Reform UK: one scandal after another

One normal day of Reform. All I ask for, will never happen

It’s only been five minutes since Nigel Farage was ingloriously re-elected as the MP for Clacton and already some more nonsense has happened. Once again, it involves dubious donations from dubious sources, but this time, it involves senior Reform figures openly discussing breaking electoral law to solicit foreign donations. In a spectacular piece of investigation, the journalistic group Verbatim went undercover inside Reform, with their findings presented on Channel 4. This piece will discuss the findings, their implications for the party and wider society, and ask just how low Reform will go in their quest for power.

The adventures of William Lockwood

All the following information is sourced directly from Verbatim’s investigation, broadcast on Channel 4. When approached, Verbatim said they were not commenting publicly on the investigation at this time.

Verbatim’s investigation was driven by one of their reporters posing as ‘William Lockwood’, the British-educated son of an American millionaire who wants to donate to Reform. They had operated inside Reform for nearly a year by this point, having initially heard rumours of secret American funding to the party. ‘William’ was eventually able to secure a meeting with James Orr, until recently Reform’s head of policy, who tentatively discussed funding opportunities before rowing back over fears of illegality.

These qualms didn’t last long, however. In another meeting, Orr revealed that he had commissioned a poll through the firm JL Partners and that he wanted ‘William’ to pay for it; Orr acted as if this was perfectly legitimate, but failing to declare funding and sourcing foreign donations directly are both illegal under UK law; Orr also mentioned that Farage was unaware of the source of the payment. When the poll, suggesting that Labour would be wiped out if a snap election was called at that time, was splashed across the front page of The Daily Telegraph, it did not mention that it had been commissioned by Reform. Two more polls casting Reform in a positive light would be subsequently published, another in the Telegraph and one in The Times, with both again neglecting to mention that they had been commissioned by Reform. A Verbatim undercover meeting with JL Partners co-founder James Johnson revealed that some ‘informal rule-bending’ had occurred around the polling, but also that the initial poll had been commissioned by Dan Jukes, a senior aide to Nigel Farage, rather than Orr. In total, over £30,000 was paid directly to JL Partners for the polls from outside Reform’s accounts.

As the investigation progressed, it seemed that Orr’s earlier quibbles about illegalities around electoral law were something of an act. In a further meeting with ‘William’, in which he claimed the party was struggling for British-based donors and that he wanted more polling done (which ultimately didn’t happen), he dismissed the Electoral Commission as ‘completely useless’ and ‘dumb and ineffective’. Moreover, in ‘William’s’ first meeting with Dan Jukes, Farage’s right-hand man said that contributions from ‘William’ would be ‘relatively good value for money’ and that donations ‘don’t show up anywhere in public records’, whilst also making reference to a ‘very, very discreet’ relationship with James Johnson. To summarise at this point: we seem to have senior figures in Reform apparently disregarding the law around party donations and funding, with suggestions that the party leader is unaware of these activities. With that in mind, let’s press forward to the good stuff.

A meeting between Farage and ‘William’ is now a concrete possibility. Orr states that a meeting with Farage could be purchased with a ‘five- or six-figure sum’; ‘William’ responds that his ‘father’, an American millionaire, would arrive with the promise of a significant donation to Reform. At a subsequent planning meeting with Jukes, ‘William’ mentions that he can donate £500,000 from his father. Although this would be illegal, as neither are registered donors in the UK, Jukes states that it would be possible and that Reform have received donations before using the same method. Jukes presents this prospective donation as a ‘business interest’, stating that should Farage become Prime Minister, he would be his chief of staff. When this was happening, Farage’s scandal concerning the £5 million bung he received from Christopher Harborne and his questionable dealings with George Cottrell were in the news; Jukes jokes that he would be willing to accept a ‘£5 million personal undeclared gift’ and that he ‘knows a guy’. Classy.

And now, the all-important meeting with Farage and Jukes in Clacton. For this, Verbatim hired an actor to play ‘William’s’ American millionaire ‘father’. In a preliminary meeting, Orr reveals that Farage is aware of the pair’s support, but that he doesn’t ‘go into the weeds’ about the numbers, implying ignorance on Farage’s part around the financial dealings discussed so far. Over a lunch of oysters and champagne, it suggests that this is not quite the case. With regards to the polling, the ‘father’ says that he’s happy to see his money being spent in this way, to which Farage responds that it is ‘bang for buck’ and a ‘relatively modest investment’ for the return – this implies that Farage was aware of the polls’ illicit financing. ‘William’ then says that he will register as a donor in the UK and that his ‘father’ will send him the £500,000 donation, for which Farage thanks them and describes himself as ‘a massive Americophile’. In a subsequent conversation, Jukes mentioned that some of the £500,000 donation (which never arrived) would be used to vet Reform election candidates; he did not state what the rest would be used for.

