Is the parliamentary investigation into Nigel Farage’s £5 million “unconditional gift” from a Thailand-based crypto billionaire about to report? Because the Reform leader has just announced a large-scale party event at around the same time as some people expected the verdict to emerge.
Farage is staging a “live event” in Dover on Monday, October 12, no doubt to be given the full bells and whistles treatment by his employers at GB News. The event will set out plans “to stop the boats forever” given what Farage calls “a national security emergency” (currently small boat arrivals across the English Channel are down by about 40% compared to the same period in 2025).
Posting on, inevitably, X, Farage said: “Given the threat, the direct threat we’ve now got, of terrorism from Iran, this is – yes, I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again now – this is a national security emergency.
“[Andy Burnham] is failing totally as prime minister to stop what’s going on in the English Channel, he’s failing totally as prime minister to protect our national security and he has no plan whatsoever.
“I’ll be doing a big speech, big press conference on Monday, down in Dover, where we will reiterate the plans that we’ve already made to stop the boats once and for all.”
Coincidentally, Farage’s attempts to seize the narrative on what is increasingly their only policy comes not only after a disastrous showing in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election – their candidate, former Met Police commander Peter Newman, won just 5.9 per cent to narrowly keep his deposit – but just days before Daniel Greenberg, the parliamentary commissioner for standards, is expected to send his findings to the Commons Committee of Standards.
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If Greenberg finds that Farage committed a serious breach of the rules, the case will be referred to the Committee of Standards. If that body recommends a suspension of more than 10 days, and the Commons approves it (a formality), Farage could face a recall petition, potentially triggering a second by-election in Clacton in months.
With the other parties likely to take part rather than leave it to a man with a bin on his head this time – and Labour almost certain to field a paper candidate, giving the Tories a clear run at Farage – the Reform leader may be in for a difficult, and miserable, few months.
No wonder he would prefer to be preaching spaffing a few of Reform’s megabucks up the wall to preach to the converted at a party-managed event in Dover!
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