Nigel Farage insisted on Thursday ‘we will not be dictated to’ as he told global elites at Davos that the world has changed for good.
The Reform UK leader delivered the uncomfortable message as he attended the gathering of business and political classes at the World Economic Forum.
He also, however, suggested that the international organisation was now shifting away from the ideology that has dominated it for decades – and the ‘old Davos’ Keir Starmer was being left behind.
Mr Farage said his message to global elites was: ‘We will not be dictated to by you again.
‘We will not be lectured on climate change, we will not be lectured on the benefits of open borders, we will not be beholden to you. We will work constructively with you under a national interest framework.’
Earlier, he told a Bloomberg News event: ‘The globalist idea we should all do the same thing, have the same regulations, have the same targets – and the EU is the epicentre of all of this for the globalists – that’s now for the birds.
‘It’s a change of debate, there’s now something called national interest. And that’s the new politics that we’re seeing.’
Mr Farage was visiting Davos for the first time in the long lead-up to a general election which – if polls are to be believed – could propel him into Downing Street.
‘We will not be dictated to by you again’ ReformUK leader Nigel Farage told global elites at Davos, Switzerland (pictured)
He has been wooing business people and held a round table at Davos with top executives, who he said felt that the present Government was ‘utterly disconnected’.
Mr Farage revealed he wants to bring captains of industry into government and to create a beefed-up business ministry in a bid to boost growth.
He has previously been a critic of Davos and the globalisation ideology it represents, but now thinks it is changing.
He said he was surprised there is ‘genuine debate’ on artificial intelligence, crypto and energy – unlike previous years when it was dominated by climate change and diversity.
Mr Farage brushed off the idea the world could revert back to how it was before Donald Trump was elected US President.
He added: ‘I don’t think it’s just about Trump. I think Trump is an emblem of looking at things differently. I think you’re seeing it across Europe – things are changing.’
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‘Britain will not be dictated to by global elites again,’ Farage tells World Economic Forum
Europeans were reeling Sunday from President Trump’s announcement that eight countries will face a 10% tariff for opposing American control of Greenland.
The responses to Mr. Trump’s decision ranged from saying it risked “a dangerous downward spiral” to predicting that “China and Russia must be having a field day.”
Mr. Trump’s threat sets up a potentially dangerous test of U.S. partnerships in Europe. Several European countries have sent troops to Greenland in recent days, saying they are there for Arctic security training. Mr. Trump’s announcement came Saturday as thousands of Greenlanders were wrapping up a protest outside the U.S. Consulate in the capital, Nuuk.
The Republican president appeared to indicate that he was using the tariffs as leverage to force talks with Denmark and other European countries over the status of Greenland, a semiautonomous territory of NATO ally Denmark that he regards as critical to U.S. national security. Denmark, Norway, Sweden, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Finland would face the tariff.
The eight countries issued a joint statement Sunday: “As members of NATO, we are committed to strengthening Arctic security as a shared transatlantic interest. The pre-coordinated Danish exercise ‘Arctic Endurance,’ conducted with Allies, responds to this necessity. It poses no threat to anyone.”
The statement added: “We stand in full solidarity with the Kingdom of Denmark and the people of Greenland. Building on the process begun last week, we stand ready to engage in a dialogue based on the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that we stand firmly behind. Tariff threats undermine transatlantic relations and risk a dangerous downward spiral. We will continue to stand united and coordinated in our response. We are committed to upholding our sovereignty.”
Protesters wave Greenland flags during a demonstration at City Hall Square in Copenhagen on Jan. 17, 2026.
Kristian Tuxen Ladegaard Berg/NurPhoto via Getty Images
There are immediate questions about how the White House could try to implement the tariffs, because the EU is a single economic zone in terms of trading. Norway and the U.K. are not part of the 27-member EU, and it was not immediately clear if Mr. Trump’s tariffs would impact the entire bloc. EU envoys scheduled emergency talks for Sunday evening to determine a potential response.
It was unclear, too, how Mr. Trump could act under U.S. law, though he could cite emergency economic powers that are currently subject to a Supreme Court challenge.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said China and Russia will benefit from the divisions between the U.S. and Europe. She added in a post on social media: “If Greenland’s security is at risk, we can address this inside NATO. Tariffs risk making Europe and the United States poorer and undermine our shared prosperity.”
Mr. Trump’s move also was panned domestically.
Sen. Mark Kelly, a former U.S. Navy pilot and Democrat who represents Arizona, posted that Mr. Trump’s threatened tariffs on U.S. allies would make Americans “pay more to try to get territory we don’t need.”
“Troops from European countries are arriving in Greenland to defend the territory from us. Let that sink in,” he wrote on X. “The damage this President is doing to our reputation and our relationships is growing, making us less safe. If something doesn’t change we will be on our own with adversaries and enemies in every direction.”
A CBS News poll released Sunday found widespread opposition among Americans to buying Greenland or taking it by military force. Seventy percent said they would oppose using federal funds to buy the territory, and 86% said they would oppose seizing it militarily.
The tariffs announcement even drew blowback from Mr. Trump’s populist allies in Europe.
Italy’s right-wing Premier Giorgia Meloni, considered one of Mr. Trump’s closest allies on the continent, said Sunday she had spoken to him about the tariffs, which she described as “a mistake.”
The deployment to Greenland of small numbers of troops by some European countries was misunderstood by Washington, Meloni told reporters during a two-day visit to South Korea. She said the deployment was not a move against the U.S. but aimed to provide security against “other actors” that she didn’t name.
Jordan Bardella, president of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party in France and also a European Parliament lawmaker, posted that the EU should suspend last year’s tariff deal with the U.S., describing Mr. Trump’s threats as “commercial blackmail.”
Mr. Trump also achieved the rare feat of uniting Britain’s main political parties — including the hard-right Reform UK party — all of whom criticized the tariff threat.
“We don’t always agree with the U.S. government and in this case we certainly don’t. These tariffs will hurt us,” Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, a longtime champion and ally of Mr. Trump, wrote on social media. He stopped short of criticizing Mr. Trump’s designs on Greenland.
Meanwhile, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who leads the center-left Labour Party, said the tariffs announcement was “completely wrong” and his government would “be pursuing this directly with the U.S. administration.”
The foreign ministers of Denmark and Norway are also expected to address the crisis Sunday in Oslo during a news conference.
LONDON (AP) — After being elected in a landslide last year, Britain’s Labour Party government delivered a budget it billed as a one-off dose of tax hikes to fix the public finances, get debt down, ease the cost of living and spur economic growth.
A year on, inflation remains stubbornly high, government borrowing is up and the economy is turgid. The annual budget, due on Wednesday, is expected to bring more tax hikes in pursuit of the same elusive economic boom.
Rain Newton-Smith, head of business group the Confederation of British Industry, said Monday that “it feels less like we’re on the move, and more like we’re stuck in ‘Groundhog Day.’”
It’s not just businesses who are concerned. Alarmed by the government’s consistently dire poll ratings, some Labour lawmakers are mulling the once-unthinkable idea of ousting Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who led them to victory less than 18 months ago.
Luke Tryl, director of pollster More in Common, said voters “don’t understand why there has not been positive change.
“This could be a last-chance saloon moment for the government.”
Not much room for maneuver
The government says Treasury chief Rachel Reeves will make “tough but right decisions” in her budget to ease the cost of living, safeguard public services and keep debt under control.
She has limited room for maneuver. Britain’s economy, the world’s sixth-largest, has underperformed its long-run average since the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, and the center-left Labour government elected in July 2024 has struggled to deliver promised economic growth.
Like other Western economies, Britain’s public finances have been squeezed by the costs of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war and U.S. President Donald Trump’s global tariffs. The U.K. bears the extra burden of Brexit, which has knocked billions off the economy since the country left the European Union in 2020.
The government currently spends more than 100 billion pounds ($130 billion) a year servicing the U.K.’s debt, which stands at around 95% of annual national income.
Adding to pressure is the fact that Labour governments historically have had to work harder than Conservative administrations to convince businesses and the financial markets that they are economically sound.
Reeves is mindful of how financial markets can react when the government’s numbers don’t add up. The short-lived premiership of Liz Truss ended in October 2022 after her package of unfunded tax cuts roiled financial markets, drove down the value of the pound and sent borrowing costs soaring.
Luke Hickmore, an investment director at Aberdeen Investments, said the bond market is the “ultimate reality check” for budget policy.
“If investors lose faith, the cost of borrowing rises sharply, and political leaders have little choice but to change course,” he said.
Mixed pre-budget signals
The government has ruled out public spending cuts of the kind seen during 14 years of Conservative government, and its attempts to cut Britain’s huge welfare bill have been stymied by Labour lawmakers.
That leaves tax increases as the government’s main revenue-raising option.
“We’re very much not in the position that Rachel Reeves hoped to be in,” said Jill Rutter, a senior fellow at the Institute for Government think tank.
Instead of an economy that has “sparked into life,” enabling higher spending and lower taxes, Rutter said Reeves must decide whether “to fill a big fiscal black hole with tax increases or spending cuts.”
The budget comes after weeks of messy mixed messaging that saw Reeves signal she would raise income tax rates – breaking a key election promise – before hastily reversing course.
In a Nov. 4 speech, Reeves laid the groundwork for income tax hikes by arguing that the economy is sicker and the global outlook worse than the government knew when it took office.
After an outcry among Labour lawmakers, and a better-than-expected update on the public finances, the government signaled it preferred a smorgasbord of smaller revenue-raising measures such as a “mansion tax” on expensive homes and a pay-per-mile tax for electric vehicle drivers.
The government will try to ease the sting with sweeteners including an above-inflation boost to pension payments for millions of retirees and a freeze on train fares.
Critics say more taxes on employees and businesses, following tax hikes on businesses in last year’s budget, will push the economy further into a low-growth doom loop.
Patrick Diamond, professor in public policy at Queen Mary University of London, said satisfying both markets and voters is difficult.
“You can give markets confidence, but that probably means raising taxes, which is very unpopular with voters,” he said. “On the other hand, you can give voters confidence by trying to minimize the impact of tax rises, but that makes markets nervous because they feel that the government doesn’t have a clear fiscal plan.”
