It is increasingly difficult to boast of your friendship with Donald Trump. If not, tell Nigel Farage. The enfant terrible of British politics, protagonist of Brexit, has for years made his closeness with the tenant of the White House a political credential, even presenting himself as the best intermediary to preserve the historic “special relationship” between London and Washington.
But The association with Trump in the midst of the escalation of the war with Iran – and its direct impact on the price of oil – is taking its toll on Reform UK at a critical moment. On the eve of the local and regional elections in May, Farage aspired to establish himself as a real alternative to prime minister. But within the party they already admit “nerves” about the risk of not achieving the result necessary to certify the death of the two-party system. The fear is concrete: falling below 25% of the votes on May 7. A psychological threshold that would call into question the story of unstoppable progress towards Downing Street. From the populist formation they assure that the opposition is going to crush them with the argument of “who is supposed to be the best friend of the guy who started this war.”
Added to this wear and tear is a particularly turbulent week. The official launch of the Reform campaign for elections in Scotland, Wales and local councils in England has coincided with a chain of controversies that reinforce the image of internal disorder.
Hours before the campaign presentation event last Thursday night, Opposition parties called for the suspension of a Welsh candidate after an image was released in which he appeared to be giving a Nazi salute. Days earlier, the candidate for mayor of Hampshire and Solent was removed after describing members of a Jewish ambulance service, victim of an arson attack, as “Islamists on horses”. And in parallel, a candidate in Wales abandoned the race amid accusations of “parachuting” from outside the constituency. The trickle of controversies also reaches former parliamentary candidate Matthew Goodwin, questioned for allegedly having fabricated quotes and distorted statistics in his book Suicide of a Nation: Immigration, Islam, Identity.
Despite this, Farage maintains ambitious targets: thousands of seats on local councils, with a focus on the north-east of England, the east and the London suburbs. In Scotland, Reform moves between second and third place, behind the Scottish National Party. In Wales, he disputes the leadership with Plaid Cymru.
However, the polls are beginning to cool. The party is now around 26%, far from the 31% reached in the fall. And there is one especially revealing fact: only 13% of Britons declare themselves in favor of Trump. According to Luke Tryl of More in Common, “the biggest barrier to voting Reform is Trump.”
In this context, Premier Keir Starmer has also decided to make a move. The Government is preparing a far-reaching reform of the political financing system that fully impacts Reform: an urgent ban on donations in cryptocurrencies and a limit of £100,000 on contributions from Britons residing abroad.
The measure, which would come into force immediately, is part of new electoral legislation that also incorporates recommendations from an independent report prepared by Philip Rycroft. The document warns of the risk of foreign interference – from Iran, Russia and China to allies such as the United States – in British politics. Reform has received around £12m in the last year from Thailand-based investor Christopher Harborne, as well as funding from Monaco-based donors. It is also the only major British party that accepts donations in cryptocurrencies.
Rycroft goes further and even suggests limit all individual donations to “keep big money out of politics”. Whitehall is now studying that scenario, along with stricter controls on the origin of funds.
From Reform, the response has been immediate. His number two, Richard Tice, accuses the Government of being “terrified” by his promotion and trying to stop it through regulatory means. But the Executive defends the urgency of the reform. Minister Steve Reed warns that he will not allow “any window of opportunity for malicious actors.” Starmer sums it up in broader terms: protecting democracy.
The background is deeper than a partisan battle. Rycroft’s report warns of an ecosystem increasingly vulnerable to external influence – including private actors like Elon Musk – and the difficulty of tracking political money in a digitalized world. The alarm is not rhetoric. The review was commissioned following the conviction of former Reform politician Nathan Gill for accepting bribes linked to Russia. “I’m not pressing the panic button, but I am sounding the alarm,” Rycroft warned.
