Just a few short weeks ago, tech billionaire Elon Musk and bullish populist Nigel Farage met in the United States to discuss, among other things, the prospect of a hefty donation. Reports at the time suggested Musk could transfer Reform as much as $100m to bolster the party’s “professionalisation” bid ahead of the 2029 general election.
But the incessant speculation, reinforced by Musk’s social media invective, has not culminated in cash for Reform — but in Musk calling for Farage’s resignation as Reform leader. Typing out a typically terse Twitter intervention yesterday, the Tesla tycoon insisted Farage “does not have what it takes”. With political allies like these, etc etc.
Musk’s post came just hours after Farage described the X owner as a “hero”, whose appeal helps make Reform look “cool”. In his much-publicised BBC sit-down on Sunday, Farage mounted a strident defence of Musk’s right to “free speech” after he labelled far-right activist Tommy Robinson a “political prisoner”.
Nonetheless, Farage hit back — tentatively — that Robinson is not what Reform “needs”.
“[Musk] sees Robinson as one of these people that fought against the grooming gangs”, the Reform chief insisted. “But of course the truth is Tommy Robinson’s in prison not for that, but for contempt of court.”
Musk responded angrily — going as far as to endorse Reform MP Rupert Lowe as a potential successor to Farage. Lowe later thanked Musk “for his kind comments”.
In the end, the full saga underlines Farage’s fallibility at a time when Reform looks to be building momentum. In fact, Musk’s about-face has exposed the pitfalls of Farage’s approach to manufacturing said momentum: namely, his extended and until-recently intensifying liaison with the Online Right.
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Farage entered parliament in July, on his eighth attempt, at the head of a new Reform “bridgehead” of five MPs. Farage’s frankly puny parliamentary force still belies his audacious claim he is the “real leader of the opposition”. Understandably then, Farage has for the most part struggled to make a mark in the arena of the commons — his interventions on the Chagos Islands deal aside.
Rather, Farage has maintained Reform’s post-election momentum with his extra-parliamentary antics — which have seen his five-strong bridgehead retreat into the online space, and Musk’s X specifically.
On X, Farage’s interventions — empowered by a friendly algorithm — often drive the conversation. In turn, Farage has willingly associated with individuals operating at far deeper echelons of the Online Right rabbit hole than he is; Musk, for manifold reasons, is the most high-profile.
Farage and Musk’s interactions drove significant commentary in the UK — elevating Reform, an upstart party seeking to capitalise on the Conservatives’ relative impotency, in the prevailing political conversation.
Through December then, Farage prioritised short-term gain and social media kudos over long-term strategy. The Reform chief convinced himself that Musk was a fundamentally popular figure in the UK, heralding his appeal to young voters as much as his deep pockets (in the face of available polling evidence). Simply put, X interactions became Farage’s chosen political currency — by which he measured both his and Musk’s worth.
But Farage, in associating with fringe and extreme online figures, lost sight of the bigger picture.
In late June, Reform’s general election campaign was marred by reports of racism in its activist ranks. At the time, Farage dismissed his candidate controversies as a natural, if regrettable, growing pain. But the stories had a tangible effect on the election discourse — in part, because they bolstered a familiar weakness of Farage: that his various political vehicles, from UKIP to Reform, can themselves be castigated as fringe and extreme.
As such, Farage’s foray into the Online Right realm risks inflicting very real reputational damage on Reform at a crucial stage — when the party is seeking to supplant the Conservatives as the foremost institutional expression of the British right.
Farage’s X commentary suggested he was happy with Reform operating, merely, as the parliamentary wing of Britain’s terminally online keyboard warriors. But what about Reform’s real target voters: those mostly mainstream Brexit-backing Britons who, in significant numbers, supported Labour in July?
Electorally, Musk’s U-turn is in Reform’s best interests. The tech tycoon was almost certainly a net drag on the restyled Brexit Party, even if some audacious donation did eventually actualise.
But the full saga — and Farage’s associated miscalculations — remain fundamentally instructive.
The debacle mirrors Farage’s response to the summer riots, which saw the Reform leader cycle through a series of social media statements — each coming under considerable scrutiny from mainstream sources. Finally, in a combative interview with LBC Radio in early August, Farage excused his initial response to the Southport stabbing as having been influenced by misinformation. The Reform leader had simply been misled by “stories online from some very prominent folks with big followings”. Prominent folks, Farage clarified, like internet misogynist Andrew Tate.
The Very Online Right led me astray, Farage effectively admitted.
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And so a pattern emerges, in which Farage’s retreat into the Online Right realm draws him further from the mainstream, less-engaged voters Reform must win to advance. Tellingly, Farage’s favourability ratings tumbled among both “Leave” voters in the 2016 EU referendum (-11) and Conservative voters (-9) after the riots — according to YouGov.
Reform’s political soft underbelly is its potential to be associated with extreme viewpoints and actors. Duly, the Musk debacle presents Farage’s opponents with a timely opportunity to stigmatise his appeal. And so Starmer did this morning.
In a planned statement after delivering a speech on the NHS, Starmer accused Musk of “spreading lies” in a “desperate” bid for attention. The prime minister specifically defended safeguarding minister Jess Phillips, who Musk had called a “rape genocide apologist” for denying a request to lead a public inquiry into historic child sexual exploitation in Oldham.
“What I won’t tolerate”, Starmer went on, “is politicians jumping on the bandwagon simply to get attention”. While critics carp, “this government will get on with the job of protecting victims”, the PM suggested.
Starmer’s statement has stunned Farage into silence. The Reform leader’s incessant social media commentary means his relative quiet is doubly distinct.
All this said, Reform UK is set to make significant gains at the local elections on 2 May — mainly at the Conservative Party’s expense, but likely at Labour’s too. Those results will inspire further commentary extolling Farage’s political ability and talking up his prime ministerial ambitions. And yet, at this important juncture, the Musk saga has busted the burgeoning myth of Farage as somehow politically irresistible.
Despite the implicit conclusion of recent columns, the Reform leader does not operate in defiance of political gravity. Rather, like any frontline politician, he missteps and presents opportunities for his opponents to exploit.
Back in June, the Conservatives under Rishi Sunak were much too slow to capitalise on Reform’s election candidate controversies. Starmer, his statement today suggests, does not intend to make the same mistake.
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