Chapter 47: Reform UK

190      established the Brexit Party in time  Zachary Basu, “Nigel Farage’s New Brexit Party Leads U.K. European Elections Poll,” Axios, April 17, 2019, www.axios.com/2019/04/17/nigel-farage-brexit-party-european-parliament-elections.

190      campaigned on leaving the EU without a withdrawal agreement Peter Walker, “European Election Win Would Revive No-Deal Brexit Option—Farage,” The Guardian, May 10, 2019, www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/may/10/brexit-party-win-would-put-no-deal-back-on-the-table-says-nigel-farage.

190      secured the most votes in that election  “European Elections 2019: Brexit Party Dominates as Tories and Labour Suffer,” BBC News, May 27, 2019, www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-48417228.

190      resigned a day later  “Theresa May Quits: UK Set for New PM by End of July,” BBC News, May 24, 2019, www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-48395905.

190      Johnson took over  “Boris Johnson Wins Race to Be Tory Leader and PM,” BBC News, July 23, 2019, www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-49084605.

190      outspoken advocacy of Brexit  Boris Johnson “pledged the UK will leave the EU on 31 October ‘do or die’, accepting that a no-deal exit will happen if a new agreement cannot be reached by then.” “Boris Johnson Wins Race to Be Tory Leader and PM,” www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-49084605.

190      failed to . . . win any seats in the UK general election  International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) Election Guide, “British House of Commons,” December 12, 2019, last updated June 21, 2024, accessed January 15, 2025, www.electionguide.org/elections/id/3404.

190      completed Brexit with a withdrawal agreement Prime Minister’s Office and Boris Johnson, “PM Address to the Nation: 31 January 2020,” GOV.UK, January 31, 2020, www.gov.uk/government/speeches/pm-address-to-the-nation-31-january-2020; and “Brexit: Council Adopts Decision to Conclude the Withdrawal Agreement,” Council of the European Union, press release, January 30, 2020, www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2020/01/30/brexit-council-adopts-decision-to-conclude-the-withdrawal-agreement/.

190      rebranded the Brexit Party as Reform UK  “Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party Officially Changes Its Name,” BBC News, January 6, 2021, www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-55566526.

190      set up the new political party as a company, becoming  Alexander Butler, “Why Nigel Farage’s Reform Is a company and Not a Party—and What That Means,” The Independent, June 4, 2024, www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/reform-uk-nigel-farage-election-b2556355.html.

190      “You’re sort of a one-man internal dictatorship”  Channel 4 News, “Nigel Farage Takes Reform Leadership and Stands for Election,” YouTube, June 3, 2024, www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDVQeJcP6Cs, 4:31–4:35.

190      “That’s how things start in life . . .”  Channel 4 News, “Nigel Farage Takes Reform Leadership and Stands for Election,” www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDVQeJcP6Cs, 4:36–4:43.

190      “You have my word on that”  Channel 4 News, “Nigel Farage Takes Reform Leadership and Stands for Election,” www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDVQeJcP6Cs, 4:43–4:44.

190      major great replacement financier was Richard Tice  In May 2024, the Guardian reported that Richard Tice, then the leader of Reform UK, had “contributed about 80% of its declared funding in loans and donations since he took over in 2021.” Rowena Mason, “Reform UK Reliant on Leader Richard Tice for 80% of Funding Since 2021,” The Guardian, May 13, 2024, www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/may/13/reform-uk-richard-tice-loans-party-funding.

190      super-wealthy family of property developers and the chief executive  Rowena Mason, “Richard Tice: The Donor Turned Politician Who Has Bankrolled Reform,” The Guardian, May 13, 2024, www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/may/13/richard-tice-the-donor-turned-politician-who-has-bankrolled-reform.

190      donated to UKIP in 2013  Mason, “Richard Tice: The Donor Turned Politician Who Has Bankrolled Reform,” www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/may/13/richard-tice-the-donor-turned-politician-who-has-bankrolled-reform.

190      co-founded the Leave EU campaign group “Who Is Richard Tice? The Ex-Reform UK Leader Replaced by Nigel Farage,” Sky News, June 21, 2024, news.sky.com/story/richard-tice-the-self-proclaimed-no-nonsense-reform-uk-leader-who-took-over-from-nigel-farage-13050173.

