That’s… quite the oversight. It has been an extremely busy weekend for Reform and their top brass. Nigel Farage and Richard Tice have revealed their intentions to take legal action against the National Crime Agency (NCA) – alleging that details of their bank transactions have been leaked.
ALSO READ: So-called ‘anti-establishment party of the people’ received £22.8m in donations last year
Nigel Farage, Richard Tice engage in ‘lawfare’ against NCA
The pair are both seeking £25,000 in damages, after information about private money transfers became public knowledge. Following a rough few months for the party, Reform are now looking to fight back, and grab a handle on a narrative which appears to have damaged their electoral prospects.
Support for the right-wing organisation has plummeted in the last 12 months, and a series of scandals involving Nigel Farage have dominated the headlines. But no story has had the same impact as the undeclared £5 million donation he received from Christian Harborne in June 2024, and the activity surrounding it.
Despite claiming he had no intention to return to politics before successfully running as an MP for Clacton, it has since come to light that Mr. Farage had been in talks about taking the reins of Reform as early as March 2024 – essentially proving that the money needed to be declared once he was elected.
Did Nigel Farage try to avoid investigation via by-election?
Consequently, a Parliamentary investigation was opened up against Nigel Farage, only for the 61-year-old to then offer his resignation. He immediately then stated his intention to run in the resulting by-election, where his most serious challenger is a bloke with a bin on his head.
It’s been a rather undignified exercise for Farage, who haS missed out on a direct competition with the other major parties – all of whom refused to field a candidate when Farage was flip-flopping in and out of Westminster. And, according to The Times, it may well have all been for nothing.
They report that a senior source from within Reform believes Nigel Farage was ‘poorly informed’ by his advisors who, allegedly, were not aware that a Parliamentary investigation could continue into an MP if they resign and then return to office.
This may not be the end of the drama…
It’s understood that this was a significant factor in triggering the by-election, according to the source, and that prominent members of Farage’s team were misinformed about what would happen in the event of his resignation. In the end, it could all prove to be a fruitless endeavour.
At this point, it is also worth noting that the Parliamentary investigation is likely resume if Reform win Thursday’s by-election, find Farage guilty, and subsequently leave us with a second by-election in the same constituency. Perhaps Count Binface isn’t the ‘joke candidate’ here after all…