 2018, he had unsuccessfully run for the national parliament seven times over 30 years. These days, however, he heads a genuine political force. Reform UK's support is rising — a point underscored at last month's local elections, which they dominated. Not only did the party win 1,453 council seats in England, it also rose to become the opposition in the Welsh Parliament (known as the Senedd) and performed strongly in Scottland, too. Reform UK is positioning itself as a sophisticated outfit capable of smashing the status quo in British politics, but its influence is not limited to one country. In Australia, Pauline Hanson sees Mr Farage's success as a blueprint for her own party, One Nation, which has seen surging support in opinion polls. Indeed, the two rising forces are keeping a close eye on each other. Reform UK's right-wing, populist policies have gained traction in Britain. (Reuters: Temilade Adelaja) Joe Martin is one of Reform UK's 32 freshly elected MPs in the Senedd, and told the ABC the similarities between Mr Farage and Ms Hanson were "striking". "The forces that are sort of pushing reform are global forces as well which you see with the likes of One Nation in Australia," he said. "In Nigel Farage and Pauline Hanson, you've got two people who have stood by the same principles for decades and then only in the last couple of years they've seen their support surge." Mr Martin, 28, previously worked in finance, but left that world behind to become a politician. He, like most populists, speaks a lot about immigration, and claims it is responsible for many of Britain's issues today. "That's what the electorate wants to see from their politicians is a willingness to talk about difficult issues like immigration," Mr Martin said. Reform UK will have the opportunity to make a statement when a by-election is held in the seat of Makerfield, near Manchester, on June 18. Despite dominating opinion polls and enjoying strong results at the local elections, winning prized seats in the UK's national parliament has been tough going for Reform. At a by-election in a nearby constituency in February, Reform UK was humbled by the Green Party candidate Hannah Spencer, who won the seat with more than 40 per cent of the vote. While Reform UK is expected to poll well in Makerfield, it is up against a formidable Labour candidate, Andy Burnham, who is seen by many as a future prime minister. Reform UK's Joe Martin was elected to the Welsh Parliament this year. (ABC News: Alex Parsons) Reform UK's increasing influence has sparked questions about whether it will be able to deliver on its manifesto if it formed government in what many of its members describe as "Broken Britain" — although there does not need to be another general election until July 2029. Like One Nation, Reform's policy platform is heavily focused on immigration. Mr Farage has pledged to deport up to 600,000 migrants living in Britain, end migrants' right to apply for permanent residency after five years and refuse visas to anyone who uses the services of people smugglers to arrive in Britain on small boats form continental Europe. Jane Green, a professor in politics at Oxford University, said Mr Farage continually claimed most of Britain's issues were linked to immigration. This is despite the fact net migration to the UK last year dropped to its lowest level since 2012. "I mean, if you look at the way Reform has been campaigning for years, they're very much linking people's experiences of austerity, of the cost of living, of problems in public services to the rise in immigration," she said. "Now that is a very contested link, but nevertheless I think that's very much very clear in their political rhetoric." When it comes to reading political polling, it is worth taking a leaf out of Pauline Hanson's book. Professor Green, who has been studying Reform UK's rise and seen as a world authority on the party, notes it still struggling to attract a broad spectrum of voters. "A small proportion of reform voters have come from Labour but it's a very small proportion overall," she said. She said most of Reform UK's new voters would have previously thrown their support behind the centre-right Conservative Party. "If you're a Conservative voter worried about immigration, Reform is a natural home for you," Professor Green said. "The challenge they have now is what you see populist movements or radical right movements around the world, they've talked up people's grievances, promised change, gained so much support from protest votes, from people that really feel aggrieved and worried and angry, but then they may not be able to delive

Some think Britain's 'broken', and they are looking to Australia for inspiration

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