Reform UK says its live counter shows 268,631 paid members, a total that would place the party ahead of Labour by headcount. The Times and the Financial Times report Labour’s paid membership has fallen to below 250,000, though Labour declined to provide an interim update and said figures will be published in its annual report.
The last verified baseline for Labour remains its year‑end 2024 total of 333,235 members, set out in party accounts published in August 2025 by the party and reported by the BBC. That figure was down from a peak of more than 530,000 at the end of 2019.
There is no statutory duty on UK political parties to publish membership numbers, and there is no uniform definition of membership or external body verifying it. The House of Commons Library notes that parties sometimes include estimates in their year‑end accounts to the Electoral Commission, but they are not obliged to do so.
Reform’s total is derived from a party‑run online counter and, according to the party, counts only paid members. The published fees are £25 a year for standard membership and £10 for under‑25s. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has previously challenged the authenticity of Reform’s counter, while Nigel Farage said he would support an independent audit if others did the same; the counter itself is not externally verified.
Multiple national polls across 2025 have recorded Reform ahead of Labour and the Conservatives, including Ipsos series in June and September and a YouGov/Sky snapshot in early February. Poll leads fluctuate by series and do not validate membership claims, but they do contextualise Reform’s momentum.
Other parties report divergent trends. Under new leader Zack Polanski, the Green Party of England and Wales announced it had passed 100,000 members on 12 October and 126,000 by 19 October; later reporting put the figure at more than 180,000 by 12 December. The Conservatives do not routinely publish headcounts; the Financial Times has cited an estimate of around 120,000 as of July 2025.
The Liberal Democrats’ latest accounts listed 83,174 combined members and registered supporters at end‑2024, but accompanying material referenced around 60,000 paid‑up members. This distinction illustrates why direct comparisons between parties should be treated with care.
New entrants also feature. Your Party, launched by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana in 2025, told supporters at its inaugural conference on 30 November that paid‑up membership had passed 55,000. As with other parties, this figure has not been independently verified.
Membership income is only one component of party resources. Reform UK’s financial position has been bolstered by a £9m donation from businessman Christopher Harborne, which Electoral Commission filings indicate is the largest single gift from a living individual to a UK party on record.
For practitioners, two points follow. First, membership counts affect internal operations-such as delegate allocations, ballot eligibility and field capacity-but rules vary by party and should be read alongside each party’s constitution and standing orders. Second, verification will hinge on what parties choose to disclose in their 2025 year‑end accounts to the Electoral Commission next year; until then, headline totals remain self‑reported.