In a move intended to signal Reform UK’s maturation from insurgent force to serious contender, Nigel Farage has unveiled the beginnings of his shadow front bench. At the heart of this announcement are three key figures: Farage himself as the guiding force, Robert Jenrick as Shadow Chancellor and Richard Tice retaining his dual role as […]
While the Covid pandemic was a pretty universally horrible experience, one of the few positives to emerge from it was the rise of working from home. For a great many people, no longer having to commute into the office five days a week has been a great boon. However, there are a certain number of […]
Britain’s economic debate rests on a dangerous assumption. Debt crises are things that happen elsewhere. Greece, perhaps. Argentina, certainly. But not the United Kingdom – a mature economy with its own currency, deep capital markets and centuries of institutional credibility. History offers little comfort to countries that think this way. Countries rarely enter fiscal crisis […]
Peering tentatively into 2026, the UK’s business landscape is fraught with uncertainty, but one trend stands out: the remarkable ascent of Reform UK in the eyes of boardrooms. A groundbreaking report from Bradshaw Advisory, where I serve as a senior adviser, polls over 500 business directors and reveals a seismic shift in sentiment. Far from […]
Nigel Farage began 2026 with his usual rhetorical flair, suggesting that Britain might be better off without the Office for Budget Responsibility. Cue the accusations of fiscal irresponsibility. These reactions ignore the fundamental question Farage raises: what has the OBR actually achieved, and does it deserve the weight of authority it now exercises? If we […]
Tackling the national debt, encouraging wealth creation, cracking down on welfare, deregulating the city and wider economy, backing business and bringing down spending. Despite concerns that Reform UK were tacking to the Left on the economy, pro-growth, free market, Thatcherite instincts were in abundance throughout Nigel Farage’s speech today. In almost the final line of […]
Has a party without power ever been scrutinised as thoroughly as Reform? Kent is Britain’s biggest county council by population, so it should come as little surprise it is being seen as a litmus test for how Reform UK would govern Britain. The answer, so far, is decidedly mixed. This seems to confirm the laziest […]
Last week, Nigel Farage claimed that, if he became prime minister, his government would deport up to 600,000 illegal immigrants. The announcement dominated the week’s news, panicked Labour and the Tories and strengthened Reform UK’s status as the party to beat at the next general election. From that point of view, it was another resounding […]
Nigel Farage has announced that Reform UK would, if they form a government, construct 15 so-called Nightingale prisons to solve the cell shortage. These would be low-cost, prefabricated facilities built on military sites (the Army would apparently be drafted in to help with construction) intended to house up to 12,400 prisoners. The Government has denounced […]
There’s something of the Vikings about Reform. Just as the Norsemen raided Lindisfarne in 793, Nigel Farage and his band of berserkers took on Westminster in 2024, seizing five seats. Almost a year later and Reform have continued their march across the UK, taking over councils from Kent to Doncaster. Thus far, the political establishment, […]
Nigel Farage has handed the Tories a way to return to political relevance. His recent spending proposals are a textbook example of fantasy economics – offering huge, unfunded tax breaks that would rack up billions on the nation’s credit card. If Kemi Badenoch and her team are serious about bringing the Conservatives back from electoral […]
So, there we have it. Runcorn & Helsby 2025 joins the likes of Crosby 1981 and Orpington 1962 in the list of seismic by-election victories by a party outside the ‘big two’. As so often in such cases, pollsters and data nerds will be understandably vexed by the weight given to the result, given its […]
Runcorn and Helsby, a constituency tucked away in Cheshire, has been a Labour stronghold since 1983. It’s the 16th safest Labour seat in the country, a redoubt of red in an ever-shifting political landscape. But don’t let the numbers fool you, there’s trouble brewing, and it’s got Reform UK’s fingerprints all over it. More interestingly, […]
Well, isn’t it a glorious mess? Reform UK, that band of Brexit zealots and populist muckrakers, has picked the perfect moment to start clawing its own eyes out. Just as the spotlight begged for their next act, Nigel Farage and Rupert Lowe – two men who’ve made careers out of thumbing their noses at the […]
Harsher writers might well say that this has been Kemi Badenoch’s worst week in politics since last week. To say the coverage of her performance at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday was not what her team would’ve hoped for would be an understatement. The Times’ write-up of the affair carries the headline: ‘Badenoch steps into […]
They’re not laughing now. On his eighth attempt, Nigel Farage is now an MP. Reform UK won over 4 million voters and delivered 5 MPs, and came second in 98 seats. A fragile Labour landslide, a grim inheritance, and a bleak international picture: could these enable a 2029 Reform breakthrough – taking Farage where Giorgia […]
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