190–191 donated about €1 million to the Brexit Party  Mason, “Richard Tice: The Donor Turned Politician Who Has Bankrolled Reform,” www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/may/13/richard-tice-the-donor-turned-politician-who-has-bankrolled-reform.

191       provided €1.4 million in loans to Reform UK  Mason, “Reform UK Reliant on Leader Richard Tice for 80% of Funding Since 2021,” www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/may/13/richard-tice-the-donor-turned-politician-who-has-bankrolled-reform.

191       “If you have mass immigration that doesn’t come under . . .”  The New Culture Forum, “Richard Tice: Reform Has the Guts to Do What Tories Won’t. If You Don’t Like British Culture, Leave!” YouTube, January 14, 2024, www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJz0tsI-0Yk, 9:06–9:17; and Mason, “Richard Tice: The Donor Turned Politician Who Has Bankrolled Reform,” www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/may/13/richard-tice-the-donor-turned-politician-who-has-bankrolled-reform.

191       resigned as formal leader of Reform UK in March 2021  Christopher Hope, “Exclusive: Nigel Farage Quits Politics—and This Time He Means It,” The Telegraph, March 6, 2021, www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/03/06/exclusive-nigel-farage-quits-politics-time-means.

191       became a presenter on GB News in July  Vanessa Thorpe, “GB News Turns to Nigel Farage as Its Saviour After Ratings Freefall,” The Guardian, July 17, 2021, www.theguardian.com/media/2021/jul/17/gb-news-turns-to-nigel-farage-as-its-saviour-after-ratings-freefall.

191       “It’s interesting that at the Conservative dinner last night . .  Georgia Pearce, “Nigel Farage Issues Warning to Sunak as He Attends Tory Conference for First Time in 36 Years,” GB News, video, October 2, 2023, updated October 3, 2023,” www.gbnews.com/politics/politics-nigel-farage-warning-rishi-sunak-tory-party-conference, 2:04–2:17.

191       “The Tory Party faithful still see . . .”  Pearce, “Nigel Issues Warning to Sunak as He Attends Tory Conference for First Time in 36 Years,” www.gbnews.com/politics/politics-nigel-farage-warning-rishi-sunak-tory-party-conference, 2:17–2:21.

191       “They do . . .It’s the party that’s changed . . .” Pearce, “Nigel Farage Issues Warning to Sunak as He Attends Tory Conference for First Time in 36 Years,” www.gbnews.com/politics/politics-nigel-farage-warning-rishi-sunak-tory-party-conference, 2:22–2:35.

191       “A decade ago, the leading influence on Tory thinking . . .”  Will Lloyd, “The Tory Crack-Up: Inside the Dark New Factions Intent On Taking Over the Conservative Party,” New Statesman, May 24, 2023, www.newstatesman.com/long-reads/2023/05/national-conservatism-tories-future-conferences.

191       “The primary concerns of Tory intellectuals in 2013 . . .”  Lloyd, “The Tory Crack-Up,” www.newstatesman.com/long-reads/2023/05/national-conservatism-tories-future-conferences.

191       “often asked why the UK doesn’t have a successful . . .”  Julia Ebner, “The Big Idea: Is It Too Late to Stop Extremism Taking Over Politics?” The Guardian, July 31, 2023, www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jul/31/the-big-idea-is-it-too-late-to-stop-extremism-taking-over-politics.

191       “Because it doesn’t need to. Parts of the Conservative party . . .”  Ebner, “The Big Idea: Is It Too Late to Stop Extremism Taking Over Politics?” www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jul/31/the-big-idea-is-it-too-late-to-stop-extremism-taking-over-politics.

191       “Of course, this man . . . could be Tory leader . . .”  Pearce, “Nigel Farage Issues Warning to Sunak as He Attends Tory Conference for First Time in 36 Years,” www.gbnews.com/politics/politics-nigel-farage-warning-rishi-sunak-tory-party-conference, 4:10–4:15.