High stakes for Reeves and Starmer
The budget comes as Starmer is facing mounting concern from Labour lawmakers over his dire poll ratings. Opinion polls consistently put Labour well behind the hard-right Reform UK party led by Nigel Farage.
The prime minister’s office sparked a flurry of speculation earlier this month by preemptively telling news outlets that Starmer would fight any challenge to his leadership. What looked like an attempt to strengthen Starmer’s authority backfired. The reports set off jitters verging on panic among Labour lawmakers, who fear the party is heading for a big defeat at the next election.
That election does not have to be held until 2029, and the government continues to hope that its economic measures will spur higher growth and ease financial pressures.
But analysts say a misfiring budget could be another nail in the coffin of Starmer’s government.
“Both Starmer and Reeves are really unpopular,” Rutter said. “They may be hanging on for now, but I don’t think people will be giving you great odds that they’ll necessarily last the course of the Parliament,” which runs until the next election.
“It’s our identity,” Hartle-Ryton explained. “Our identity is being slowly eroded as a British culture, and while we want to be welcoming and all the rest of it, we’ve got our own culture, and that’s slowly going. So the flag is there to say, Hey, we’re still here. You know, don’t forget about us.”
Farage was due to address the conference at around 4 P.M., but he decided to make his speech earlier, because of a crisis in the government. At around noon, the news broke that Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister and the deputy leader of the Labour Party, had resigned from Starmer’s Cabinet.
One of the eerier aspects of Reform’s current momentum is how ably it is being assisted by those who are supposed to be preventing it. Rayner had been snared in a media scandal, because she didn’t pay enough in taxes when buying an apartment earlier this year. In her defense, it was a complicated transaction. Rayner, who has a disabled son, divorced her partner two years ago and left a share of her former house in a trust, which had tax implications for her next property purchase. According to Laurie Magnus, the government’s adviser on ministerial standards, her error was not having sought advice from a tax specialist. (Plus, Rayner was the Housing Minister, so it wasn’t a good look.) A more intuitive, or bold, Prime Minister than Starmer might have protected Rayner, or moved her to another post. She was the government’s only truly charismatic working-class politician.
At the conference, Farage appeared onstage in a blaze of pyrotechnics and gladiatorial chords. For years, his default expression for the cameras was a catlike, impish grin. But in recent months he has slowed his gait and stiffened his back, in preparation for high office. “We are all ships rising on a turquoise tide,” he told the hall, “headed ever closer toward winning the next general election.”
The Rayner affair—just another mainstream politician, dodging their taxes—wrote Farage’s attack lines for him. “It screams to entitlement,” he said. “It screams to a government that, despite all the promises that this would be a new, different kind of politics, is as bad, if not worse, than the one that went before.” Farage and his allies like to refer to Labour and the Conservatives as a single “uniparty,” whose time has passed.
One of Farage’s gifts as a politician is knowing what he does not have to say. While other right-wing populists, in Europe and elsewhere, get caught up in talk of race, or religion, or replacement theory, Farage’s language is always careful, always clubbable. Unlike Trump, he doesn’t like to shock or make himself out to be exceptional. He is an everyman, who remembers when it was fine to have a few drinks with lunch. “It’s as if our leaders have forgotten who we were,” he said in Birmingham, vaguely, before praising Operation Raise the Colours as a patriotic protest against a rotten establishment. “Let’s make Britain great again. I’ve heard that phrase somewhere else before,” he quipped. “But I agree with it.”
His deputies and outriders are not quite so deft. A few hours later, in the same hall, I watched Zia Yusuf, Reform’s head of DOGE (yes, DOGE), give a speech that was martial and mean. Yusuf, a former banker at Goldman Sachs, describes himself as a British Muslim patriot. He reiterated Reform’s plans for mass deportations, the sidelining of judges by the executive, and the use of military aircraft to clear the country of “illegal migrants.” In a century’s time, Yusuf promised, children would be taught the names of the Prime Ministers who had allowed Britain’s borders to be overrun. “They will learn of a political class that betrayed its own people,” Yusuf said. “They will learn of a Britain that was besieged.”
On my way out, I bumped into Michael Gove, a former Conservative Cabinet minister who is now the editor of The Spectator, Britain’s most influential right-wing magazine. Gove was a leading Brexiteer and one of the more effective Tory politicians during the Party’s long spell in power. When we spoke on the phone a few days later, Gove acknowledged that the rise of Reform was all that anyone was talking about. “But there’s a ‘but,’ ” he said. Aside from Farage, Gove observed that the Party retained an amateur feel. “And the amateurism leads to a fear that the perimeter between the populist-and-radical-right movement and something more worrying is not properly policed,” he said. The day after Farage and Yusuf spoke, Reform delegates were addressed by Aseem Malhotra, a British cardiologist and vaccine skeptic, who shared a claim that COVID vaccines might be responsible for recent cancer cases in the British Royal Family.
Gove is three years younger than Farage, and, like him, part of the generation of British conservatives who grew up enthralled by Margaret Thatcher, and who subsequently led the national revolt against the European Union. (“I think the people of this country have had enough of experts,” Gove said, memorably, during the Brexit campaign.) Every revolution devours its children.
Farage has been waiting for this moment for a long time. I remember chatting to him while he smoked a cigarette after a Brexit Party rally in the West Midlands, in the spring of 2019. It was almost three years after Britain had voted to leave the E.U., but the country’s political class was unable to agree on the right terms for leaving the bloc. “This is not even about Brexit,” Farage said, referring to the anger and the energy of the supporters he had just addressed. “This is now a genuine movement that wants to radically change the entire system in the U.K.”
For a few years, Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party was able to satisfy the cravings of the populist right. But those days are gone. It was the collapse of the Tories at last year’s election that has created the space for Farage’s march to power. Between 2019 and 2024, the Conservatives lost seven million voters, equivalent to more than twenty per cent of the vote. Labour’s numbers stood still. Starmer’s hundred-and-fifty-six-seat majority in the House of Commons is unsteady, because it rests on only thirty-four per cent of the popular vote. “This isn’t Tony Blair in 1997. There is no love for Starmer or his government,” Robert Ford, a professor of political science at the University of Manchester, said. Everyone has their own analogy to describe Labour’s illusory power. “I call it a Jenga tower,” Ford said. “It’s very tall, but it’s got extremely weak foundations.”
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage waves after being elected to become MP for Clacton at the Clacton count centre in Clacton-on-Sea, eastern England, early on July 5, 2024.
Henry Nicholls | Afp | Getty Images
LONDON — Populist lawmaker Nigel Farage on Friday won his first-ever seat in the U.K.’s parliament as he looks to shake up the country’s politics with his right-wing Reform UK party.
The win by the Brexit proponent follows seven failed attempts to become a member of the British parliament, although he has served as a (pro-Brexit) member of the European Parliament.
“My plan is to build a mass national movement over the course of the next few years and hopefully be big enough to challenge the general election properly in 2029,” Farage said after the result was announced.
The result comes amid a surprisingly strong election performance by Reform UK, which has a hardline stance on immigration. Exit polls indicate that the party could secure up to 13 parliamentary seats — quite the feat given that it failed to win any in the 2019 vote — although the final result may fall short of this.
It follows a U-turn by Farage who had previously declared he would not stand as an MP in this election, choosing instead to focus on helping U.S. former President Donald Trump’s campaign.
However, just last month Farage announced a surprise return to Reform UK and agreed to become its leader. The news gave the party a huge bump in popularity, with polls showing it was closing in on the ruling Conservatives.
Euroskeptic Farage is best known for campaigning — successfully — for the U.K. to leave the EU. He led the UK Independence Party (UKIP) before forming the Brexit Party which eventually turned into Reform.
By 3:56 a.m. local time on Friday, Reform had won three seats, although 402 constituencies were yet to report. The party had also performed well in terms of vote share, securing 15.9% of the vote behind the Conservatives with 22% and Labour at 37.7%.
According to Carsten Nickel, managing director at U.S. corporate advisory firm Teneo, this means Farage has “really helped Labour,” which is expected to win a huge landslide victory in the election.
“He has spit the Conservative vote, so the massive losses that we see on the Conservative side, that, to a large degree, is due to Nigel Farage stepping on the scene with his Reform party.”
Earlier in the evening, Farage posted a video posted on X titled: “The revolt against the establishment is underway.”
“We’re going to win seats, many, many seats,” he said. “Mainstream media are in denial, just as much as our political parties.”
London — British voters will head to the polls Thursday to vote in the country’s first general election since 2019. Here’s what to know.
Who is up for election in the U.K.?
British voters will not be directly electing a new leader on Thursday. Under the United Kingdom’s parliamentary system, voters choose their local representatives for the lower house of Parliament, the House of Commons.
On Thursday, there are 650 parliamentary seats up for grabs, each of which will be occupied by one Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons. For any single party to win an outright majority in the Commons, it would need to win at least 326 seats — over half of those available. Any party that does that gets to form the next government, with its leader becoming the prime minister. [Yes, King Charles III is Britain’s formal head of state. You can read here about what limited power that actually conveys.]
Parliament was formally dissolved on May 30 when current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called the election, as is procedure, but prior to that, Sunak’s long-ruling Conservative Party held an outright majority of 345 seats, giving it significant power to set the policy agenda.
Labour Party leader Keir Starmer speaks during a live TV debate with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, seen in the background, in Nottingham, England, on June 26, 2024, in the build-up to the U.K. general election.
PHIL NOBLE / POOL / AFP / Getty
The U.K. has what is called a first-past-the-post system, which means voters receive a ballot paper with a list of candidates from different parties and select only one of their choice. The candidate from each constituency with the most votes wins the seat — with no specific threshold required. So if, for instance, there are six candidates in a particular race, they will all be from different parties, and even if the candidate with the most votes only wins 25% of the total, they still win the seat.
If a voter believes their favorite candidate has a low chance of winning, they can chose to vote tactically and put their X next to another candidate’s name — effectively a second choice — if they feel that candidate has a better chance of winning. This tactic is generally seen as a way for a voter to help block a candidate deemed highly unfavorable, but who stands a reasonable chance of winning, from gaining the seat in a race.
