Reform UK leader Nigel Farage missed a parliamentary debate on the biggest reset to Brexit since the referendum because he is on holiday overseas, he has confirmed. The MP for Clacton has not been seen in the Commons this week and did not present his GB News show on Monday.
In a statement, Farage said: “There seems to be great consternation in the press that they have not seen me for 48 hours. Well, they will have to wait some time.” He described the trip as his “first overseas break for three years, the jungle excepted,” referring to his 2023 appearance on ITV’s I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!
Since being elected last year, Farage has made at least nine trips abroad, including eight to the United States, many funded by donors or for paid speeches. These included a visit to support Donald Trump in August 2024 costing nearly £33,000 and a £27,000 trip to attend Trump’s inauguration in January 2025.
His holiday comes while the Commons is sitting, though it enters recess on Thursday. On Tuesday, MPs debated a statement from Sir Keir Starmer on negotiations with the EU over border checks, fishing and defence. Farage called it “a surrender agreement” on X, but his deputy Richard Tice spoke for the party in the chamber.
A Guardian analysis in March found Farage had spent more than 800 hours on outside employment since becoming an MP.
