Displaying items by tag: Nigel Farage

The Electoral Commission (EC) has asked for a change in electoral law to close a loophole that could enable Elon Musk to make an £80 million donation to Reform, Nigel Farage’s party. Current laws prohibit foreign citizens like Musk from directly donating to UK parties, but a loophole allows unlimited donations through UK-based companies. This proposal gained urgency after Musk and Farage discussed potential financial support during a meeting at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. Reportedly, Musk is considering a significant donation to challenge Labour and the Conservatives. EC chief Vijay Rangarajan emphasised the importance of voter trust in political financing and urged the Government to address this issue. However, Downing Street stated that reforming electoral law is not a priority in the current parliamentary session.

Shifting focus from his usual target, the Tories, Richard Tice, leader of Reform UK, has coined the term 'Starmergeddon ' to describe the potential consequences of a Labour election victory. Despite ongoing speculation, he remained noncommittal about Nigel Farage's role in Reform's campaign. Labour, preparing for a possible spring election, faces Tice's accusations of betraying working-class voters, particularly on immigration. Tice outlined Reform's policies, including raising the income tax threshold and reducing fuel duty, while advocating for stricter immigration controls. In a strategic shift from 2019, when the party, then known as the Brexit Party, stood down in several Tory seats, Tice said it would contest every seat in England, Scotland, and Wales. He dismissed the concern that Reform would split the conservative vote, focusing instead on challenging the current political landscape. Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson expressed concern over Reform's potential impact, suggesting Farage's leadership could be crucial for their success. Tice, however, remains unfazed.

Jean-Claude Juncker has asked Britain to table ‘operable proposals in writing’ to the Irish Backstop. On 19 September the UK gave the EU written suggested solutions ‘reflecting the ideas the UK has put forward’ saying that the UK will table ‘formal written solutions when we are ready and not to an artificial deadline’. The UK will accept an all-Ireland food and agricultural zone to avoid the need for many checks, but Barnier said that the EU must control products arriving to the single market, insisting Brexit must include the backstop or equivalent legally-binding guarantees. The EU parliament will never accept any agreement giving the UK advantages of free trade without aligning with European standards. ‘We are not stupid, we will not kill our own companies.’ Nigel Farage said Barnier’s objective is ‘keeping us trapped inside, fearing - if we break out of the single market - we would become wealthier outside the EU’.

73 MEPs will be elected in the UK on 23 May, and the Conservative party potentially faces an angry backlash from voters. Nigel Farage’s new Brexit Party has more support than the two traditional British parties combined. Britain’s education minister Damian Hinds said that the elections were a second referendum that would be difficult for Conservatives. The latest opinion poll gives the Brexit Party 34% of the vote, yet it was only founded in April. Fourteen of UKIP's seventeen MEPs have defected to it. Nigel Farage said there has been a breakdown of trust between people and politicians, as the two main parties have failed to deliver the result of the Brexit referendum. See

If Parliament doesn’t pass a Brexit deal and withdrawal agreement by 22 May, the UK will have to take part in EU elections on 23 May despite having opted to leave the European bloc. Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party is running for these elections, and two recent YouGov polls indicate it might attract 27% of the voters, overtaking both Labour and Conservative. Farage hopes to quell the idea of a second Brexit referendum by topping the polls and calling for an immediate withdrawal from the EU. The party is expected to focus on the single message that the UK must leave the EU immediately. Detailed policies will be left until after the EU elections. Meanwhile, he has pledged to ‘realign and change British politics’ by standing in the Brexit-backing city of Peterborough by-election in June. See

Nigel Farage could become leader of a new pro-Brexit party if Britain’s departure from the EU is delayed beyond 29 March. The former UKIP leader said he had offered his enthusiastic support to the Brexit party after being sounded out as its potential leader. Catherine Blaiklock, formerly a spokeswoman for UKIP, confirmed that on 11 January she had applied to register the party with the Electoral Commission. It would be ready to fight any snap general election, or the local elections across England in May. She said, ‘I think people feel treason has been committed. It’s democracy. It wouldn’t matter whether Leave had won by a single vote - it’s a first-past-the-post system.’ The party would aim to attract the 17.4 million people who voted to leave in 2016, and to win over defectors from the Conservatives, Labour, and UKIP.

Ex-UKIP chief Nigel Farage has accused London mayor Sadiq Khan of hypocrisy for attacking US President Trump’s travel ban while inviting ambassadors from countries which refuse entry to Israeli citizens. At a meeting in City Hall on Tuesday night, Khan condemned Trump’s so-called ‘Muslim ban’ for being a ‘cruel, prejudiced and counterproductive’ policy. Also present at the reception were diplomatic representatives from eleven of the sixteen countries which do not allow entry to Israelis. Farage took to Twitter to call the London mayor a hypocrite. However, LSE professor and Middle East expert Fawaz A Gerges told the Independent that the two situations are totally different. ‘Trump’s ban is a Muslim ban, based on religious discrimination and racial discrimination. The relationship between Israel and its Arab neighbours is one of war since 1947 - for the last 70 years. By trying to force comparison, it just flies in the face of reality, it’s apples and oranges, sky and sea,’ he said. ‘What Trump has done has undermined America as a moral voice in the world.’