In practice, this system means that a political party could win a healthy share of votes on a national level but not win a proportional share of the seats. Smaller political parties in the U.K. have long argued that the first-past-the-post electoral system has thus helped to cement the power of Britain’s two biggest parties — the incumbent right-leaning Conservative Party, often called the Tories, and their main rivals, the more left-leaning Labour Party.
What is the U.K. election timeline?
Voting begins in the U.K. general election on Thursday morning, and most constituency results are expected by early Friday morning, although this may take longer in some more rural parts of the country — particularly if the vote tally is close or subject to a recount.
There is usually an early indicator of the overall results of a U.K. general election as a joint exit poll is released by British broadcasters Sky News, ITV and CBS News’ partner network BBC News immediately after the polls close.
The exit poll generally provides an accurate representation of the final results and can be expected by about 10 p.m. on Thursday local time (5 p.m. Eastern).
U.K. election predictions and polling data
Polls and political analysts have predicted for many weeks that Labour will sweep to a landslide majority in Parliament. If the latest polling data proves accurate, Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s 18-month tenure will end and Britons will wake up Friday morning to a new party in charge of the country for the first time in 14 years.
Those 14 years of Conservative rule have been marked by political and economic turmoil, with a rotating cast of five Conservative prime ministers occupying 10 Downing Street in the last eight years alone.
The latest polling by the major independent data analysis group YouGov shows Labour in the lead by a 17-point margin, with 37% of those polled saying they intend to vote for Labour versus 20% of the public who say they will cast their votes for the Conservatives.
Labour candidates are projected to win as many as 425 seats in the House of Commons, which would be a massive 223 seat gain for the party. The Conservatives are projected to hold onto just 108 seats, which would be a seismic loss of 257 seats.
Who is Keir Starmer, the likely next prime minister?
Keir Starmer was elected by party members to lead Labour in 2020, right after the party suffered its worst general election defeat in 85 years. He immediately declared it his mission to make the party “electable” again.
Four years later Starmer, 61, is poised to take Britain’s top job.
Labour Leader Sir Keir Starmer speaks to media on the final day of campaigning before Britain’s national general election, July 3, 2024, in Whitland, Wales.
Matthew Horwood/Getty
He’s faced frequent criticism for a perceived lack of charisma, but his efforts to drag Labour back toward the center of British politics to give it broader voter appeal seems to have paid off.
Throughout his leadership of the party, Starmer has methodically frozen out elements of Labour’s far-left, socialist-leaning wing, which ran the party under previous leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Starmer’s deliberate shift from socialism to centrism has been criticized by pundits and voters who hew to the left, and Labour may lose some votes to smaller parties such as the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party but, given the polling, it seems to have been a winning strategy overall.
Is Britain bucking the trend of Europe’s shift to the right?
A shift to a center-left Labour government in Britain would buck the trend in Europe, as far-right parties have been on the rise across the continent in recent years.
In the first round of voting in France’s parliamentary elections on Sunday, Marine Le Pen’s far-right, anti-immigration National Rally Party moved within reach of becoming the largest political party in France. The party took a third of the votes in a first round that drew a historically high turnout.
Last month’s European parliamentary elections also saw a record number of far-right legislators win seats, with right wing candidates across Europe’s three main economies — Italy, France and Germany — making gains by campaigning on opposition to issues including immigration, support for Ukraine and green environmental policies.
While a Labour victory would be a move against those political winds on the continent, Britain has also seen a surge in support for far-right candidates in this election cycle.
After decades languishing on the far-right fringe of British politics, unable to win a seat in Parliament despite eight previous attempts, Farage looks set this year to finally claim the seat for his local constituency of Clacton, in southeast England.
A photo posted by British politician Nigel Farage on Nov. 12, 2016 shows him standing with Donald Trump at Trump Tower in Manhattan after a private meeting with the then-U.S. president-elect.
Nigel Farage/Twitter
Farage’s far-right Reform Party is only projected to pick up a total of about five seats in Parliament, including Farage’s own, but YouGov projects overall support for Reform nationally at about 15% of the electorate, and from its current position with zero seats in the House of Commons, it seems the party is heading for a significant increase in popularity.
Political analysts say Reform’s anti-immigrant messaging is largely eating into the Conservative Party’s vote share.
So while Farage won’t be taking power anytime soon, it looks like he is about to step back into the limelight of British politics and, with a sizable share of public support, he may find himself wielding an outsized influence on the politics of Britain’s Conservative Party as it tries to rebuild itself in the wake of what could be a devastating election.
CBS News’ Frank Andrews contributed to this report.
The final of I’m A Celebrity 2023 saw the crowning of a new King of the Jungle tonight (December 10).
After a closely-fought battle between the remaining three men – Sam Thompson, Tony Bellew and Nigel Farage – only one could emerge victorious.
And, after Nigel was eliminated in third place, it was time for Sam and Tony to go head-to-head in the final battle.
Tony Bellew had an adorable bromance with fellow finalist Sam Thompson (Credit: ITV)
‘And the winner of I’m A Celebrity 2023 is…’
With the nation waiting with baited breath, hosts Ant and Dec invited the boys into the studio for a chat. This came before they announced the new King of the Jungle.
It’s like a dream that I don’t want you to wake me up from.
Sam’s jungle highlights were up first, with the Made In Chelsea star telling the hosts: “It’s like a dream that I don’t want you to wake me up from. I just feel like the luckiest person in the world to have been able to do this.”
He then added: “Even the moments where you’re feeling a little bit low you’re like, I’m feeling low in the jungle!”
Ant then joked that Sam had made no secret of loving the show, and the hosts: “Just how good was it meeting us?” Ant asked. “It was so good!” Sam enthused!”
Asked what it would mean to be crowned King of the Jungle, Sam admitted: “I’m going to be honest with you, I just wanted to make Cyclone!”
Tony names Sam King of the Jungle
Tony’s chat was up next. He told the boys: “It wasn’t easy. But I definitely think I was put here to be around Sam and get to know him.”
Ant then joked about Tony’s “backchat” during the trials. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” he laughed.
Asked what it would mean to be named King, Tony admitted: “I predicted this 10 days ago. This is your King of the Jungle,” he said, pointing at Sam.
Ant and Dec then crowned the winner of I’m A Celebrity 2023. And, as predicted, it was a win for the lovely Sam.
Sam Thompson was bookies’ favourite going into the final (Credit: ITV)
Viewers react as I’m A Celebrity final crowns winner
Viewers quickly took to social media to share their views about the newest member of TV royalty.
Speaking about Sam’s win, one thrilled fan said: “Get in Sam. Well deserved winner. Deserves it so much.” Another then added: “One of the best-ever winners, a genuinely kind hearted person who never stops smiling, flying the flag for ADHD.”
A third then commented: “Has there ever been a more worthy winner than Sam.” Another then said: “Yesss Sam, absolutely over the moon for him man what a guyyyy.”
“You’ve just made a boy’s dream come true,” Sam told Ant and Dec before Josie presented his jungle crown.
Nella Rose finally reunited with her family after leaving the I’m A Celeb jungle and she’s reassured fans that she’s all good.
The YouTuber, 26, had several clashes with her campmates including with Fred Sirieix and Nigel Farage.
Her argument with Fred saw her take offence due to a comment he made about being old enough to be her dad. While this became known as “dad-gate” on social media, Nella told her fans not to worry about her following the backlash she received.
Nella Rose agreed to have an interview with This Morning hours after Fred Sirieix was voted out (Credit: ITV)
I’m A Celeb star Nella thanks fans
Sharing a video with two members of her family on Instagram, Nella said: “I’m out, I’m in Australia. I’m with my family. Just want to say thank you to everyone who voted for me.
“Obviously, [bleep] has gone on on social media. But I just wanna say that I enjoyed my time in there. I faced my fears. Learnt a lot about myself. [Bleep] went down but it is what it is. I’m happy. You don’t need to worry about me. I’m enjoying my time here in Australia and I’ll see you soon,” she said.
This comes after Nella pushed back her post-show interviews on Tuesday (December 5) and pulled out of a scheduled remote appearance on Lorraine because she needed time to “process” her experiences in the jungle. However, she later appeared via remote link on This Morning moments before the latest evictee Fred Sirieix was due to be interviewed.
‘A big fat misunderstanding’
During her This Morning chat, the YouTuber told Emma Willis and Rylan Clark that her row with Fred was all just a “big fat misunderstanding”.
“We’ve gone over it, everything is cool, everything is blessed. I don’t know why everyone’s still crying about it. In the jungle, everything is intensified. That subject [parents] is very triggering for me because its a fresh wound but everything in the jungle is intense,” she added.
Fred admitted he was surprised at the hate Nella received (Credit: YouTube)
During her time in the jungle, Nella was voted camp leader where she fired Fred from being camp chef – instead putting him on pot washing duties. At the time she said it was his “karma” for making her “life hell”.
She concluded: “In the jungle the little bit of drama that happens is your EastEnders. I stirred the pot to make things fun, it’s just who I am.”
Fred Sirieix, meanwhile, said he was “surprised” at the hate Nella received and had nothing but kind words for his campmate: “It was a misunderstanding, the jungle is a pressure cooker. I was very surprised by the hate Nella received.
“It’s totally wrong and unfair and it’s not in my name. Nella is a lovely girl. Things happen, you move on and I don’t know what all the fuss is about,” he said.
I’m A Celebrity continues tonight (Thursday, December 7) at 9 pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
After reportedly being in a relationship for six years, I’m A Celebrity campmate Nigel Farage‘s secret girlfriend has been tipped to confirm their relationship by meeting him as he exits the jungle.
Nigel, 59, has been linked with a French politician Laure Ferrari, 44, but hasn’t confirmed their relationship. However, now reports in The Sun suggest that Laure is part of the family and friends group that will head out to Australia.
Nigel Farage will meet his girlfriend when he leaves the jungle (Credit: ITVX)
I’m A Celebrity news: Nigel set for bridge reunion
“Nigel and Laure have been linked for years. Ever since she first moved into his house in Chelsea and was seen taking the bins out,” a source claimed to the tabloid.
