Reform UK Durham: Alan Mendoza on Security and Britain

The latest Reform UK Durham branch meeting was one of those evenings where local politics met world affairs head-on. What started with a warm welcome in Durham quickly turned into a wide-ranging discussion on Brexit, borders, energy, defence, farming and whether Britain still believes in itself.

That was the thread running through the night. National policy, Alan Mendoza argued, only matters if it improves life on the ground, in places dealing with rising bills, stretched GP services, struggling high streets and young people leaving the North East for opportunity elsewhere.

A warm Durham welcome, then straight into the big questions

The meeting on 27 January 2026 opened in good spirits. Visitors had travelled in from other branches and nearby villages, students were welcomed for getting past what the chair jokingly called the “political incorrectness barrier”, and there was light-hearted banter before the evening settled into business.

A few early notes set the tone:

• thanks went to Dave and the club committee for hosting
• the club got a plug too, with membership pitched at £5 a year
• last year’s speakers were praised, including one who later reached the party board

Alan Mendoza was then introduced as Nigel Farage’s adviser on global affairs and foreign policy, and as a clear supporter of Ukraine’s independence. The chair also highlighted his academic background and his work at the Henry Jackson Society, where he is executive director and co-founder.

The mood mattered. This did not feel like a dry policy seminar. It felt like a branch meeting with sharp humour, strong views and a crowd that wanted straight answers.

British interests first, from Brexit to the wider West

Mendoza’s core argument was simple: British foreign policy should begin with British interests. He said the West lost confidence under weak leadership, while Donald Trump’s return had restored direction and forced allies and adversaries alike to pay attention.

“The right thing always starts with what is right for the British people.”

That line shaped almost every answer that followed. On Brexit, he said leaving the EU was not the mistake. The mistake was the way it was handled. In his view, the people in charge had no serious plan, allowed Brussels to dictate terms, and ended up delivering a poor version of what voters were promised. That is close to Reform’s wider Brexit policy position, which argues for recovering regulatory and political control.

His answer was not hostility to Europe. It was trade without renewed loss of sovereignty. He argued that Britain should build relationships now with friendly governments and parties across Europe, so any future renegotiation starts from shared interest rather than punishment. He also pointed to political shifts on the continent, including France, as something Britain should watch closely.

The same logic carried into international institutions. Mendoza said Britain should stop funding or endorsing bodies that no longer serve any useful purpose, and he argued that the UK should act more boldly, including using its UN Security Council veto when needed.

Security, Ukraine and rebuilding British strength

On Russia, Mendoza was blunt. He said Minsk-style agreements would not have solved the problem in Ukraine because they would only have rewarded aggression and encouraged Vladimir Putin to come back for more. He linked that view to a broader lesson from history: dictators keep pushing until someone stops them.

He backed Ukraine’s independence and supported strong pressure on Moscow, but he was sceptical of vague promises that Britain might not be able to keep. Sending small troop numbers without a credible long-term plan, he argued, risks creating a gesture rather than a settlement.

He also said the United States remains Britain’s key ally, but the relationship needs rebalancing because Europe has relied on American defence for too long. Britain, in his view, needs to spend more, rebuild military capacity and act like a serious power again.

That led to a strong case for remilitarisation, naval strength and industrial renewal. Undersea cables, he warned, are a major weak point because they carry data, finance and communications. A stronger Royal Navy is not some abstract prestige project if critical national infrastructure sits on the seabed.

Borders, integration and one law for everyone

One of the sharpest parts of the evening came during questions on radical Islam, immigration and social cohesion. Mendoza said Islam is a complex faith with different strands, and he drew a clear line between ordinary Muslims and organised extremists. His warning was that radical Islamists threaten moderate Muslims first, then the wider public.

He pointed to the Birmingham football controversy as an example of authorities appearing to bend under pressure rather than enforce the law fairly. From that, he drew a bigger point about policing, confidence and the danger of parallel systems.

His proposed response was tougher enforcement and much clearer language. He said Reform would ban the Muslim Brotherhood and stop ducking the issue of Islamist extremism. On migration, he criticised both illegal crossings and the scale of legal population churn, and his argument matched the party’s broader immigration policies, which focus on tougher border control and deportation powers.

He also pushed hard on integration. Britain, he said, cannot function well if neighbourhoods become sealed-off monocultures with their own informal rules. English has to remain the shared language, British law has to apply equally, and vulnerable people cannot be left at the mercy of religious diktats. Even a question about guide dogs came back to that point.

Energy, farming and growth still come back to Durham

For a County Durham audience, the sections on energy and farming hit home. Mendoza said high energy prices are strangling households and business alike. His answer was to use domestic oil and gas, support North Sea drilling, and rebuild British nuclear power rather than depend on imports or foreign control.

He also mocked the logic of importing fuel and biomass whilst leaving home resources untouched. That linked directly to Durham concerns. If you want lower bills, stronger industry and more secure supply, he argued, Britain has to stop making itself weaker by design.

Farmers received strong backing too. Wind farms and solar schemes on productive land were criticised as bad policy in places that need food production, jobs and living rural communities. That fits neatly with the local branch message of protecting heritage, supporting hard work, restoring prosperity and putting Durham first.

Growth sat under all of this. Mendoza said Britain cannot fund defence, strong services or renewed opportunity without a bigger economy. In that sense, foreign policy was never treated as distant theatre. It was presented as part of the same fight over jobs, investment and whether young people can build a future here.

The most revealing exchange was about trust

Late in the evening, a local attendee asked the hardest question in the room: why should anyone trust another politician, another defector, or another promise of change? It was the most honest moment of the night because it spoke to a wider feeling across the country.

Mendoza answered in personal terms. He said he wants his children to grow up in a Britain with order, pride and opportunity, and he argued that Reform’s strength comes from ordinary people joining politics for the first time, not from Westminster figures changing badges.

He also warned that elections alone are not enough if institutions stay hostile. Schools, universities and the civil service all came under scrutiny, along with the sense that too much of public life has drifted away from common sense. The closing pitch was unapologetically political: local wins matter, momentum matters, and Farage was praised as the strategist who can turn that energy into a national result.

Final thoughts

This meeting was about more than foreign affairs. It tied war, trade, borders, energy and security back to daily life in Durham, including public services, safe communities, local business and whether the North East gets the investment it needs.

The strongest theme was confidence. Britain, the room argued, has spent too long thinking small, apologising for itself, and accepting drift where clear action is needed.

For supporters who share that view, the ask was plain: Join Reform UK, Vote Reform UK, and back the push to Make Britain Great Again.