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From boozy parties and Tory defectors to donor rows, resignations and a very quiet Zia Yusuf, GB News takes a ringside look at Reform UK's conference
An hour-long delay to Nigel Farage's speech couldn't have come at a worse time.
The Reform UK leader, who was due to take to the stage at 4.20pm, was still strolling around the main hall when another huge event was about to get started.
GB News had assembled copious bottles of beer and rows of canapés for its first-ever party at Reform UK's annual conference.
The crowds shuffled in shortly after Mr Farage concluded his keynote speech, with Suella Braverman and Robert Jenrick among the big beasts to make an appearance.
However, a gaggle of former Tory MPs had also gathered in the Liberty Theatre as conference celebrations gave way to a booze-infused evening.
Nadhim Zahawi, David Jones, and Marco Longhi had already crossed the floor to Reform UK, while Jane Stephenson was also spotted despite still being a card-carrying Conservative.
As chins wagged and beer flowed, GB News's Mick Booker and Christopher Hope took to the stage.
“In all seriousness," Mr Farage said at the start of his speech to the GB News party, "Chris coming to GB News brought a certain credibility and respectability, and he’s done a great job for us, even if his own opinions are rather different from many of the rest of us.
“I was there right at the very start. It was a pretty catastrophic opening, but to have gone on now and consistently – month after month after month – been beating the BBC and the increasingly ghastly Sky News – aren’t they awful? It’s a phenomenal achievement.
“I’ve been very proud to be a part of it. I’ve been off duty for a few months, but I’ll be back on GB News in a few weeks’ time. I’m looking forward to it enormously, I really am.
“This channel is now way bigger than any of the other news channels. Thanks to all of you – watching it, listening to it, supporting it – you’ve made a huge contribution to a shift in our debate."
However, the Reform UK leader also revealed a "trade secret" about his time working at The People's Channel.
He said: “When I turned up at GB News, they said, ‘Where’s the script? The autocue?’
“I said, ‘I don’t want an autocue. I don’t need an autocue.’
"And the reason for not having an autocue is, if you’ve had a good lunch and you read an autocue, you might slur your words.
Mr Farage added: "One of the joys of the channel is that we give every voice a fair shout.
"Far-left extremist groups, whatever it is, they’re all actually given the time of day to come on and make their arguments. They’re not interrupted, they’re not shouted down.
But the party atmosphere came against the backdrop of another turbulent day for Reform, with the row over donations threatening to overshadow Mr Farage’s big conference moment.
That didn't stop GB News finding three other things at Reform UK's conference that might surprise you.
Queues, queues, queues
While Mr Farage's keynote conference speech was disrupted and delayed due to a security scare, proceedings got off to a slow start at the NEC.
In scenes more reminiscent of over-zealous Europeans stamping post-Brexit British passports than a party conference, hundreds of Reform members found themselves queuing out of the doors.
However, The People's Channel found that no special treatment was being given to prized converts to Mr Farage's cause.
Nadhim Zahawi, a Tory titan whose defection raised eyebrows, was reduced to queueing like the rest of us at 9.30am.
Defection watch? Probably not
It's fair to say that Reform UK's annual conference is full of many familiar faces.
You don't need to walk far before you bump into an ex-Tory MP, donor or adviser.
However, what is perhaps more surprising is running into a hardcore Remainer in the audience.
Gavin Shuker, a former Labour MP who switched to the doomed Change UK project, was crammed in the main hall just moments before Mr Farage's speech.
The ex-Luton North MP now works in public affairs, but perhaps his Birmingham trip was a timely reminder that Reform UK is a rather more successful name than Change UK.
Zia zips it – but not for GB News
Reform UK's home affairs spokesman was remarkably quiet as the circus rolled into town.
Zia Yusuf was replaced on yesterday's morning round by Lee Anderson and later Danny Kruger appeared in his place at an event hosted by The Spectator.
It came after Mr Yusuf was taken off the media rounds amid accusations of racism.
However, GB News managed to secure the only exclusive interview with Mr Yusuf – and, while he may have been keeping his head below the parapet elsewhere, he was more than happy to tell The People’s Channel which parliamentary seat he would have “fun” standing in.
A slick video released on his social media just moments before his speech suggests the weekend's vow of silence was only temporary.
After keeping a remarkably low profile, Mr Yusuf appeared ready to step back into the spotlight – and perhaps remind everyone why Reform had been keeping him away from the microphones in the first place.
