Reform UK discussion

[TravelDream]

Farage appears to be in even more hot water now:

It was obvious.
The closer Farage gets to power, the more than comes out.
He's a grifter and always has been.

He has had quite the Teflon coating. But, again, as he gets closer to power, the scratches on it and getting bigger and bigger.

There's a good possibility of a recall petition which will likely succeed. Though I would not be surprised to see Farage win the by-election that came from it. Still, drop by drop his path to Number 10 is getting a bit more challenging.

 

[SuspectUsual]

Man who literally owned a political party denies that he was involved in politics at the time a major political donor gave him five million quid

 

[gg1]

It was obvious.
The closer Farage gets to power, the more than comes out.
He's a grifter and always has been.

He has had quite the Teflon coating. But, again, as he gets closer to power, the scratches on it and getting bigger and bigger.

Although much like Trump, his core support won't care.

Hopefully the number of people who do care is enough to keep him out, with the way the vote's split now, even a paltry 25% of the vote at a GE could well be enough for Reform to be the largest party in a governing coalition.

 

[Strathclyder]

Man who literally owned a political party denies that he was involved in politics at the time a major political donor gave him five million quid

Said man selling shares in said political party after the fact was never about giving control of it to it's members. It was always about trying to cover his own backside and nothing else.

 

[jon0844]

Farage appears to be in even more hot water now:

Reform denies rules broken by Nigel Farage after benefits from ally were not declared

The Sunday Times says the Reform UK leader failed to register the support supplied by a cryptocurrency entrepreneur who had been convicted of fraud.

www.bbc.co.uk

I can't cite sources because I didn't save them, but before Farage was an MP and around the time he started doing those Cameo 'up the RA' videos for money, he was also inviting people to subscribe to his financial mailing list that told people the hot trends in shares, and what to invest him. (I think he was also hawking other stuff like whisky and cigars, but my memory is even worse on that).

I recall at the time that the suggestions were all somewhat sus, and certainly a lot of them involved crypto.

Now, as I said, I didn't save details at the time - nor did I subscribe so don't have emails archived - but I am quite surprised no journalist has dug this up as I suspect they'd prove clear and obvious links to some very shady characters that I am sure he's still doing favours for, or promising to do favours for.

All of that's just my personal opinion, of course.

 

[35B]

I can't cite sources because I didn't save them, but before Farage was an MP and around the time he started doing those Cameo 'up the RA' videos for money, he was also inviting people to subscribe to his financial mailing list that told people the hot trends in shares, and what to invest him. (I think he was also hawking other stuff like whisky and cigars, but my memory is even worse on that).

I recall at the time that the suggestions were all somewhat sus, and certainly a lot of them involved crypto.

Now, as I said, I didn't save details at the time - nor did I subscribe so don't have emails archived - but I am quite surprised no journalist has dug this up as I suspect they'd prove clear and obvious links to some very shady characters that I am sure he's still doing favours for, or promising to do favours for.

All of that's just my personal opinion, of course.

His newsletter enterprises featured in Private Eye.

 

[jon0844]

His newsletter enterprises featured in Private Eye.

Ah, so hopefully someone is eagerly looking back through his newsletters to make further connections.

 

[brad465]

Could this be the end of Farage? You don't normally make a statement on your future like this to say you're carrying on:

Nigel Farage resigns as MP to fight by-election amid finances row

Labour, the Conservatives, the Lib Dems and Restore Britain rule out standing in the by-election, in an effective boycott.

www.bbc.co.uk

Nigel Farage says he will make a statement on his "future in public life" amid renewed scrutiny over financial support he has received.

The Reform UK leader's statement from 14:00 BST comes after it emerged he did not declare benefits provided by an ally once convicted of fraud in the US. Rival parties want this to be subject to a parliamentary probe.

Separately, Farage has been under investigation from Parliament's standards commissioner since May after not declaring a £5m gift he received from a billionaire Reform UK donor before his election as Clacton MP.

Farage argues that he was not obliged to declare any of the benefits under Commons rules, and has done nothing wrong.

Scrutiny over Farage's finances hit the headlines earlier this year after it emerged he had received a £5m gift from Christopher Harborne, a Thailand-based British cryptocurrency investor, in April 2024, before he entered Parliament.

Harborne is one of the party's most important financial backers, having donated £15m to Reform since the start of last year.

Over the weekend, The Sunday Times said Farage had also received support ahead of the 2024 election from George Cottrell, a longstanding ally who was jailed for eight months in the US in 2017 after pleading guilty to a charge of wire fraud.

