Nigel Farage demands Keir Starmer releases membership figures after Reform surge

Sir Keir has witnessed a steady drop since taking over from Jeremy Corbyn in March 2020, dropping from 550,000 to just 309,000.

The latest official figures have put Labour's total at just over 333,000, some 70,000 ahead of Reform UK, which according to a ticker on the party's website, currently stands at around 260,000.

However, speculation that the figure might have dropped further prompted Mr Farage to put pressure on the Prime Minister. The Reform UK leader asked: "Why won’t Labour release their membership figures to the public?"

Meanwhile, a well-placed Labour source reassured GB News that Reform still trails on paid-up members.

"We're definitely still ahead of Reform," they told The People's Channel.

A Labour Party spokesman also insisted that the party is not prepared to change its rules to release the data, instead insisting the public will become aware at the next scheduled date.

According to official figures, Labour remains the party with the highest membership, with Reform UK in second.

The Green Party of England and Wales leapfrogged the Conservatives to become the third largest party on 130,000 members with Kemi Badenoch's party on 123,000 members, according to the most recent figures posted in July.

Liberal Democrat membership has fallen from just under 118,000 in 2020 to 60,000, despite the party's best ever General Election results last year.

A spokesman from Sir Ed Davey's party said "in actual elections, more and more people are backing the Liberal Democrats".

Green Party membership has increased by 80 per cent since Zack Polanski won a landslide leadership election in early September.

One Green insider told The New Statesman the party has had more people join since Mr Polanski was elected than the Lib Dems have total members.

Mr Polanski said: "More than 126,000 people have now joined the Green movement, showing that British politics is changing and support for old-style parties built on privilege and power is shrinking.

"Increasing numbers of people are walking away from the politics of austerity, inequality and division and choosing a new kind of politics that offers a bold, hopeful vision of prosperity, equality and unity.

"Our membership boom reflects growing public frustration with the political status quo and a hunger for genuine alternatives."

Meanwhile, Your Party was plunged into chaos amid a row between its two co-founders, Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana.

Ms Sultana, the Coventry South MP, said she will call off legal action announced as part of a bitter feud over a botched membership launch.

She previously said people felt "demoralised" after the row over her push for members to sign up to the currently untitled party, which was disowned as an “unauthorised email” by Mr Corbyn.

Ms Sultana said she took the step because she had been "sidelined" and “effectively frozen out” by Mr Corbyn and fellow independent MPs Ayoub Khan, Adnan Hussain, Iqbal Mohammed and Shockat Adam.

As part of figures published in August, both Labour and the Conservatives recorded deficits after the most expensive general election in British history last year.

Labour recorded a loss of £3.8million after spending £94.5million over the course of the year.

Labour general secretary Hollie Ridley and treasurer Mike Payne said last year’s loss reflected “the need to respond at pace to shifting circumstances in the general election campaign”.

The Conservatives meanwhile spent £52million and lost £1.9million. The Liberal Democrats and Reform UK recorded surpluses of £1.1million and £1.5million respectively, and the Greens enjoyed a £232,457 surplus.