Speaking to a packed audience at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in London, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage delivered a blistering critique of the incoming Labour government and formally announced he will force a by-election in Clacton by resigning his seat.

In a sweeping, 30-minute address that repeatedly framed the United Kingdom as “broken,” Farage took direct aim at incoming Prime Minister Andy Burnham. Farage criticized Burnham for preparing to take office without a broad electoral mandate, dismissing Burnham’s vision of regional devolution as “utterly vacuous” and a distraction from the country’s real challenges.

Farage argued that the political establishment—which he characterized as a “Uni-party” of interchangeable Labour and Conservative leaders—has overseen a vast expansion of national debt, the collapse of law and order, and record-high levels of mass immigration. He heavily criticized the previous Conservative government for allowing 3.8 million people to enter the UK, insisting that such policies had fundamentally changed the nation’s landscape at a massive economic and social cost.

The Reform UK leader repeatedly stressed that Britain is facing a “battle for the very soul of our nation,” warning that the country is less than a decade away from becoming effectively “third world” if drastic changes are not implemented.

In a dramatic political maneuver designed to bypass what he described as “demonization” by the mainstream media and the political establishment, Farage announced his resignation as Member of Parliament to trigger a by-election in Clacton on August 13.

“Let the people decide,” Farage told the cheering crowd. “Let the people be my judge, not the Westminster elite.”

Farage noted that the Conservative Party—which captured 72% of the Clacton vote in 2019—has opted not to field a candidate against him in the upcoming by-election, a move he cited as further evidence of an establishment that refuses to engage with Reform UK directly.

The speech also took a somber turn as Farage addressed the recent murder of Ann Widdecombe at her Dartmoor home, which he described as a “horrific political premeditated murder” driven by hard-left ideology. He paid tribute to Widdecombe’s formidable character, her unwavering Christian values, and her time working alongside him in the European Parliament. Condemning some of the public reactions to her death, Farage called for a return to a culture of mutual respect and the freedom to disagree.

Positioning Reform UK as the true opposition, Farage pointed to recent local election successes across the country and the election of former detective Colin Sutton as Police and Crime Commissioner for Norfolk as evidence of a rising “political revolution.”

He concluded with an urgent call to action, urging voters and party members to mobilize for the next general election. “If you want change, you’ve got to vote for change,” Farage declared, asserting his belief that an “historic upset is on the cards.”