Could Nigel Farage really be the next UK Prime Minister? It’s a question, five years ago, it felt like asking if we ever saw Piers Morgan in charge of the Department of Ethics.
Yet here we are, with Farage’s Reform UK party reportedly gaining new members—apparently outpacing the Conservatives in the membership stakes, and boasting a younger support base, stronger on average by at least 15 years. The Tory old guard, presumably, is drinking yet another cup of lukewarm tea in an empty public hall, while the new kids on the block line up for kombucha shots at a Reform UK meeting. “The times,” as Bob Dylan assured us decades ago, “they are a-changin’.”
Of course, if rumors are to be believed, Reform UK also has financial backing from the world’s richest man himself, Elon Musk. Yes, that Elon Musk: the rocket-launching, Twitter-buying, multi-billionaire entrepreneur who puts Teslas and sports satellites into space. The same man who started changing the electric car industry then came up with a strategy to buy social media for fun. Musk, remember, is not well known for his shy and retiring approach to politics—or anything else. The idea that Musk might see in Farage a benevolent spirit to disrupt politics and the world stage of their product of evil that they share is not entirely transparent. After all, you could argue that they are both showmen of different kinds, each boasting an unbridled confidence that could cause a global storm in a teacup faster than you can say “Brexit 2.0.”
What is truly surprising in this situation, is that ordinary Britons – scarred after years of Brexit sagas, pandemics, and messy leadership contests – would actually be ready to support Farage as he repositions his stall. Remember, this is the man who promised to “get Brexit done” before it was even Johnson’s name, and his strong efforts have, arguably, shaped the entire trajectory of UK politics over the past decade. Love him or hate him, there’s no doubt that Farage has changed the national conversation—and national identity. He is an unstoppable political genius who moves in and out of the limelight, dishing out a pint and an endless stream of soundbites that irritates one section of the population and endears him to another.
But the idea that he is returning, phoenix-like, from the ashes of UKIP and Brexit Party stints, and taking the top job at Number 10? It’s a tale that could have Tory MPs waking up in a cold sweat. Imagine the scenario: you’ve been away for years as a Conservative member, handing out leaflets in the rain, and finally Nigel Farage walks in, grinning from ear to ear, surrounded by Elon Musk’s collection of robot dog images, Twitter flame wars, and rocket tattoos. The possibility that the Conservatives—the traditional stalwarts of British politics—could be overtaken by a party that is not only small but potentially very rich (once Musk opens his digital checkbook) is enough to send shivers down even the staunchest consensus of the corridors of Westminster.
Critics, of course, will rightly question whether Farage is even remotely electable. Indeed, a household name. But is he famous in a way that exudes confidence and trust, or is he just a guy who remembers last orders at the local pub? And how far can a brave, anti-establishment person go in leading the government, rather than pointing fingers on the outside? We have to remember that part of Farage’s whole schtick is his ability to fire bombs from the sidelines, stirring the pot and gleefully destroying any politician he finds in his crosshairs. A world away from navigating the unpleasant labyrinths of public policy, health crises, and international negotiations.
Then again, one might have said the same thing about Donald Trump before 2016—and look how that went. The mass wave that swept the West in the mid-2010s has subsided a bit, but it has not disappeared. There are many people—especially young voters—who feel deeply disillusioned with the current state of affairs. The Conservatives, it seems, are left trying to convince potential new supporters that “fiscal wisdom” doesn’t have to mean “gray and bleak.” Meanwhile, Labor is doing its best to look for a progressive outfit, but the ghost of Corbyn still haunts some, while the image of Blair’s New Labor is hardly the face of Gen Z. If Farage and Reform UK can capture the combination of insurgent power, economic promise, and a dash of Musk’s bravado for the future, we may go ahead.
What is really interesting is how Brexit has, in many ways, reshaped British politics to allow a figure like Farage to continue to bounce back. It used to be that when a politician declared he was done, that was it: the diaries were published, the after-dinner circuit was booked, and the shadow of retirement loomed. Farage, on the other hand, seems blessed with an insatiable thirst for the limelight, always coming back with a new banner, a new set of promises, and a new reason to marvel at how terrifyingly incompetent some people are. A cynic might say we’ve been here before, and it’s just another one of Nigel’s vanity projects. But if the rumors of that Musk money are true, that’s the kind of budget that could turn the dial on elections in ways rarely seen in our green and sweet world.
Could Nigel Farage really be the next UK Prime Minister? Stranger things have happened, though perhaps not many of them in Britain’s centuries-old political line. For now, we can’t help but watch in awe as Reform UK’s membership balloons (if their claims are to be believed), drinking that proverbial pint next to Nigel-yize maybe, in Musk’s presence, it might be zero-G. pint served in a SpaceX capsule. Meanwhile, the Conservatives seem to be stuck in a game of musical chairs, with half of their seats moving awkwardly, not sure who will be left standing when the music stops.
So yes, it’s possible—don’t put all your life savings into it just yet. We Brits have learned not to compromise in politics, especially where Mr Farage is concerned. If he somehow takes the mantle from Number 10, one can only imagine the spectacular cabinet selections and statements that the prime minister could make via tweet (or X, or whatever Elon called it at the time). It may be strange, it may be tragic, but no one can deny that it can be fun. And, if nothing else, it would confirm what many have long suspected: that in modern British politics, all is well.
