Reform Party UK – an assessment.

 

Nigel Farage

By: Andrew Wallace

Arguably the distinctive peculiarities of British politics have been nurtured under the so-called First Past the Post electoral system which means a single winner at constituency level by virtue of the highest individual tally irrespective of a majority. This has historically proved particularly advantageous to the Conservatives who have been able to achieve something of a monopoly regarding a reliable 40% plus voting bloc for the right, whilst the liberal left conversely proved more factious with a newly assertive centrist wing that had formally seceded from the Labour Party.

It now appears that Conservatives have fallen prey to a mirror trajectory of Labour’s fate in the 1980s, facing a credible independent flank to their right courtesy of the Reform Party. But what is this curious beast and just how serious a political challenge does it pose? Perhaps the Reform Party’s greatest strength also happens to be its greatest weakness, for this is but the latest iteration of Faragism to come down the line of the anti-federalist UK Independence Party to the Brexit Party. Faragism alludes to the charismatic figure of Nigel Farage who has proven adept at inserting himself into the national conversation concerning the perceived failures of mainstream politics. Farage has cannily weaved a heterodox line of nationalist dissent into the otherwise uber-internationalism of hegemonic free market economics, whereby protectionism is invoked if only in terms of the migratory flows of labour across nation-states. This distinctive antinomic premise had already been invoked by Enoch Powell and had put him at odds with fellow free market ideologues like Ralph Harris and the Institute of Economic Affairs (Heffer, p445).

It would seem like Powell; Farage’s cultural nationalism gives a potency which would otherwise be hard to envisage in proselyting for a deregulated small state to a blue collar audience. Regular opinion polling suggests a ceiling for Reform UK, with their best percentage share to date at 25% (Coates, 2025), suggesting Faragism is another overegged electoral phenomenon akin to Cleggmania (Kampfner, 2010). Whilst it seems quite possible that Reform could go on to bag a few dozen more MPs come the next election, it does seem ridiculous to suggest Farage can go on to win an electoral majority from his current 4 MPs or so (Lowe having been suspended). A more realistic scenario is Farage as a kingmaker in a future hung parliament. It just seems a matter of time before the Conservative Party comes to terms with Farage and unless Reform are lucky enough to latch onto another compelling populist figure, Conservatives have no choice but to dig in and wait it out.

References:

Coates, Sam (2025) ‘Reform UK tops landmark poll for first time’ Available at: https://news.sky.com/story/reform-uk-tops-landmark-poll-for-first-time-13302531

(Accessed 04 February 2025)

Heffer, Simon (1998) “Like The Roman. The Life of Enoch Powell” Faber and Faber

Kampfner, J (2010) ‘The lessons of Cleggmania and Lib Dem losses’ Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/may/07/nick-clegg-liberal-democrats-cleggmania

Consultant suspended by GMC for condemning genocide in Gaza on X.

 

Dr. Rehiana Ali

We don't have an absolute right to freedom of speech in Britain and never have done.

The case of Dr Rehiana Ali illustrates this. Having worked as a consultant neurologist in the NHS for twenty years, she got suspended by the General Medical Council (GMC), for 18-months because she condemned on X, formerly Twitter, the Israeli genocide in Gaza. Her suspension arose after a complaint was made by the pro-Israeli body called UK Lawyers for Israel (UKLFI).

There are UK laws that seek to restrict or constrain what we say. People in Britain have been jailed and arrested for expressing opinions on social media. Article 10 of the European Convention of Human Rights which protects freedom of expression, is not an absolute right, but a qualified right, that can be restricted under certain conditions.

What I find particularly worrying, is the trend among some self-righteous lefty woke types, to want to silence debate or prevent people from expressing an alternative point of view or by cancelling and no platforming them or expecting them to self-censor. We saw this in the case of the philosopher, Professor Kathleen Stock, who was hounded out of her job at the University of Sussex, for her views on gender. The university have just been fined £585,000 by the Regulator OfS, for failing to uphold free speech and academic freedom.

This type of censorship is a kind of creeping totalitarianism. Britain's obsession with banning things is also very worrying. We really are a nation of people who are under the thumb of authority. George Orwell famously said that "If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people things they don't want to hear."

We understand that Dr Rehiana Ali asked the Free Speech Union to support her, but she says that her appeals were ignored. If Toby Young, a supporter of Israel, can't accept Orwell’s dictum, then he shouldn't be leading the free speech union.

Tesla & Space X say Trump's tariffs will damage their business.

 

Elon Musk

It looks like Elon Musk might be on his way out of the White House and Tesla.

Since joining the Trump administration and the department of government efficiency (Doge), Musk has become toxic to the brand image of Tesla which is seeing falling sales and profits. Tesla showrooms have been vandalised and Tesla cars set on fire. Tesla electric vehicles are also being boycotted.

The Financial Times recently reported that in an unsigned letter to the U.S. trade representative Jamieson Greer, Tesla said it would be "exposed to disproportionate impacts' from retaliatory import tariffs by other countries."

Space X which is also owned by Musk have also written to the U.S. government asking for an exemption from tariffs on products it buys from China. Trump's erratic policy making on the hoof seems to be giving everybody the jitters including Musk.