As Britain votes on Thursday to choose its next prime minister, one expert believes Nigel Farage and his Reform Britain party will help shape British conservative politics in this election and future ones.
“He’s going to make a fuss,” Matthew Tillmand, a conservative political activist and adviser to parties across Europe, told Fox News Digital. “He’s clearly a walking billboard for an idea. People will follow him, he’s visible, and he’ll be able to exert an influence far beyond the weight of his party’s representation in parliament.”
Tillmand met Farage at CPAC 10 years ago and has since had regular conversations with the political maverick throughout Farage’s various political endeavors, including Brexit and his most recent political run.
Founded in 2018, Reform UK appointed Farage as leader shortly after Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a general election would be held on July 4. Over the past six weeks, Reform has seen support for the Conservative Party decline and the party’s representation in Parliament is likely to increase beyond its current leader, Lee Anderson, who left the Conservative party earlier this year.
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Reform UK Party leader Nigel Farage and local candidate Mark Butcher watch the UEFA European Championship match between Denmark and England at the Armfield Club in Blackpool, England on June 20, 2024. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Despite these significant achievements, Tillman suggested that Mr Farage’s influence would remain mainly outside Parliament for now.
“You know, the claim that he will be leader of the opposition is an offensive point,” Tillman said. “Formally, it’s certainly not going to happen, but ideologically and name recognition-wise, there are reasons to make that claim.”
“This gives him and the Reform Party an advantage if a Labour government fails. I am convinced that Labour will continue to do the same thing and either remove restrictions on immigration or fail to protect working class people and wages will continue to stagnate,” he added.
According to polling data provided by The Telegraph from Savanta, the Reform Party has around 17% support compared with around 20% for the Conservatives, putting them roughly neck and neck in the opinion polls.
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Tillmand said that because of the way votes are distributed across constituencies in the British system, even if the Reform Party ended up winning 10-20% of the vote, its total number of seats could be very small.
Nigel Farage enjoys a beer during the then-Brexit Party’s general election campaign tour in Seaham, England, 24 November 2019. (Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)
“That just shows how indirect and disproportionately representative this system is, and how people [will] They’re rightfully going to be upset about it,” he said.
Tillman argued that Mr Farage’s recent appearance on the hit reality TV show “I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here” had dispelled some of the mysticism surrounding his public persona – Mr Farage came third in the competition, where participants were put through a series of challenges. According to The Guardian:.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage addresses voters at a general election campaign event in Clacton-on-Sea, England, on July 3, 2024. (Jose Sarmento Matos/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“People are realising he’s not the bad guy that the Sun, the Mirror, the Telegraph etc are portraying him to be. From his election campaigning and attending EuroCup football matches he’s the guy people want to have a beer with,” Tillman said.
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“That’s a big part of his appeal and his following, but it’s only strengthened since this reality show in December,” Tillman added.
The Sun, a British newspaper which has an estimated 8.7 million daily subscribers according to Pamco Research Group estimates, backed Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer over Mr Farage, but included Mr Starmer in its final plea to the British public.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage (left) gets in the ring with boxer Derek Chisora during a visit to Clacton-on-Sea, England, on July 3, 2024. (Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Typically only Labour and the Conservatives make such proposals, and despite having a stronger presence than the Reform Party, the Liberal Democrats never got the chance to make their case.
In his final plea, Mr Farage said:said the switch from Conservative to Labour was merely a “middle management change” and that “Britain’s elite are happy to see Keir Starmer replace Rishi Sunak”.
“I am serious about dismantling their rotten two-party system,” Farage wrote. “From Thursday onwards Reform UK can have a genuine opposition in Parliament and we will hold Starmer to account for his plans to betray Brexit by letting in more immigration and kowtowing to the EU.”
Then-Leader of the Brexit Party Nigel Farage and other MEPs wave flags before the vote on the Withdrawal Agreement in Brussels on January 29, 2020. (Reuters/Yves Herman)
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“And this is just the beginning,” he added. “Over the next five years I intend to get serious about building a mass movement for real change. A vote for Reform UK is not a protest vote, a fantasy vote or a wasted vote. It’s a vote to change Britain for good.”
Farage ran unsuccessfully seven times for a seat in the British Parliament, but enjoyed success in the European Parliament as a MEP for South East England for the UK Independence Party.