They added that Nigel has never confirmed his relationship. This is because he’s said to be an “incredibly private person” and guarded about his family life.
The source went on: “But there was a feeling if there was ever a time to open that door, it was now. It felt like a huge step for Matt Hancock to invite his controversial girlfriend Gina Coladangelo out to Oz last year. But the move proved to be a PR masterclass. It somewhat helped towards his redemption after their lockdown-busting affair.”
It’s claimed Laure and Nigel have been dating for six years (Credit: YouTube)
He appointed her as a parliamentary assistant
The politician met Laure back in 2007 in Strasbourg. He then appointed her as his parliamentary assistant. From there she was made PR director of Farage’s parliamentary group Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy.
At the time, the duo were seen having a drink at a pub. Nigel told the Mail on Sunday she was someone he had worked with and “known for a long time”.
“It’s a working relationship. You can inflate it however you want to,” he said at the time.
Later on, it was claimed that Nigel and his German wife Kristen had been “living separate lives” for years.
Disgusted I’m A Celebrity fans complained the Drink Your Sorrows challenge was “grotesque” – but many were also thoroughly impressed by Tony Bellew and Nigel Farage’s drinking efforts.
Following their group loss, the Away team returned to The Scarena for the vile trial that included jungle tipples such as blended sheep brains, blended bulls’ penises, and a fermented duck egg.
Tony and Nigel were tasked with knocking back 12 pints to gain 12 stars to feed everyone in camp.
I’m A Celebrity stars Tony Bellew and Nigel Farage took it in turns to pick a shield from the IAC sporting hall of fame before flipping it over to reveal their gruesome drink (Credit: ITV)
I’m A Celebrity latest news
As it turns out, both Tony and Nigel were rather adept at downing the retch-inducing concoctions, even if they did appear to be broken men at points.
Tony – despite vomiting twice – retained his humour, cracking up Ant and Dec with his quips.
At one point he shrugged to his fellow team mates watching on: “Least I’ve eaten, guys.”
The former boxer reflected after the trial was successfully completed: “My stomach is bulging with some very different things.”
But some appalled viewers made it clear on social media that they may have enjoyed watching even less than Tony and Nigel did supping.
‘We won’t have what they’re having’ (Credit: ITV)
I’m A Celebrity viewer reactions to Nigel Farage and Tony Bellew
One Twitter user made use of two queasy emojis as they wrote: “This is becoming difficult to watch. OMG Tony #ImACeleb.”
Another dismissed the segment: “Nah I actually can’t watch this trial #ImACeleb.”
To which someone else responded: “Fully agree.”
It’s about time they stop these stupid tasks.
“This is so grotesque ffs,” complained another viewer. They added: “It’s about time they stop these stupid tasks. Give them something relatively human. I can’t even watch them do it. #ImACeleb.”
And yet another user wrote: “The drinking trials I think are the worst ones to watch. I feel ill #ImACeleb.”
Ant and Dec had a laugh, though (Credit: ITV)
‘Nigel Farage never even flinched’
But many others on social media were full of admiration for how Tony and Nigel “smashed” the task.
“Tony is doing so well, as it’s clearly visible how he is struggling, gagging and red eyed, but he is determined. He’s been hilarious to watch, but what power of mind he has #ImACeleb,” one person praised him.
“Tony and Nigel killed this. Machines #ImACeleb,” said another.
And a third declared: “#ImACeleb Nigel and Tony smashed that.”
Meanwhile, some viewers were surprised at Nigel’s guts of steel.
“Nigel Farage never even flinched at the disgusting foods or drinks huh #ImACeleb,” one tweeted.
“#ImACeleb Nigel is hardcore,” claimed another.
A third said: “The fact that Nigel is downing every drink like it is water after watching Tony gag and vomit every time is absolutely amazing. Fair play to him #ImACeleb #ImACelebrity.”
And someone else admitted reluctantly: “Hate seeing how Nigel is really good at doing all these trials #ImACelebrity #ImACeleb.”
Marmite I’m A Celebrity contestant Nigel Farage is causing quite the stir in the jungle. But then it’s nothing new to the Brexit-supporting former UKIP boss.
The 59-year-old politician entered the I’m A Celebrity jungle a week ago – one year after Matt Hancock made his appearance last year.
Nigel Farage is Down Under making his mark on I’m A Celebrity (Credit: Splash News)
Expenses scandal and English speakers
Over the years Nigel has been in the news a lot because of his controversies. Back in 2019, the ex-politician claimed he took £2m of taxpayers’ money in expenses and allowances. Even though he was earning a £64,000-a-year salary.
But that’s not all. He has also admitted he felt quite “uncomfortable” hearing people who speak different languages on London’s public transport. He told the Evening Standard at the time: “I got the train the other night, it was rush hour, from Charing Cross. We stopped at London Bridge, New Cross and Hither Green.
“It wasn’t until after we got past Grove Park that I could actually hear English being audibly spoken in the carriage. Does that make me feel slightly awkward? I wonder what’s really going on. And I’m sure that’s a view that will be reflected by three-quarters of the population, perhaps even more.”
Nigel Farage backed Brexit
But he said that it was “mismanaged” and suggested there had been a negative economic impact on the country. At the time he said: “Brexit has failed. We’ve not delivered on Brexit and the Tories have let us down very, very badly.”
Speaking on the BBC’s Newsnight, Nigel admitted: “What Brexit has proved, I’m afraid, is that our politicians are about as useless as the commissioners in Brussels. We’ve mismanaged this totally.”
Nigel Farage is known for his many controversies (Credit: ITV)
I’m A Celebrity campmates stunned as Nigel Farage tells of plane crash
Back in 2010, Nigel was injured in a plane crash after his two-seater aircraft towed a vote UKIP banner in Northamptonshire. According to the Guardian, the pilot was more injured than the politician. A source confirmed “Nigel was unconscious” but he could talk.
Later on, he admitted to Piers Morgan that he hadn’t looked at those pictures as it was a “not a good memory”. “I haven’t looked at those pictures for two or three years – I don’t want to look at them. It’s not a great memory.” He also told his campmates about the ordeal, revealing that he’d broken what sounded like almost every bone in his body!
During a segment on GB News, he took off his suit jacket and swung it around his head. The performance was luckily cut off before Farage could remove any more layers.
He said Donald Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize
Nigel once revealed that he would support Donald Trump to receive the Nobel Peace Prize after the US-North Korea talks collapsed back in 2018.
“A lot of people find it difficult not to try and discredit everything Trump does. But I remember the hysteria over awarding the prize to Obama for things he might do,” he told The Independent.
I’m A Celebrity stars Nigel Farage and Nella Rose argued during a debate about politics on tonight’s show.
The debate – which took place at the hot tub – saw the YouTube star call out the former politician on his politics.
Nella argued with Nigel (Credit: ITV)
I’m A Celebrity: Nigel Farage and Nella Rose clash
Things got heated – and not in a good way – at the hot tub during tonight’s edition of I’m A Celebrity.
Discussing Nigel with Danielle Harold, Nella described him as a “cool guy”. However, she confessed that it was difficult to forget some of the things he’s said outside the jungle.
Lo and behold, Nigel turned up – and Nella decided to call him out on his past comments.
“Let’s get everything out in the open. All the tea is coming out now… apparently, you’re anti-immigrants?” Nella said. “Who told you that?” Nigel asked. “The internet,” Nella replied.
She then asked: “OK, but then why don’t black people like you?” However, Nigel was quick to reply, saying: “You’d be amazed, they do.”
It’s safe to say that Nella didn’t believe her campmate. “So everyone hates you for no reason? Not that everyone hates you, that was so bad. Sorry,” she said.
The former MP argued his side (Credit: ITV)
Nigel and Nella have a debate
Nigel then went on to speak about how the population of the UK has increased by 10 million since 2000.
“Good thing, right?” Nella asked. “Good thing, unless you want a GP appointment…,” Nigel replied.
This riled Nella up. “I’m stopping you getting a GP appointment? You’re not getting an appointment because the NHS is lacking funding. I bet you anything if every single immigrant or from immigrant descent was to leave the UK, all your doctors, go… most of your doctors are Asian right? Most of your nurses are African women, right?
“You want us gone, that’s all I understood,” she then added. “Stop it. Stop, it that’s not… Nella, you’re not listening to a single word I’m saying. You’re not,” Nigel then snapped.
“It’s ok for us to disagree on this,” Nella replied. “We can agree to disagree if you listen.”
Viewers had their say (Credit: ITV)
Fans react
Fans of the show took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the clash.
“That convo between Nella and Nigel was sooo funny but actually so important so I’m glad they aired that in live tv,” one fan commented.
“Nella hates Fred, picked a fight with Nigel, I can’t wait for when Tony Bellew goes into the jungle,” another joked.
“Loved that debate between Nella and Nigel, it was very entertaining,” a third said.
“Nella’s mini redemption arc tonight, you love to see it,” another wrote.
THE HAGUE — One line in Geert Wilders’ inflammatory pitch to Dutch voters will haunt Brussels more than any other: a referendum on leaving the EU.
Seven years after the British voted for Brexit, a so-called Nexit ballot was a core plank of the far-right leader’s ultimately successful offer in the Netherlands.
And while Wilders softened his anti-Islam rhetoric in recent weeks, there are no signs he wants to water down his Euroskepticism after his shock election victory.
Even if Dutch voters are not persuaded to follow the Brits out of the EU — polling suggests it’s unlikely — there’s every indication that a Wilders-led government in The Hague will still be a nightmare for Brussels.
A seat for Wilders around the EU summit table would transform the dynamic, alongside other far-right and nationalist leaders already in post. Suddenly, policies ranging from climate action, to EU reform and weapons for Ukraine will be up for debate, and even reversal.
Since the exit polls were announced, potential center-right partners have not ruled out forming a coalition with Wilders, who emerged as the clear winner. That’s despite the fact that for the past 10 years, he’s been kept out by centrists.
For his part, the 60-year-old veteran appears to be dead serious about taking power himself this time.
Ever since Mark Rutte’s replacement as VVD leader, Dilan Yeşilgöz, indicated early in the campaign that she could potentially enter coalition talks with Wilders, the far-right leader has worked hard to look more reasonable. He diluted some of his most strident positions, particularly on Islam — such as banning mosques — saying there are bigger priorities to fix.
