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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Comment
Editorial

The Guardian view on Nigel Farage: not even Donald Trump is as damaging to Reform as its own leader

Nigel Farage
‘Mr Farage seeks to appear an insurgent, yet he operates like an autocrat.’ Photograph: Jordan Pettitt/PA

One constant of British political life is that Nigel Farage never stays out of the spotlight for long. Having built a political career on railing against the establishment – while, paradoxically, embedding himself within it – Mr Farage finds himself embroiled in yet another melodrama. This time, however, the threat comes not from the usual suspects – remainers, the BBC or “woke” elites – but from his own side.

The affair revolves around Rupert Lowe, a little‑known businessman, elected as one of Reform UK’s five MPs in 2024 under Mr Farage’s leadership. That should have been the beginning of a forgettable contribution to British public life. Yet, thanks to the intervention of Elon Musk – the world’s richest man and Donald Trump’s “government efficiency” tsar – Mr Lowe has a starring role in Mr Farage’s latest soap opera.

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