192      Sunak’s Secretary of State for Business and Trade  Stefan Boscia, “Rishi Sunak Merges UK Trade and Business Departments in Whitehall Shake-Up,” Politico, February 7, 2023, www.politico.eu/article/rishi-sunak-merges-uk-trade-business-kemi-badenoch-industrial-strategy/.

192      Badenoch favored Brexit  Mark Landler and Stephen Castle, “Kemi Badenoch Becomes First Black Woman to Lead Britain’s Conservative Party,” New York Times, November 2, 2024, www.nytimes.com/2024/11/02/world/europe/kemi-badenoch-uk-tory-leadership-election-2024.html.

192      had traveled from her home in Lagos . . . to London  Esther Addley, “The Culture Warrior and the Populist: Badenoch and Jenrick in Profile,” The Guardian, November 1, 2024, www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/nov/01/the-culture-warrior-and-the-populist-badenoch-and-jenrick-in-profile.

192      gave birth there . . . secured British citizenship for her daughter  Landler and Castle, “Kemi Badenoch Becomes First Black Woman to Lead Britain’s Conservative Party,” www.nytimes.com/2024/11/02/world/europe/kemi-badenoch-uk-tory-leadership-election-2024.html; and Addley, “The Culture Warrior and the Populist: Badenoch and Jenrick in Profile,” www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/nov/01/the-culture-warrior-and-the-populist-badenoch-and-jenrick-in-profile.

192      where Badenoch lived the first sixteen years  Addley, “The Culture Warrior and the Populist: Badenoch and Jenrick in Profile,” www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/nov/01/the-culture-warrior-and-the-populist-badenoch-and-jenrick-in-profile; and Eleni Courea, “Kemi Badenoch Says She No Longer Sees Herself as Nigerian Despite Upbringing,” The Guardian, August 1, 2025, www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/aug/01/kemi-badenoch-says-she-no-longer-sees-herself-as-nigerian-despite-upbringing.

192      deeply critical of automatic birthright citizenship  Powell believed that children born to parents who had migrated to the UK from elsewhere could never be fully integrated into British society, despite their lawful citizenship. He once said, “Sometimes people point to the increasing proportion of immigrant offspring born in this country as if the fact contained within itself the ultimate solution. The truth is the opposite. The West Indian or Asian does not, by being born in England, become an Englishman. In law he becomes a United Kingdom citizen by birth; in fact he is a West Indian or an Asian still.” Enoch Powell quoted in Sunder Katwala, “The British Public Proved Enoch Powell Wrong—but That Is a Low Bar to Jump,” New Statesman, April 16, 2018, updated June 28, 2021, www.newstatesman.com/politics/2018/04/british-public-proved-enoch-powell-wrong-low-bar-jump.

192      Thatcher’s 1981 British Nationality Act abolished  Nolan Rappaport, “Most Countries Agree with Trump About Birthright Citizenship,” The Hill, November 8, 2019, opinion, thehill.com/opinion/immigration/415647-most-countries-agree-with-trump-about-birthright-citizenship.

192      “separated into insiders and outsiders”  William Whitelaw quoted in Carol Pierre, “‘Keep Britain White’: Britain’s Inherently Racist Immigration Laws,” NCCR—On the Move, blog, National Center of Competence in Research, Université de Neuchâtel, February 2, 2023, nccr-onthemove.ch/blog/keep-britain-white-britains-inherently-racist-immigration-laws.

192      had to walk by signs that proclaimed, “Keep Britain White”  Pierre, “‘Keep Britain White’: Britain’s Inherently Racist Immigration Laws,” nccr-onthemove.ch/blog/keep-britain-white-britains-inherently-racist-immigration-laws.

192      “I tell my children this is the best country in the world . . .”  Kemi Badenoch quoted in Nels Abbey, “Britain’s the Best Place to Be Black, Says Kemi Badenoch, But Ask Yourself: Is it as Good As Being White?” The Guardian, October 3, 2023, opinion, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/03/britains-best-place-to-be-black-kemi-badenoch-tory.

192      “We believe, as Martin Luther King once said . . .”  Badenoch quoted in Abbey, “Britain’s the Best Place to Be Black, Says Kemi Badenoch, But Ask Yourself: Is it as Good As Being White?” www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/oct/03/britains-best-place-to-be-black-kemi-badenoch-tory.