Reform UK’s former chair has suggested Nigel Farage should take “a break” from politics, after a bruising week for his party leader over a £5m gift from a crypto billionaire.
Dr David Bull, who was in post until May this year, said he was speaking as a “friend and a colleague”, days after Mr Farage was tackled about the donation in his first major interview in weeks.
The former Ukip leader was accused of going to ground after a drop in public appearances followed the news he was given millions by party donor Christopher Harborne, weeks before standing in the 2024 general election.
The Commons sleaze watchdog is now investigating Mr Farage for failing to declare the money.
Appearing on Channel 5 this morning, Dr Bull said: “The party is way bigger than Nigel.
“Politics is a ruthless business, and I think also one of the other things I would say to [Farage] as a friend and a colleague is he needs to take some time out and have a bit of a break, really,” he added, in comments reported by MailOnline.
The Conservatives seized on the reports to tweet: “BREAKING: The Reform Party.
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“With everyone talking about @Nigel_Farage’s car crash media round on his £5 million secret donation, the fallout is escalating...”
Appearing on BBC Breakfast, Mr Farage not only insisted he could spend the £5m “on cars if [he] wanted to”, he told journalists questioning him that what he did with the money is “none of your business”.
The interview prompted fresh questions about the cash, which Mr Farage has previously insisted was to pay for private security for the rest of his life, but later claimed was also a “reward for campaigning for Brexit for 27 years”.
After a year of riding high in the opinion polls, it has been a difficult few weeks for Reform.
The party also suffered a major setback last week when it lost the Makerfield by-election to Labour’s Andy Burnham.
Dr Bull was Reform’s chair for just under a year, before he was replaced by Lee Anderson last month.
This morning he said he had stepped down from the role as he was “physically very unwell”, adding that the job “nearly killed me off”.
He spoke of the difficulty of building a political party as he also addressed the rise of Restore Britain, which is outflanking Reform on the right of British politics.
Dr Bull warned: “I think we’ve been on such a rollercoaster, and to build a political party, it’s quite interesting.
“I will just mention Restore and Rupert Lowe, for example. I think what Rupert’s finding is that to build a political party is incredibly difficult.”
Westminster’s standards watchdog is now looking into whether Mr Farage broke Commons rules by not declaring the £5m donation after his election in 2024.
If the probe finds he committed a serious breach of parliament’s rules, he could be suspended from the Commons. A suspension of 10 days or more could trigger a recall petition, which could potentially see him forced to fight his Clacton seat again.
