'They are not laughing at us winning now'

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage was surrounded by pyrotechnics as he gave a speech at the party conference

The prevailing feeling at the Reform UK autumn conference was that the party can win the next general election.

True to that mood, there was an energy at the Birmingham NEC, a vivacity embodied by leader Nigel Farage who walked out to pumping music and fireworks.

Party members who travelled from the South East certainly had reason to celebrate - they are riding high in the national polls and swept to victory in the Kent County Council (KCC) elections a few months ago.

Running the largest local authority in England has left members confident. Deputy leader Brian Collins said people would have laughed at the idea of a Reform government a year ago, adding: "I don't think anyone's laughing now".

Reform UK have made bold promises if they win the next general election

Making 'great changes'

The challenges for KCC are obvious: inflation, skyrocketing demand for child and adult social care and a budget that has, at times, seemed to be bursting at the seams.

Linden Kemkaran, the Reform UK leader at KCC, is bullish.

She says the party has already "done so much" for Kent residents, including making "millions" of pounds worth of efficiency savings.

Standing in the carpeted conference hall, decked out in the party's trademark turquoise, Ms Kemkaran promises that "there's so much more to come".

During the local election campaign Reform UK made big promises: stop the boats, put an end to housing asylum seekers in Kent, eradicate potholes.

None of these promises have yet been fulfilled, and as Ms Kemkaran acknowledges, some of these pledges are not really in their control.

"Sadly none of those things are actually in my gift as a county councillor," she said.

So why promise them?

The leader's answer: "I think it's what Reform will promise to do when we get into government."

When asked if she has ever worried about the risk of overpromising during the election campaign, she responds with an emphatic "no".

Far from shying away from making promises, Reform took the opportunity at the NEC to pledge big.

Perhaps most notably, the party vowed to stop the small boat arrivals on the Kent coast within two weeks of coming to power.

"I truly believe if anyone can do it, Nigel Farage will find a way to do it," says Ms Kemkaran.

'Number 10 for Nigel'

Local party members are confident they can replicate their success in Kent at the next general election.

For Mr Collins, the brief is simple.

"The next step is Number 10, that's what we're all working towards, getting Nigel into Number 10," he said.

When pressed on whether this is achievable, he said: "It's just looking that way isn't it.

"I think a year ago had you asked around people would have laughed… but I don't think anyone's laughing now".

These councillors know they will need to prove themselves at local authority level, with the party's performance and policies now facing ever greater levels of scrutiny.

Reform's national deputy leader, Richard Tice, recently came under inspection after claiming that Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (Send) provision is being "hijacked by parents who are abusing the system".

Kent County Council leader Linden Kemkaren spoke on a panel which discussed how Reform UK plans to transition from a party of opposition to power

Members at the conference think they have the momentum they need to get over the line, a confidence strengthened by recent wins such as securing a seat on Surrey County Council.

The next big electoral test in the South East will be in Sussex at the mayoral elections in May.

The county is one of the first to take part in a shake-up of local government, which will see county councils and district and borough councils merge into a number of single authorities overseen by a directly elected mayor.

While this mayor will be a key figure, strategically and politically, Reform also see this contest as a building block for the general election.

With that not due until 2029, they will certainly need momentum to get there.