Only a small number of Reform supporters and journalists showed up
Reform UK’s “national fuel protest” in Westminster yesterday attracted only a few dozen supporters.
Despite senior Reform figures including Richard Tice and Robert Jenrick having promoted the event, the majority of the crowd was made up of journalists and a small handful of Reform supporters.
The only vehicles that joined the protest were Reform UK’s campaign bus and a Reform taxi.
By contrast, in the AI-generated poster advertising the event numerous lorries, tractors and vans were pictured in front of Parliament.
Reform had to cancel a planned march down Whitehall due to low numbers.
Online, the protest was billed as ‘the biggest demonstration against fuel duty in 20 years’.
Reform organised the protest to pressure Rachel Reeves into cutting fuel duty, which is currently frozen but due to rise in September.
Reform also wants the government to implement an emergency cut to fuel duty due to rising fuel prices as a result of the US and Israel’s war on Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
On social media, people pointed out what a flop the protest had been.
Freelance journalist Don McGowan wrote: “Worth pointing out again that Reform UK told us all last week that they were going to ‘shut down Westminster’ with their fuel protest.
“Two vehicles turned up. Their polling has tanked. Will they do as well as they think in the May elections? I’m not so sure.”
Howard Cox, the founder of Fair Fuel UK and also a member of Ben Habib’s party Advance UK, said he was “disappointed with so few protesters outnumbered by a shed load of media”
He also said the event was “politically branded by Reforms bus and taxi which dominated what I believed was to be an apolitical event”.
Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward
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