On Wednesday night, with the results coming in, Wilders was more explicit: “I understand very well that parties do not want to be in a government with a party that wants unconstitutional measures,” he said. “We are not going to talk about mosques, Qurans and Islamic schools.”
Even if Wilders is willing to drop his demand for an EU referendum in exchange for power, his victory will still send a shudder through the EU institutions.
And if centrist parties club together to keep Wilders out — again — there may be a price to pay with angry Dutch voters later on.
Brexit cheerleader Nigel Farage showed in the U.K. that you don’t need to be in power to be powerfully influential.
Winds of change
Migration was a dominant issue in the Dutch election. For EU politicians, it remains a pressing concern. As migrant numbers continue to rise, so too has support for far-right parties in many countries in Europe. In Italy last year, Giorgia Meloni won power for her Brothers of Italy. In France, Marine Le Pen’s National Rally remains a potent force, in second place in the polls. In Germany, the Alternative for Germany has also surged to second place in recent months.
In his victory speech, Wilders vowed to tackle what he called the “asylum tsunami” hitting the Netherlands.
“The main reasons voters have supported Wilders in these elections is his anti-immigration agenda, followed by his stances on the cost of living crisis and his health care position,” said Sarah de Lange, politics professor at the University of Amsterdam. Mainstream parties “legitimized Wilders” by making immigration a key issue, she said. “Voters might have thought that if that is the issue at stake, why not vote for the original rather than the copy?”
For the left, the bright spot in the Netherlands was a strong showing for a well-organized alliance between Labor and the Greens. Frans Timmermans, the former European Commission vice president, galvanized support behind him. But even that joint ticket could not get close to beating Wilders’ tally.
Next June, the 27 countries of the EU hold an election for the European Parliament.
On the same day voters choose their MEPs, Belgium is holding a general election. Far-right Flemish independence leader Tom Van Grieken, who is also eyeing up a major breakthrough, offered his congratulations to Wilders: “Parties like ours are on their way in the whole of Europe,” he said.
Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was celebrating, too: “The winds of change are here!”
Pieter Haeck reported from Amsterdam and Tim Ross reported from London.
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Tim Ross, Pieter Haeck, Eline Schaart and Jakob Hanke Vela
The line-up for I’m A Celebrity 2023 has been been revealed by ITV – and controversial Nigel Farage will indeed be featuring this year.
As well as the Marmite former politician, other members of the I’m A Celebrity line-up include Britney Spears’ sibling Jamie-Lynn Spears, This Morning anchor Josie Gibson and TV foodie Fred Sirieix.
Bookies have been quick to act, offering odds on each contestants’ chances of winning.
Fred Sirieix has been confirmed (Credit: ITV)
Nigel Farage confirmed as I’m A Celebrity line-up revealed
Amid the line-up is 59-year-old Brexiteer and former politician Nigel Farage. An insider claimed to The Sun ahead of the official announcement: “Nigel has been at the top of the wish-list for I’m A Celeb bosses for years.
“They’ve offered him a huge fee as they know he’ll drive up viewing figures. Ant and Dec will love this signing,” they continued.
Nigel’s the ultimate Marmite character and won’t hold back in camp discussions
“Nigel’s the ultimate Marmite character and won’t hold back in camp discussions. It’s a real coup. The casting team has nailed it. It’s shaping up to be a brilliant series,” the tabloid’s insider added.
Introducing the class of 2023 (Credit: ITV)
‘Who knew they needed another anus in the jungle?’
After hearing the news about who’s taking part, fans of the show then took to social media to share their thoughts. Many found the prospect of Nigel in the jungle too much to stomach.
“I do find it icky that ITV gives a platform to Nigel Farage on I’m a Celebrity. Okay, so they may be setting him up for a fall. But he gets a fee, it boosts his profile and it’s an endorsement of him as a public figure. Whole thing is problematic,” said one viewer.
“Who knew they needed another anus in Australia?” asked another.
“Hope Nigel Farage and Jamie-Lynn Spears get the boot from I’m A Celebrity first. Both vile people who don’t deserve the platform the show gives!” exclaimed a third.
“For the first time, I’m not going to watch I’m A Celebrity. I have to hit the mute button whenever Nigel Farage appears on TV and I can’t really be [bleep]ed with doing that multiple times every night until he gets evicted. See you next year,” a fourth stated.
However, according to AceOdds, Farage has an 18/1 chance of winning. Worth a punt?
Nigel is going in! (Credit: ITV)
Who else is appearing?
Joining Nigel around the I’m a Celebrity campfire will be journalist Grace Dent, Hollyoaks star Nick Pickard, Made In Chelsea’s Sam Thompson and social media queen Nella Rose.
EastEnders star Danielle Harold, who played tragic Lola Pearce on the soap, is also set to appear.
William Hill thinks that it’ll either be Josie or Sam who are crowned the winners. Odds on either of them winning are currently at 3/1. They’re followed by Fred with 6/1 and Lola star Danielle and boy bander Marvin, both with odds of 7/1.
“Unlike the grub they’ll be sinking their teeth into, this year’s I’m A Celebrity line-up is shaping up to be one of the tastiest in recent memory, with Made in Chelsea star Sam Thompson our early market favourite to win the Jungle Crown in December,” a rep said.
“Thompson is 3/1 to triumph in the 23rd edition of the ITV show alongside Josie Gibson, placing them ahead of Fred Sirieix (6/1) in the outright winner market. ITV have certainly pulled no punches with their selection for this winter’s series. The controversial Nigel Farage is priced at 14/1 to uncharacteristically receive support on foreign soil.”
Will you be watching in spite – or because – of Nigel Farage?
DALLAS — Britain might have fallen out of love with Boris Johnson. But Ukraine’s allies in the U.S. reckon the charismatic ex-prime minister is still the perfect messenger to shore up support for the war in wavering Republican heartlands.
Pro-Ukraine think tankers on Monday brought Johnson to a private lunch in Dallas, Texas, to meet two dozen of the state’s leading conservative figures, including politicians, donors and captains of industry.
The message Johnson was there to deliver was simple: America must stay the course in Ukraine.
“I just urge you all to stick with it,” Johnson told those seated in the grand, wood-panelled dining room in downtown Dallas, where POLITICO was also in attendance. “It will pay off massively in the long run.”
The former U.K. prime minister flew to Texas as a growing number of conservative lawmakers, candidates and activists have started to question the size of the U.S. support package for Ukraine as it attempts to fight back against the invasion launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin in February 2022.
Political tensions over the war are expected to rise further as the 2024 U.S. election draws nearer.
The two most high-profile potential candidates for the Republican nomination — former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis — have both voiced skepticism about America’s unwavering support for Ukraine. Trump has pledged to cut a “deal” to “end that war in one day,” while DeSantis dismissed it as a “territorial dispute” which does not involve America’s “vital national interests — though later partially backtracked.
But Johnson told Texan Republicans on Monday: “You are backing the right horse. Ukraine is going to win. They are going to defeat Putin.”
The lunch was not the first time Johnson has lobbied U.S. lawmakers on Ukraine’s behalf. He visited Washington in January, where he publicly urged the U.S. administration to give Ukraine fighter jets, and privately met Republican lawmakers on the same trip.
Following that visit, the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) — a bipartisan, Ukraine-supporting think tank based in Washington — decided to enlist Johnson’s support for a broader mission.
The group wanted him to take his energetic, pro-conservative case for the war out of metropolitan D.C. and deep into Republican territory.
“We wanted to make that case outside of Washington — where we all live in a bubble — and to really take it to the heartland, to places like Texas, to get more support for Ukraine, and make the case to people who are skeptical about that support,” said Alina Polyakova, CEPA’s chief executive.
“In many ways Dallas and Texas are the center of the Republican debate,” she added.
Texas will be a key battleground in the 2024 Republican presidential primary. Trump held his first presidential rally in the Lone Star State in March, while DeSantis and former Governor of South Carolina Nikki Haley have also been courting votes in Texas.
Johnson is “very much seen as the architect of the Western policy” on Ukraine, Polyakova said, adding that “because Trump had nice things to say about him when he was the president,” it also gives Johnson “a lot of credibility as well with the base of the Republican Party.”
As well as the private lunch with Republicans in Dallas on Monday, Johnson also met with former U.S. President George W. Bush, who lives in the city with his wife Laura. Johnson is due to meet Texas Governor Greg Abbott in Austin on Tuesday.
Unusually, the former U.K. prime minister, who raked in almost £5 million from speaking fees in the first six months after leaving office, was not paid for Monday’s lunchtime speaking engagement. However, he did arrange the Dallas trip as a stopover en route to the SCALE Global Summit in Las Vegas, a fintech conference where he will be paid an expected six-figure sum for a scheduled speech.
Man on a mission
Johnson has kept Ukraine at the top of his public agenda since being forced to resign as PM last July over a string of personal scandals, including his attendance at COVID-19 lockdown-busting parties at his Downing Street home and office.
In power, Johnson had forged a strong personal bond with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and played a leading role in early Western efforts to arm Ukraine. His allies even mooted the idea of him becoming a formal envoy to Ukraine following his abrupt Downing Street exit, though the idea never came to fruition.
That hasn’t stopped Johnson continuing his personal lobbying push, however. He visited the Ukrainian capital Kyiv in January 2023 — despite no longer being a frontline politician — and has continued to speak in support on multiple occasions.
At the Dallas lunch on Monday, Johnson insisted Western backing for Ukraine need not be indefinite, telling those present he had “every hope that the Ukrainians will be able to deliver a very substantial counterpunch this summer,” and that he believed there was “a prospect of a complete Russian military collapse.”
And addressing concerns in Republican quarters that the U.S. should be focusing its attention on China rather than on a land war in Eastern Europe, Johnson said victory for Putin would be “terrible in its ramifications for south-east Asia, for the South China Sea, for all the areas of potential conflict between the great powers in the decades to come.”
By contrast, he added, Western solidarity on Ukraine had already sent a clear message to China.
