Nigel Farage has hailed Elon Musk as a “hero” and expressed delight at the tech billionaire’s support for Reform UK, but dismissed reports of a potential $100m donation as “somewhat overexaggerated”. Speaking at the party’s East Midlands conference on Friday, the Reform leader said Musk’s efficiency plan for Donald Trump’s government was the “blueprint we need” for Britain.
Musk, who has been active in British politics recently, told his social media followers on Thursday that “Britain needs Reform now”. He has also voiced support for Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon and is currently serving an 18-month sentence for contempt of court. Farage told GB News that Robinson is “not what we need”, adding that the party aims to win the next general election.
Farage also announced that Reform will target Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch’s North West Essex seat in the next election, saying “the gloves are off” after she failed to apologise for accusing his party of faking its membership numbers. Badenoch had claimed the figure displayed on Reform’s website was “coded to tick up automatically”. Farage said his party now has nearly 400 members in her constituency.
Former Conservative MP Marco Longhi appeared at the conference, having defected to Reform earlier on Friday. He said the party he had been loyal to “over decades is unrecognisable”. Hundreds of protesters gathered outside the venue chanting “refugees are welcome here”, while party chair Zia Yusuf thanked Badenoch for comments that he said had boosted sign-ups.
