Lobbyists and business leaders are gearing up for a schmoozing offensive at Reform UK’s annual conference — even if some are nervous about the Farage association.

So how does the plan stack up? Start with Mr Farage’s claim that crime has “rocketed since the 1990s”. Crime has risen in the past two years, driven by spikes in shoplifting and phone theft. Yet overall it is still down by 75% since 1995,

Britain is lawless,” Nigel Farage declared last week as his Reform Party launched a six-week-long campaign on crime.