“From Beijing’s point of view, they’re looking at this and they’re thinking this has massively increased the strategic ambiguity and the risk surrounding a venture against Taiwan,” Johnson said.
One businessman present pressed Johnson on corruption in Ukraine, which he said he had heard was “really bad again.”
But the former prime minister insisted the $50 billion spending package agreed by President Biden would prove “value for money.” The U.S. is getting a “huge, huge boost for global security for a relatively small outlay,” he said.
And Johnson being Johnson, he couldn’t resist a swipe at his old rival Emmanuel Macron, whom he has reportedly referred to in private as “Putin’s lickspittle.”
“I think it was my French friend and colleague Emmanuel Macron who said ‘Putin must not be humiliated,’” Johnson told the lunch party, adopting a faux French accent to gently mock the president.
“I think it takes an awful lot to humiliate Vladimir Putin, frankly,” Johnson went on. “I don’t think it’s our job to worry about Vladimir Putin’s ego, or his political prospects, or developments in his career.”
Whether Johnson retains the populist credentials to win over the most ardent Trump supporters Stateside remains to be seen, however.
In an interview with Nigel Farage on GB News last month, Trump said that while Johnson was a “wonderful guy” and “a friend of mine,” he had been disappointed by his time in office.
Johnson had gone “a bit on the liberal side,” Trump noted sadly. “Probably in a negative way.”
LONDON — Frost/Nixon it was not. But at least the golf course got a good plug.
Brexit firebrand Nigel Farage bagged a half an hour sit-down interview with Donald Trump on Wednesday as part of the former U.S. president’s trip to his Turnberry golf resort in Scotland.
The hardball questions just kept on coming as the two men got stuck into everything from how great Trump is to just how massively he’s going to win the next election.
POLITICO tuned in to the GB News session so you didn’t have to.
Trump could end the Ukraine war in 24 hours
Trump sees your complex, grinding, war in Ukraine and raises you the deal-making credentials he honed having precisely one meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.
“If I were president, I will end that war in one day — it’ll take 24 hours,” the ex-POTUS declared. And he added: “That deal would be easy.”
Time for a probing follow-up from the host to tease out the precise details of Trump’s big plan? Over to you Nige! “I think we’d all love to see that war stop,” the hard-hitting host beamed.
Nicola Sturgeon bad, Sean Connery great
Safe to say Scotland’s former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon — who quit a few months back and whose ruling Scottish National Party now faces the biggest crisis of its time at the top — is not on Trump’s Christmas card list.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever met her,” Trump said. “I’m not sure that I ever met her.” But he knew one thing for certain. Sturgeon “didn’t love Scotland” and has no respect for people who come to the country and spend “a lot of money.” Whoever could he mean?
One Scot did get a thumbs-up though. Sean Connery, who backed Trump’s golf course and was therefore “great, a tough guy.”
Boris Johnson was a far-leftist
Boris Johnson’s big problem? Not the bevy of scandals that helped call time on the beleaguered Conservative British prime minister, that’s for sure.
Instead, Trump reckons it was Johnson’s latter-day conversion to hard-left politics, which went shamefully unreported on by every single British political media outlet at the time. “They really weren’t staying Conservative,” he said of Johnson’s government. “They were … literally going far left. It never made sense.”
Joe Biden isn’t coming to King Charles’ coronation because he’s asleep?
Paging the royals: Turns out Joe Biden — who is sending First Lady Jill Biden to King Charles’ coronation this weekend — won’t be there because he is … catching some Zs. “He’s not running the country. He’s now in Delaware, sleeping,” Trump said.
Don’t worry, though: Trump explained how Biden’s government is actually being run by “a very smart group of Marxists or communists, or whatever you want to call them.” Johnson should hang out with those guys!
Meghan Markle ain’t getting a Christmas card either
Trump found time to wade into Britain’s never-ending culture war over the royals, ably assisted by a totally-straight-bat question from Farage who said Britain would be “better off without” Prince Harry turning up to the weekend festival of flag-waving.
Harry’s wife Meghan Markle has, Trump said, been “very disrespectful to the queen, frankly,” and there was “just no reason to do that.” Harry, whose tell-all memoir recently rocked the royals, “said some terrible things” in a book that was “just horrible.”
But do you know one person who really, really respected the queen? Donald J. Trump, who “got to know her very well over the last couple of years” and revealed he once asked her who her favorite president was.
Trump didn’t get an answer, he told Farage — but we’re sure he had one in mind.
Trump’s golf course really is just absolutely brilliant
Only got half an hour with the indicted former leader of the free world now leading the Republican pack for 2024? Better keep those questions tight!
Happily, Farage got the key stuff in, remarking on how “unbelievable” Trump’s Turnberry golf course is, and how it slots neatly into “the best portfolio of golf courses anyone has ever owned.”
“We come here from this golf course,” Farage helpfully told Trump, from the golf course. “You turned this golf course around. It’s now the No. 1 course in the whole of Britain and Europe. You’ve got this magnificent hotel. You must have missed this place?”
Trump, it turns out, certainly had missed the place. He is, after all, a man with “very powerful ideas on golf and where it should go.” A news ticker reminded us Turnberry is the No. 1 rated golf course in Europe.
Legal troubles? What legal troubles?
A couple of minutes still on the clock, Farage danced delicately around Trump’s recent courtroom drama, saying he had never seen the former president “looking so dejected” as when he sat before the Manhattan Criminal Court last month.
Trump predicted the drama would “go away immediately” if he wasn’t running for president. But he made clear there are still some burning issues keeping him going: Namely, taking on the “sick, horrible people” hounding him through the courts and relitigating the 2020 election result.
In an actual flash of tension, Farage delicately suggested Trump won in 2016 by tapping into voters’ concerns rather than reeling off his own grievances. “You brought this up,” the former president shot back.
At least they ended it on a positive note. Trump said a vote for him in 2024 would “get rid of crime — because our cities, Democrat-run, are crime-infested rat holes.” Unlike Trump Turnberry, which is the No. 1 rated golf course in Europe!
LONDON — Nigel Farage’s new right-wing party Reform UK is making overtures to Donald Trump’s potential presidential rival Ron DeSantis as the Florida governor flies into Britain for high-level talks.
DeSantis, who is expected to announce his bid for the 2024 Republican presidential candidacy in the coming weeks, will hold meetings with senior British ministers in London on Friday as a part of a four-country “trade mission” to promote Florida on the world stage.
But also chasing a meet-up will be key allies of Farage, who is honorary president of Reform UK and who first met DeSantis at last year’s Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Florida.
The pair have spokenabout U.S. and European politics, despite Farage’s previous long-standing alliance with DeSantis’ arch-rival Donald Trump, who remains the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination.
Reform UK leader Richard Tice confirmed to POLITICO he was “working on” cultivating links with the Florida governor, who has become a popular figure among some British conservatives as a seemingly less chaotic right-wing alternative to Trump.
“He’s shown himself to be a courageous, bold leader and that’s very interesting. For me, I think he is actually the one that the Democrats fear,” Tice said.
“DeSantis doesn’t muck about — he just gets stuff done and tells it as it is, which is very contrary to what the Washington elite want him to say.”
‘Big supporter of Brexit’
DeSantis will meet with British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch for talks in London on Friday.
The 44-year-old is currently running second to Trump in polling among Republican primary voters, who will make their decision on a presidential candidate early next year.
DeSantis attracted praise from high-profile Republicans for winning a landslide re-election victory last year in what is traditionally a swing state, with many talking him up as the future — or DeFuture as Rupert Murdoch’s New York Post wrote — of the Republican Party.
Trump has already begun a vicious campaign to discredit the controversial governor — who has stirred anger among America’s liberals for his “anti-woke” and anti-COVID lockdown policies — by calling him “Ron DeSanctimonious” and accusing him of being a part of a “globalist” elite.
The governor said in an interview with The Times last month that he was a “big supporter of Brexit,” but that Britain’s ruling Conservative Party “hasn’t been as aggressive at fulfilling that vision as they should have been.”
Ron DeSantis will hold meetings with senior British ministers in London | Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Farage in turn showered praise on the governor via his GB News show, saying “it seems to me that Ron DeSantis very much has his finger on the pulse of U.K. politics.”
An ally of Farage told POLITICO that the Brexiteer highly rates DeSantis, but that he “could damage himself in a brutal fight against Trump.”
“Nigel thinks that he will be American president at some point and that he’s done a great job in Florida,” the ally said. Farage himself declined to comment for this article.
British TV presenter Piers Morgan, another former friend of Trump,interviewed DeSantis for TalkTV last month. He too has been quick to talk up the governor as the best possible candidate for the Republicans, despite his past alliance with Trump.
Morgan told a Fox News programme that the Republican Party has a “straightforward choice.” He said: “Do you want more drama and chaos and baggage, or do you want someone who is fresh, young, nearly half Trump’s age, who doesn’t have the baggage and believes in doing government a different way?”
A London-based lobbyist with ties to the DeSantis camp said many British political figures will be trying to cozy up to the Florida governor in the lead up to his likely presidential run.
“It’s peak season for grifters,” they said. “A lot of people connected to the Republican Party will try to ride both horses.”
They also said that DeSantis would “be smart” to try to raise money from British expats living in America — a path that was followed by Trump in 2016 and by former presidential candidate Mitt Romney in 2012.
Make America … Florida?
The U.K. will be the final stop on DeSantis’ four-country trade mission, following visits to Japan, South Korea and Israel.
A DeSantis spokesperson said the trip would “build on economic relationships Florida has with each country,” but it is being seen by media pundits as a way for the governor to look presidential on the global stage.
He is set to meet with Badenoch and then Cleverly tomorrow in separate bilateral meetings.
DeSantis will also attend a business roundtable with Badenoch, a rising star in her own party and the bookmakers’ favorite to become next Conservative leader, being organized by the BritishAmericanBusiness lobby group.
Farage had a long-standing alliance with DeSantis’ arch-rival Donald Trump, who remains the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination | Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
British ministers will be eager to know the governor’s views on international trade, given U.S. President Joe Biden — who officially launched his own re-election campaign this week — refused to continue the post-Brexit U.K.-U.S. trade talks that began under the Trump administration.
