The People's Army loves London lobbyists

Reform like to brand themselves as “Nigel Farage’s People’s Army”, positioning themselves as the doughty defenders of everyday folk as opposed to being in the pocket of big business. How’s that going?

At a party event at his Millbank HQ last night to boost relations with the business community, Tory turncoat and ludicrously titled “shadow chancellor” Robert Jenrick welcomed hard-working self-employed plumbers, window cleaners and owners of small firms and neighbourhood shops from across the UK… only joking. The attendees were the same coterie of London-based lobbyists who could have been at a similar event with any party over the past two decades.

In attendance were Andrew Mennear, a lobbyist with BP (profit for the fourth quarter of 2025: $1.7 billion), Lucia Hodgson, founder of Charlesby, which advises global businesses, and Jack Doyle and Amanda Sefton of Headland, a financial and corporate communications firm.

Also there were Gary Follis of the Betting and Gaming Council, Lauren Maher of strategic communications consultancy WA Communications, representatives of fellow consultants FTI, iNHouse, Burson and Hanbury and, of course, JCB, the digger firm whose chairman last year handed Reform £200,000. Horny-handed sons of toil, one and all.

Jenrick got to deliver the main speech of the evening, reassuring attendees that: “Those of you who represent renewable clients – you’re screwed. The rest of you will be very rich.” Hooray!

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One Reform figure who might be concerned with the first part of the statement, though, is deputy leader Richard Tice, who had his eye on the Treasury role before being leapfrogged by new boy Jenrick.

Last year it was reported that a farm and horse racing business owned by Tice had installed solar panels and battery storage. And that was far from Tice’s first foray into renewables.

Tice co-owns Quidnet Reit Ltd, a business operating industrial estates across the country. In its accounts for 2022, the company celebrated installing solar on three sites, noting that “these initiatives will save hundreds of tonnes of CO2 every year and help our occupiers with lower electricity bills… as well as provide an attractive return to shareholders”.

And Tice’s business didn’t stop there. “The company continued its initiatives with more solar panels installed”, its official accounts for 2023 state. Quidnet Reit also installed super fast electric car chargers, cheerily noting that “demand for these is picking up well”. Is he screwed?

Finally, all attendees got to take home a very special souvenir of the evening: a mug with Nigel Farage’s face superimposed outside 10 Downing Street. A reminder that, while other senior figures are now allowed to speak, it’s still all about one man.