This reportedly included paying for staff who provided Farage's security and worked on his social media content.

According to the newspaper, Farage also used a property near Buckingham Palace rented by Cottrell.

 

[SuspectUsual]

Could this be the end of Farage? You don't normally make a statement on your future like this to say you're carrying on:

Nigel Farage resigns as MP to fight by-election amid finances row

Labour, the Conservatives, the Lib Dems and Restore Britain rule out standing in the by-election, in an effective boycott.

www.bbc.co.uk

Has he had sight of the report into the complaints about his non-declarations?

 

[brad465]

Has he had sight of the report into the complaints about his non-declarations?

I wouldn't be surprised if so - Boris Johnson had sight of his 90-day suspension in advance and quit as an MP just before it was publicised.

 

[Cowley]

I wouldn't be surprised if so - Boris Johnson had sight of his 90-day suspension in advance and quit as an MP just before it was publicised.

He’s also been looking pretty irritated and bored about the whole thing recently.

 

[brad465]

If he is stepping down I think the chances of a snap election increase (probably autumn or spring 2027). Reform's support will sink without Farage (both due to cult of personality and inevitable infighting about the future of the party after him), which would increase any bounce Burnham might get, so he could seize the moment to seek a mandate for his own agenda.

 

[gg1]

I wouldn't be surprised if so - Boris Johnson had sight of his 90-day suspension in advance and quit as an MP just before it was publicised.

My thoughts exactly when I read the story, he's jumping before he's pushed.

 

[greatkingrat]

Has he had sight of the report into the complaints about his non-declarations?

There is no way the Standards Committee have already completed an investigation and published a report. Any report would be many months in the future.

 

[The exile]

My thoughts exactly when I read the story, he's jumping before he's pushed.

Or when he still has a chance of coming out in the eyes of his support as a martyr. That’s probably the biggest danger.

 

[Statto]

He’s also been looking pretty irritated and bored about the whole thing recently.

Serves him right, he's like one of those bully's who doesn't like it when the scrutiny is on them.

 

[Sorcerer]

I welcome the scrutiny aimed at Farage over this, but unfortunately I don't have much faith in it being a dealbreaker for some of his support base. Reform may very well collapse without him since the populist right relies a lot on a cult of personality, hence why MAGA are hoping to keep Trump in power, but Labour and the Tories are almost a political poison in themselves. I think Andy Burnham will probably end up being nothing more than Keir Starmer in a pair of trousers with a northern accent. But I suppose a hung parliament is better than a Reform majority.

 

[AlterEgo]

Well, we have one minute until it is supposedly published.

 

[brad465]

Currently live but so far just waffling about his "achievements"

 

[SuspectUsual]

Currently live but so far just waffling about his "achievements"

Interesting he said he hasn’t broken any laws. Not the same as parliamentary rules

 

[GusB]

I've just broken my tiny violin - does anyone have a spare?

 

[Ivor]

I’m watching now no doubt like many of us but he’s going on a bit

 

[JamesT]

Farage has announced he's resigning to force a by-election that he will be standing in.

 

[Purple Train]

Interesting he said he hasn’t broken any laws. Not the same as parliamentary rules

That stuck out at me as well. Obviously he hasn't finished yet, but this is a bizarre car crash of a speech and I'm not sure how well it will go down in the by-election.

 

[AlterEgo]

Resigning as MP but standing in the by election.

 

[martin butler]

It's just a Nigel whine fest, just get on with it and announce you're stepping down to spend more time with your real love, grifting

 

[Purple Train]

Resigning as MP but standing in the by election.

What a waste of public money.

 

[Harpo]

I’m watching now no doubt like many of us but he’s going on a bit

Farage just got himself a very extended party political broadcast. Let’s see how other parties react.

 

[nlogax]

He's just awful. Absolute refusal to bear any responsibility and still determined to lash out in every racist direction he can while going down. My bucket of ..stuffs to give about his 'predicament' is empty. Not that I'm confident in the voters of Clacton to do the decent thing this time around.

 

[SuspectUsual]

What was the relevance of him banging on about not having misused public money, when (a) nobody is saying he has, and (b) it’s exactly what he did do when he was an MEP

Bizarre

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 7 Jul 2026 ==

There is no way the Standards Committee have already completed an investigation and published a report. Any report would be many months in the future.

They’ve been investigating him for ages, not just since the Sunday Times article