Where does this leave us?

With everything discussed above, it’s important to consider at this point where this has left Reform. In the immediate term, Orr and Jukes have both resigned from the party. This has removed the two people who facilitated the donations of ‘William’ and his ‘father’, but the fact that they were caught on camera disregarding and openly discussing breaking electoral law remains. The questions mark over the party’s dubious relationship with JL Partners is still there. Most importantly, though, it is the reaction of Farage himself that is most telling. His apparent ignorance of how the polling was paid for was, according to the documentary, a front. He’s dismissed the comments of Orr and Jukes on circumventing the law as ‘loose pub talk’ and ‘a couple of boasts’, and said that during the Clacton meeting with the undercover journalists, he ‘frankly wasn’t even listening’. For a party that are trying to be more palatable to the average voter and reach beyond their base, they may have just taken a big step back. Dodgy foreign money working its way into our politics is nothing new, but flippantly joking about it on camera is, to the best of my recollection. If Reform want to remain true to their ‘anti-establishment’ image and their desires to do politics differently, this is, to say the least, not the way to get people onside.

Who will Reform govern for?

This is, I think, the critical question amongst all this noise. Should Reform enter government, who are they governing for? Why do they want power? ‘The British people’ is far too vague an answer. To destroy ‘the establishment’ rings hollow when considering that many prominent Reform figures are privately educated, millionaire ex-Tories who preach austerity – cuts to tax and public spending – as the way out of our economic malaise. So, let’s dive deeper.

Take, for example, Reform’s stance on climate change and global warming, the most pressing threat to humanity of our time. Reform have pledged to scrap ‘Net Stupid Zero’ and tax solar farms and have blamed Net Zero measures for rising energy prices. They have suggested that humanity should adapt to climate change rather than actively attempt to mitigate it, as it has always existed. Deputy Leader Richard Tice has claimed that global warming is not all ‘doom and gloom’ because of its benefits to the British wine industry. With a comment as hilariously out of touch as that, it should come as no surprise that Reform receive significant backing from the fossil fuels industry. Since the inception of Farage’s political project as the Brexit Party in 2019, it has received over £26 million in funding from fossil fuel companies, including £22 million from friend of the party Christopher Harborne, who owns a jet fuel firm. With donors like these, Reform are not a party that will take climate change seriously because they receive substantial support from actors with a vested interest in keeping the UK reliant on environmentally destructive sources of energy. Yes, the transition to renewable energy will be long and expensive and inconvenient, and in the meantime fossil fuels are still essential to keeping the lights on, but to let renewables completely fall by the wayside would be a point of no return.

There’s also quite a bit to be said for Farage referring to himself as ‘a massive Americophile’. When you consider a lot of what they’ve said and done within this context, it makes a lot more sense. Take, for instance, Farage’s recent comments on abortion, in which he’s described the UK’s 24-week abortion limit as ‘ludicrous’. Or his 2014 comment that the handgun ban in the UK is ‘ludicrous’, something he has since refused to row back on. Or Suella Braverman’s declaration that under a Reform government, schools would be forced to fly the Union Jack, sing the national anthem and various hymns, and teach ‘a balanced, patriotic curriculum’. I could go on. My point here is, abortion and gun ownership and faux patriotism in schools are not mainstream talking points in the UK, as they are in the US. Abortion laws in the UK are very liberal compared with the rest of Europe and the US; the handgun ban has been very successful considering we haven’t had any school shootings since Dunblane in 1996, which is what prompted the ban in the first place; and Reform seem to have completely misunderstood what patriotism and studying history is all about. Hint: it’s not going to be forced into kids by making them sing ‘God Save the King’ and teaching them about the infallibility of the British Empire. It begs the question: who is this for? I don’t imagine that the average person who’s concerned about rising energy and food prices will massively care about any of the above.

Conclusion

I think it’s fair to say that Reform have few scruples in their search for power. They have actively spoken about breaking electoral law to secure funding and have insinuated that they’ve already done so. I think they serve the interests of the super-rich above those of everyday people like you and me. And really, this piece has only scratched the surface. There’s so much more to be said: about their dismissive attitude of the attacks suffered by the protestors at their conference and their stance on political violence; their position on Israel; Farage’s relationships with the likes of Elon Musk and Steve Bannon. Suffice it to say, the Verbatim investigation only crystalises what was already the opinion of many: they are not a serious party of government.