Reform UK leader Nigel Farage expressed continued admiration for Elon Musk but said that his populist party will continue to thrive with or without the financial backing of the world’s richest man.
A dispute that broke out over jailed English activist Tommy Robinson culminated over the weekend in the Tesla chief calling for the Brexit boss to be replaced at the helm of the party he started, which has surged in the polls and membership since his return over the summer.
Mr Farage has long maintained that Robinson, who is currently in prison after pleading guilty to contempt of court for spreading allegedly libellous claims about a refugee child. Musk and others have claimed that Robinson has been a victim of political persecution over his activism surrounding the mostly Muslim child rape grooming gangs that abused thousands of young white British girls.
Musk’s call for Farage’s resignation was described as a “surprise” by the Reform leader, given Musk’s support for his party and speculation that the tech billionaire would make a sizeable political donation to help Reform take on the two establishment parties in Westminster.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Farage said that he still considers Musk a “hero” for buying Twitter and promoting free speech, adding: “Whatever he might have said about me in the last 24 hours doesn’t change my view,” Mr Farage said.
The Reform leader went on to say that he would be “very happy” if Musk would like to donate to the party, but said that “if there are conditions placed on any donation that includes an acceptance of Tommy Robinson then that is not going to happen.”
“I’m not giving up principles. I do not allow former BNP (British National Party) activists into this party. That’s a golden rule,” he said.
The stance towards Robinson has been supported by other top Reform party members, including Great Yarmouth MP Rupert Lowe, whom Musk floated as a potential alternative as leader instead of Farage.
Lowe said that while Robinson’s role in bringing awareness to the issue of child rape grooming gangs should be acknowledged, the activist is “not right for Reform”.
Fellow Reform MP Lee Anderson noted that it was unclear if Robinson even wanted to join the party and suggested that the story seems to be a media-driven narrative to distract the party as it surges in the polls.
While Musk has not walked back from his call for Farage to be replaced, the tech billionaire has reposted multiple posts from the Reform chief since the dust-up over the weekend. Conservative Home founder Tim Montgomerie suggested that the reposts perhaps show that “elements of Elon Musk’s office are trying to make amends” and that the X boss may have been too hasty in his call for Farage’s ouster.
The move from Musk to challenge Farage came as he used his large social media following on X to highlight the failures of British authorities to protect vulnerable girls from sexual predators — often for fear of appearing racist — failures which Mr Farage has been highlighting for over a decade while facing spurious accusations of racism for doing so.
The heavy focus from Musk on the grooming scandal has seemingly shifted attention away from the ongoing rift between the tech boss and the MAGA base over the issue of H1-B visas, which Musk’s companies have reportedly used to import foreign labour after laying off thousands of American workers.
Musk had come under heavy criticism for his advocacy for mass migration, which, despite his supposed anti-establishment bent, puts him more in line with the neo-liberal Conservative Party in Britain than Farage. Indeed, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch — whom Musk has recently promoted on X — previously bragged about her role in removing “the annual limits on work visas” to Britain, which helped push immigration to record highs, with net migration hitting nearly a million last year, alone.
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