Our country is approaching a moment of truth. A general election could happen sooner than expected - and certainly before 2029. The only responsible thing for Reform UK to do now is to lay concrete plans for how we would govern from day one.

We don't take our more than 4million votes in last year's general election for granted: Reform still has many battles to fight. But we are asking the British people to trust us to form a radical government that can do what is necessary to save our great country.

That is why I announced at Reform's September conference that we are creating a 'Preparing for Government Unit'. I was delighted to announce yesterday that this team will be headed by our newest MP Danny Kruger.

Change cannot come soon enough. The Labour Government is in meltdown, just over a year after Keir Starmer was elected.

With all the political and economic problems plaguing the country, the big question now is not whether the Government can survive another four years. It is whether Britain can survive four more years of this Labour Government.

The crumbling Conservative Party is no longer a credible alternative. After next May's local elections in Scotland, Wales and London, the Tories may not exist as a national political party.

That would leave Reform UK as the only true opposition to Labour - and the only realistic alternative government.

At Reform's September conference I announced that we are creating a 'Preparing for Government Unit'. I was delighted to announce yesterday that this team will be headed by our newest MP Danny Kruger (right)

Reform won the English local elections in May. We are on course to win next year's elections to the Senedd in Wales and make huge gains in Scotland. We have now topped more than 100 national opinion polls in a row.

Our summer campaigns on law and order, illegal immigration, and free speech have hit home for millions of Brits and have offered renewed hope to those despondent about the status quo. It is now time for us to show how we would put those ideas into practice.

Make no mistake: we know that this is a major task. Britain's system of government needs radical change. And as I have said before, the one thing

Reform UK lacks is experience of putting policy into motion through Westminster and Whitehall.

We also appreciate the serious obstacles that we will face, whether from sections of the civil service and the House of Lords - or from the media and academia.

As head of our preparing for government unit, Danny Kruger will work closely with our head of policy Zia Yusuf (pictured) and the rest of our growing team

But this is an opportunity as well as a challenge. We have the chance to do what Starmer's clueless Labour never could: to develop a true vision of what we want Britain to look like, and to put in place the plans to make that vision a reality.

We have seen over the past year just how much damage a rudderless government can do.

As head of our preparing for government unit, Danny Kruger will work closely with our head of policy Zia Yusuf and the rest of our growing team.

But they cannot do it alone. We are asking for the help of everybody who cares about Britain's future.

There are many people working within the system - in the civil service, the military and the courts - who know what's going wrong. We want their input and advice on how to fix the system to make it serve the public.

Danny is the first sitting Conservative MP to come over to Reform in this parliament. I am confident that he will not be the last.

When we announced his defection to the media yesterday, the BBC suggested (with its usual impartiality), that this might mean Reform UK is becoming 'any port in a storm' for desperate Tories.

Danny is the first sitting Conservative MP to come over to Reform in this parliament. I am confident that he will not be the last

So let me make clear the two firm bars that I have set for any other politicians who might be thinking about joining Reform UK. First, they must share our vision for the country and support our political principles.

Danny is a firm Brexiteer and an outspoken critic of both Labour and the Tories on mass immigration and he has always shared our belief in the primacy of family, community and country.

Second, we must be sure that any new MPs will add value to Reform's movement for radical change and are not joining out of desperation to save their own political skins.

The public have sussed out that this Government and Parliament are not on the side of ordinary, hardworking, patriotic Brits. The wave of national flags sweeping Britain is a sign they want a country they can be proud of again.

Now it is our job to show them that Reform UK is the only party that be trusted to make that happen.

NIGEL FARAGE: Our chance to save this great country