Leslie Vinjamuri, U.S. expert at the Chatham House think tank in London, said DeSantis will want the trip to show economic competence to a wider American audience.
“It makes complete sense as a governor and a presidential hopeful that he would demonstrate his economic credentials. America is about the land of the free and the opportunity to succeed — and getting rich,” she said.
“Having that very strong relationship and connectivity to the U.K. plays extremely well in the U.S. — it certainly plays well in Florida.”
DeSantis’ view of the Russo-Ukraine war will also be scrutinized if and when he announces his presidential run, after he recently called the conflict a mere “territorial dispute.”
Delegates landing in Egypt’s Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh for U.N. climate talks this week are a global elite bent on tearing down national borders, stripping away individual freedoms and condemning working people to a life of poverty.
That dark view is held by a range of far-right or populist parties — among them Donald Trump’s Republicans, who are seeking to retake control in Tuesday’s U.S. midterm elections. Some of these radicals are rampaging through elections in Europe while others, such as Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro last week, have been defeated only narrowly.
Republican and Trump acolyte Lauren Boebert derides the environmentalist agenda as “America last;” Britain’s Brexit-backing Home Secretary Suella Braverman says the country is in thrall to a “tofu-eating wokerati;” and in Spain, senior figures in the far-right Vox party dismiss the U.N.’s climate agenda as “cultural Marxism.”
Right-wingers of various strains around the world have co-opted climate change into their culture war. The fact this is happening in countries that produce a large share of global greenhouse gas emissions has alarmed some green advocates.
“Reactionary populism is now the biggest obstacle to tackling climate change,” wrote three climate leaders, including Brazil’s former Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira, in a recent commentary.
In the U.S., Republicans are eyeing a return to power in one or both houses of Congress in Tuesday’s midterm elections. Many at the COP27 talks will be reliving the first week of the U.N. climate conference in Morocco six years ago when Trump’s election struck the climate movement like a hurricane.
A Republican surge would gnaw at the fragile confidence that has built around global climate efforts since President Joe Biden’s election, raising the specter of a second Trump term and perhaps the withdrawal — again — of the U.S. from the landmark 2015 Paris climate deal.
“I don’t want to think about that,” said Teixeira’s co-author Laurence Tubiana, a former French diplomat who led the design of the Paris Agreement and who now leads the European Climate Foundation.
Some on the American right are pushing a more conciliatory message than others. “Republicans have solutions to reduce world emissions while providing affordable, reliable, and clean energy to our allies across the globe,” said Utah Congressman John Curtis, who will lead a delegation from his party to COP27.
Tubiana and others in the environmental movement are trying to put on a brave face. They argue Republicans won’t want to tamper too much with Biden’s behemoth Inflation Reduction Act, which contains measures to promote clean energy.
“You might see railing against it, and I’m sure there’ll be lots of political talk and rhetoric, but I don’t expect that would be a focus for the Republicans,” said Nat Keohane, president of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, a green NGO based in Arlington, Virginia. Nevertheless, if Republicans take both houses, “we certainly won’t make any progress,” Keohane said.
Trump’s first term and the presidency of Brazil’s Bolsonaro — which ended in a narrow defeat in last month’s election — now look like the opening skirmishes in a struggle in which the planet’s stability is at stake.
In parts of Europe, the right present their policies as sympathetic to the risks of climate change while dismissing internationally sanctioned action as sinister elitism that threatens their voters’ prosperity.
“The Sweden Democrats are not climate deniers, whatever that means,” Swedish far-right leader Jimmie Åkesson told a crowd days before a September election that saw his party win big. But Sweden’s current climate plans, Åkesson said, were “100 percent symbolic” rather than meaningful. “All that leads to is that we get poorer, that our lives get worse.”
This is the gibbet on which the far right are hanging environmentalism: depicting them as the witting or unwitting cavalry of global elites.
“We consider it to be a globalist movement that intends to end all borders, intends to end our freedom, intends to end our freedom for our identities,” Javier Cortés, president of the Seville chapter of Spain’s far-right Vox party, said in an interview with POLITICO. “We are not in favor of CO2 emissions. On the contrary, we want to respect the environment. All we are saying is that the European Union has to clarify that it wants to sell us a climate religion in which we cannot emit CO2, while we make our industries disappear from Europe and we need to buy from China.”
To describe this as climate denial — a common but often inaccurate charge — would be to miss the point that this is now just another front in the culture wars.
Online disinformation about the last U.N. climate talks was largely focused on the hypocrisy and elitism of those attending, according to research from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD). The main spreaders weren’t websites and figures traditionally associated with climate denial, but culture war celebrities such as psychologist Jordan Peterson, Rebel Media’s Ezra Levant and Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams.
Populist attacks on globalism “rely on a well-funded transnational network,” said Tubiana. “It warrants serious scrutiny.”
But while economic interests may be powering parts of the movement, there is also a sense of political opportunism at work. Huge changes to the economy will be needed to lower emissions at the speed dictated by U.N.-brokered global climate goals. There will be winners and losers — and the losers may gravitate toward populists pledging to take up their cause.
“Far-right organizations are recognizing this as a potentially lucrative topic that they can win votes or support on,” said Balsa Lubarda, head of the ideology research unit at the Centre for Analysis of the Radical Right.
Loving the losers
The far right’s focus on the losers has been “turbo charged” by the energy crisis, said Jennie King, head of civic action and education at ISD, which populists have wrongly argued is the fault of green policy. The European Parliament’s coalition of far-right parties has grown and capitalized on the energy crisis by joining with center-right parties to vote down environmental legislation.
Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson — newly elected with Åkesson’s support — aims to dilute the country’s ambitions for cutting some greenhouse gas emissions, a move center-right Liberal Environment Minister Romina Pourmokhtari justified in familiar terms: “That is a reaction to the reality people are facing.” And in Britain, Brexit leader Nigel Farage retooled his campaign to become an anti-net zero mouthpiece.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni says she wants to reclaim environmentalism for the right | Vincenzo Pinto/AFP via Getty Images
Strains of right-wing ecology may also mean that not all groups are actively hostile to the climate agenda, said Lubarda. Italy’s new Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is a huge fan of the books of J.R.R. Tolkien, which center on the Shire, an idealized bucolic homeland. Meloni says she wants to reclaim environmentalism for the right, but the protection of national economic interests still comes first.
“There is no more convinced ecologist than a conservative, but what distinguishes us from a certain ideological environmentalism is that we want to defend nature with man inside,” she said in her inaugural speech to parliament last month.
While Meloni has announced that she will attend COP27, she has also renamed the Ministry for the Ecological Transition the Ministry for Environment and Energy Security. The governing program of her Brothers of Italy party includes a section on climate change, but it strongly emphasizes the need to protect industry.
It’s this broad sense of demotion and delay that alarms those who are watching these ideas grow in stature among populists on the right. They say that while it may not sound like climate denial, the result is effectively the same.
“You can say that you are climate friends,” said Belgian Socialist MEP Marie Arena. “But in the act, you are not at all. You are business friends first.”
Jacopo Barragazzi, Charlie Duxbury and Zack Colman contributed to this report.
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LONDON — It was a revolution 11 long years in the making.
For a small but vocal band of right-wing libertarians, Liz Truss’ appointment as U.K. prime minister on September 6 seemed the triumphant end point of an epic and improbable march that led them from the fringes of British politics to Whitehall’s grandest corridors of power.
In the course of just over a decade, a group of little-known politicians, fringe think tanks and outspoken media figures had helped drag the Tory Party, and the nation it led, from David Cameron’s vision of so-called compassionate Conservatism — hugging huskies and all — to a Brexit-backing, free-market embracing, low-tax juggernaut.
It took them four Tory prime ministers, four general elections and an era-defining referendum to do it — but with Truss in charge, they were finally living their dream. The country was to be remade in their image.
It lasted 44 chaotic days, and no more.
“They felt their moment had come at last,” said Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University London. “This would prove that Brexit hadn’t been a ghastly mistake, but a fantastic opportunity. But of course, as it was always based on fantasy, it was always bound to collide with reality.”
Truss was elected Conservative leader — and so U.K. prime minister — last month on the votes of just 81,000 party members, a group large enough to defeat her more centrist opponent, Rishi Sunak, but still small enough to fit comfortably inside Wembley stadium, home of the England football team.
This band of true-blue believers had been wooed by her heady promises of a low-tax, low-regulation state that would embrace the opportunities provided by Brexit.
But as soon as PM Truss started to put her promises into action — via a ‘mini-budget’ on September 23 which included tens of billions of pounds in unfunded tax cuts alongside a massive energy subsidy scheme — the markets began sliding into turmoil. Within days it was clear Truss had triggered an economic crisis — and one that sent the Conservative poll ratings tumbling along with the value of the pound.
Her MPs, facing electoral oblivion, were terrified.
In the weeks that followed, Truss was forced to sack her Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng and U-turn on most of their economic program in a desperate bid to stabilize the markets. This week her home secretary, Suella Braverman, followed Kwarteng out the door. Her MPs became mutinous, some publicly demanding her head. Support rapidly drained away.
Truss was forced to sack her Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng and U-turn on most of their economic program in a desperate bid to stabilize the markets | Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
Truss’ disastrous six weeks in power were an abject humiliation for the prime minister herself, of course — but also for the libertarian right of the Conservative movement that had fought its corner for years.
Winners and losers
“I’m pretty distraught about it,” said Mark Littlewood, director general of the Institute for Economic Affairs (IEA), one of the right-wing Westminster think tanks that inspired the Truss agenda. (He, like most of the interviewees for this article, was speaking after the abandonment of Truss’ economic program earlier this week, but before she finally resigned Thursday afternoon.)
“It did actually appear as if we had a new government that, in very broad terms, shared the IEA analysis of the problems with our economy, and it not being market-oriented enough.”
But Truss botched the “political execution” rather than economic thinking, Littlewood insisted, lamenting that “if the execution goes badly wrong, it has a rebound effect on the ideas.”
Indeed, Conservative libertarians explain the Truss debacle in various ways: She was not clear enough about what she was doing and the reasons for it; she made the announcements in the wrong sequence; she refused to match her tax cuts with spending restraint; and she failed to produce independent proof that her plans would work. There is certainly little sign of remorse.
