Another of Farage's MPs probed by standards chief: er, Nigel Farage

It’s now a whole 22 days since Nigel Farage lost the second of his now former Reform MPs amid concerns about undeclared finances, James McMurdock leaving the party as the parliamentary commissioner for standards starting sniffing around business loans he allegedly claimed during the Covid pandemic.

Now another of Farage’s MPs has seen an investigation into a potential breach of rules on financial interests… and awkwardly for the Reform leader, it’s Farage himself!

The standards commissioner has announced he is looking into a possible breach by Farage of rules which require MPs to list income and financial benefits within 28 days, the inquiry apparently being launched after a complaint by a member of the House of Lords.

The investigation into the Reform leader was opened on Monday, according to the commissioner’s website. Farage did not say which peer had referred him but told the Daily Telegraph he could “explicitly state” that the matter did not relate to “any undeclared income”.

Suggested Reading

Meet the new face of Reform in Wales

Rats in a Sack

The Telegraph reported that in March the commissioner, David Greenberg, was urged to investigate whether Farage should have declared support he received from a PR firm whose former boss is now a Donald Trump official, although it is unclear exactly which declaration, or absence of a declaration, is being investigated.

A spokesman for the Reform leader said: “Following a complaint from a member of the House of Lords, the commissioner for standards is doing his job.”

Rats in a Sack reported earlier this year how Farage may have been facing unfavourable questions over his frequent absences from the House of Commons and his Clacton constituency, but at least he was keeping his bank manager happy.

Thorn In The Side, the private firm into which he channels his earnings – including his pay from hard right conspiracy channel GB News and other lucrative work which have turned his role as an MP into more of a side hustle – reported in February £1.25 million in annual profits and £2.6 million worth of accumulated profits in the year to May 31, 2024. Let’s hope he remembered to keep all those receipts!