This summer, Reform announced a review into whether bosses of companies that house migrants could be taken to court if those tenants went on to commit crimes.
Putting the responsibility on those at the top was seen as a controversial moment. But at least it wouldn’t happen in Reform – when anything goes wrong in that party, it’s the fault of literally everybody but the man who helms, runs and literally owns the operation.
Farage’s pre-Budget press conference on October 26 – the sort of event which, for the past couple of years, would have attracted pretty much the entire parliamentary lobby along – was embarrassingly sparsely attended. There were countless empty seats, the entire audience except journalists being put behind the main stage for the sake of the TV cameras, and even then it needed padding out with young aides.
The event, held at Westminster’s swanky Lindley Hall events venue for self-styled ‘shadow chancellor’ Robert Jenrick to unveil his alternative “teal book” budget, saw Farage walk out to pretty much an empty room which ordinarily seats up to 540. So has the Reform bubble burst? Could a summer of terrible headlines for Farage have finally had an effect? Might the media have learnt that not every Reform announcement is a news story?
No… turns out it’s all the fault of Farage’s junior staffers! “Staffing competence,” said the Reform leader when asked afterwards why nobody had turned up. “It’s all well and good advertising to businesses, but Mondays people who run businesses tend to be rather busy.” (This trite observation earned him an ovation from Jenrick, gurning alongside him on the stage.)
“And no doubt many of those that are here, it’s gonna have cost them a very great deal of money to give up their day to come and come and visit us here in London,” Farage added, pointing to the few dozen attendees, many of whom looked like they could have retired when Tony Blair was prime minister.
It was the start of another miserable week for the beleaguered leader, who followed it up with a pair of car-crash interviews on the BBC’s Today and Breakfast programmes on Tuesday as the once sure-footed Farage flailed around at the most basic of questions.
Asked by Nick Robinson on Today about a report in the Independent showing that 80% of the money received by Reform from donations in the year 2025-26 had come from individuals or companies who have been based abroad in the past two years, Farage went into denial mode.
“No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no – that’s just… that’s just completely wrong… maybe whoever’s done this research doesn’t understand where people domicile, how they operate, where they live and how they vote,” he said, which eagle-eyed listeners noted wasn’t a demolition of the Indy’s figures.
“Well, maybe I should just sell some peerages. That’s how the Tories raise money, they promise peerages… I’ll start selling peerages or get hooked up to the trade union movement.”
Asked about the recent ITV undercover investigation that exposed the racist, misogynistic views of many senior members of Reform, Farage indulged in some spectacular whataboutery, telling Robinson: “When it comes to vetting, just look at the BBC’s record on this. The number of people you’ve had working for you convicted of crimes, paedophilia and all the rest of it…
“And by the way… I tell you what, if you’re upset by what someone’s said you’d better ask Kemi Badenoch about someone in her office who was involved with a contract killing.” (A reference to a bizarre story about a former Conservative election candidate suspended after he was filmed discussing the cost of hiring contract killers).
Finally, after he hit out at the record of the previous Conservative government on Brexit, Farage was reminded by Robinson that two of his key lieutenants, Jenrick and Suella Braverman, were senior cabinet members in that government, and had previously been described by Home Affairs spokesman Zia Yusuf as “Quisling Tory ministers who betrayed our country and must never be allowed to seize control again”.
“They resigned!” shouted Farage. “That’s the point! They were part of a government that completely failed; they couldn’t live with their consciences, so they resigned as ministers. That’s very unlike, you know, the Priti Patels of this world, or even the Kemi Badenochs, who are literally in denial about what they did and are now trying to erase the past.”
(Braverman did not resign. She was sacked by Rishi Sunak in November 2023 for writing an inflammatory Times article accusing senior police officers of playing “favourites” with pro-Palestinian protestors over those on the far right.)
Still, at least Farage could look forward to a more relaxed hearing on BBC Breakfast – until presenter Sally Nugent asked him about comments made by his friend and former chief advisor Raheem Kassam that Kemi Badenoch was a “Nigerian scammer”.
After first saying that Kassam couldn’t be racist as “he’s Indian – he’s of Indian heritage” (“Does that mean he can’t be racist?” “Well, you tell me”), Farage explained that: “This is a cultural argument about whether Kemi Badenoch, who grew up in Nigeria, regards herself as Nigerian or British – it’s not a debate or an argument I’m gonna get involved in.”
Except it wasn’t, as Nugent explained – it was a deeply personal insult aimed at a politician at precisely the same time as Reform is highlighting the threats faced by MPs daily
“You can try the high and mighty – nobody in Parliament gets more death threats than me every single day – don’t talk to me about security,” harrumphed Farage.
Because, as ever, it’s all about him – except when things go wrong, when it’s everybody else’s fault.
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