“The position we’re in now is that these reforms basically have not been tried,” Littlewood insisted. “Her attempts to implement change were too hurried; too rushed; not thought through; naïve in some regard.”
Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage was another right-wing libertarian who had been advocating for low-tax, small-state ideals for decades.
“I think the hope was that the Kwarteng budget was going to mark a very significant moment,” Farage said. “That now appears to be dead. And I would have thought dead for a very, very long time. The people in the Conservative Party that I talk to, who think on my wavelength … have pretty much given up.”
But Tories opposed to the libertarian agenda are delighted at its failure — if not the disastrous fallout, for country and party alike. “The mild flirtation with Tea Party libertarianism has been strangled at birth, and I think for the general good fortune of the Tory Party that has to be seen as a good thing,” Tory backbencher Simon Hoare told the BBC.
One serving Cabinet minister added: “[The libertarians] are going to have to adjust to reality like the rest of us. They can’t buck the market.”
Former UKIP leader Nigel Farage was another right-wing libertarian who had been advocating for low-tax, small-state ideals for decades | Peter Summers/Getty Images
Nicky Morgan, a former Cabinet minister who previously co-chaired the centrist ‘One Nation’ caucus of Tory MPs, said her party must now return to its former broad-church approach.
“The task for the ‘One Nation’ wing of the party is almost to ignore the libertarian right and get on with reasserting one-nation politics, and prove to everyone from Liz Truss downward that if we want to stay in power, then being sane and sensible in the middle ground is a much stronger place to be,” she said.
The long march
For some on the conservative right, so-called Trussonomics was the inevitable end point of a march toward deregulation that began with the Brexit movement in the early 2010s. Farage was one of a number of Brexiteer thinkers who wanted the U.K. to leave the EU in a bid to drive up business competitiveness.
Bale said the libertarian strain in the Conservative Party had in fact been present for decades, but that the Brexit cause emboldened it and brought it to the fore.
The turning point came in 2011, when a number of right-wing Conservative MPs — many of them newly-elected the previous year — rebelled against then-Prime Minister David Cameron and voted in support of a referendum on EU membership. “That was the first time they realized their strength,” Bale said.
Across the country, anti-EU sentiment was rising, fueled by the eurozone crisis and soaring levels of immigration.
“There was a ‘push me, pull you’ going on,” Farage said. “The stronger UKIP got, the more emboldened the Tory Brexiteers got. 2011 was the moment when UKIP suddenly started coming second in by-elections. This group in the Tory Party, and this group outside the Tory Party — namely my group — always had very similar policy goals.”
Cameron was spooked, and the pressure from within and without his party forced him to agree a referendum on Britain’s EU membership. It was won by the Leave-supporting side in 2016, cheered on by a highly vocal section of the right-wing U.K. press which also supports low taxes and deregulation.
“The referendum allowed them all to coalesce around a single issue,” said David Yelland, a former editor of the Rupert Murdoch-owned, Brexit-backing Sun newspaper, who now speaks out against the influence of right-wing media.
“The right of the Conservative Party and their supporters in the media and the think tank world knew they had one go at this. They had to win Brexit, otherwise they were finished. And they did. And since then that has emboldened them.”
Keep pushing on
With Cameron forced from office, the group’s next battle was with his successor Theresa May, a euroskeptic Remainer who tried to negotiate a less drastic form of Brexit which would have left Britain tied to many of Brussels’ rules and regulations.
Farage said the “loose relationship” between pro-Brexit libertarians inside and outside the Tory Party maintained its hold over the new Tory leader, ultimately blocking her proposed Brexit deal in Parliament and forcing her resignation.
Theresa May was a euroskeptic Remainer who tried to negotiate a less drastic form of Brexit | WPA pool photo by Henry Nicholls/Getty Images
Boris Johnson then emerged as the next prime minister, a genuine ‘Vote Leave’ campaigner who was able to push through the hard-nosed form of Brexit the group had dreamed of. But his personal brand of domestic politics was less to their taste — a sort of high-spending boosterism which appealed to millions of Tory and pro-Brexit voters, if not to the libertarian right.
“The core Brexiteers were not ultra-libertarians,” explained former Tory MP Stewart Jackson, who lost his job as a ministerial bag carrier to vote with the pro-Brexit rebels in 2011.
“There were a few that wanted [London to become] Singapore-on-Thames … but the bulk of Brexiteer MPs and definitely Brexiteer voters were much more what I would call communitarian.”
But Jackson said the vacuum of ideas about how best to respond to Brexit, even among many Brexiteers, left space for the libertarians to fill. “They were the only game in town in terms of a new intellectual concept that the U.K. could consolidate on, being outside the European Union,” he said.
With Johnson’s departure in July following a series of personal scandals, the likes of Littlewood — as well as his brothers in arms at neighboring think tanks the Taxpayers Alliance and the Adam Smith Institute — found themselves in the ascendance.
Their ideas found favor with Truss — who despite not being a Brexiteer at the referendum, was a follower of the libertarian cause — and her Chancellor-to-be Kwarteng. The ambitious pair were among colleagues who wrote a now infamous 2012 pamphlet named “Britannia Unchained” offering radical right-wing solutions to Britain’s economic problems.
Less than two months after Johnson’s departure, their economic prospectus was finally put to the test — and exploded on impact.
The arc of history
As Truss and Kwarteng look back at the ashes of their brief Downing Street careers, the pro-Brexit right is licking its wounds and wondering where it goes next.
Shanker Singham, another libertarian thinker who is close to Truss and the IEA, insisted it was too soon to tell whether the low-tax, ultra-competition agenda is too damaged by the Trussonomics experiment to resurface in the near future.
Brexit supporters march in Fulham in the final leg of the March To Leave Rally on March 29, 2019 | Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
“It’s a very febrile atmosphere, and things have to settle down,” he said. “There’s a big arc of history here, and Liz Truss’ mini-budget does not suddenly transform the arc of history.”
Littlewood insists there will be another chance to implement libertarian policies in less than a decade, given the structural economic problems Britain faces.
“Had this [mini-budget] gone as smoothly as I had imagined it in my dreams, rather than as badly as it has gone in my living nightmare, I think we could have got quite a lot of this done now,” he said. “Unfortunately, a large amount of it is off the table now, but I think it will have to be returned to.”
Brexiteers of a different persuasion — of which there are many — are hoping for an urgent change of direction, however.
“The vision of Brexit as ‘Davos on Thames’, only ever held by 10 percent of the Conservative electorate, is dead,” wrote Matthew Goodwin, an academic who has charted the rise of the populist right. “The only way forward for the Conservative Party now is to get back to what Brexit was really about for the 90 percent, and to reconnect with their 2019 electorate.”
But Bale, of Queen Mary University, believes the libertarian strain among Conservatives will forever lurk just beneath the surface, insisting their radical solutions to the nation’s ills have still not been properly tried.
“When the spaceship doesn’t arrive,” he said, “the cultists simply say ‘we got the date wrong’, and that it will be coming in two years’ time.”
Additional reporting by Annabelle Dickson.
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Any new idea automatically faces the opposition of the establishment, said former Member of the European Parliament, Nigel Farage, on a panel at Bitcoin Amsterdam on Thursday.
That argument served as the introduction to Farage’s point throughout the conversation, as he drew parallels between Bitcoin and his experience pushing the then-unpopular idea of Brexit, the exit of the U.K. from the European Union.
“I led a political insurgency, I took on the establishment,” Farage recounted. “What I think is happening with Bitcoin is we’re seeing a similar type of insurgency, an economic insurgency that is being driven and led by people who are worried about the sheer size and scale of big government.”
The subject was ignited by fellow panelist and “What Bitcoin Did” podcast host Peter McCormack’s initial question. “What are you doing at a Bitcoin conference?”
Farage concluded that because of the links between his past experience and the Bitcoin movement today, it was “a perfect and natural place to be.”
The politician expanded on his argument, detailing more of his views of the establishment and why it can be difficult to challenge it. Those who are part of and maintain the establishment, he argued, “own and set the status quo, they are very comfortable… and they don’t want anything to come along and disrupt.”
“And I think Bitcoin is seeing that.”
The parallels between Farage’s past leading the Brexit movement and the present reality of the burgeoning technology kept being expanded upon as he began to discuss liberties and freedom. Farage commented on the EU Commission and its relationship with lawmakers, claiming that the fact that bureaucrats are the ones steering the ship doesn’t paint a pretty picture for the EU in his mind.
“I believe in freedom, I believe in liberty, and I believe the nation-state represents the best way to do it at the moment,” Farage said. “I’m absolutely proud of campaigning for Brexit, achieving Brexit, and I believe it is the first brick out of the globalist EU world.”
Similarly, Farage believes that bitcoin can help individuals take back control of their finances and ultimately their lives.
“Governments cannot come near [Bitcoin],” he reasoned. “They cannot tell me what I can and cannot do with bitcoin and, in that sense, it is the ultimate freedom, it is the ultimate liberty.”
Another reason Farage believes in Bitcoin is because “the technology has been proved to work, and it’s getting better.”
In order for Bitcoin to reach its full potential, Farage argued, citizens should encourage lawmakers to properly understand the technology and its implications so they can craft appropriate legislation.
“If we work cleverly, with lawmakers…there’s a good chance in America, the U.K. and perhaps South America too, that we can actually get a sensible level of regulation.”
The challenge, Farage explained, keeps being education as he recounted when he was young and saw lawmakers voting on pieces of legislation on subjects they weren’t well informed about.
“The level of knowledge of those who will be regulating [Bitcoin] is very, very low. Lawmakers need some real education, and that’s not an easy thing to do,” he said.
The lack of proper understanding is probably what leads so many world leaders to consider CBDCs, which he said is one of his main fears. “[They] will take away our economic freedom.”
But don’t feel discouraged, Farage said, referring to Mahatma Gandhi’s famous saying that “first they laugh at you, then they fight you, and then you win.”
“You know you’re winning when they really start getting nasty,” he said.
Disclaimer: Bitcoin Magazine is owned and operated by BTC Inc, the organizer of Bitcoin Amsterdam.
