News about Nigel Farage

They were the secret negotiations between Nigel Farage's Brexit Party and shadowy Tory fixer Dougie Smith which sowed the seeds of the disaster facing Rishi Sunak. It can now be revealed that Mr Smith, who has been accused of plotting with Michael Gove to topple Boris Johnson, led a team of Tory power brokers who tried to 'bribe' Mr Farage into withdrawing before the 2019 election by offering him a knighthood, ten peerages for his Brexit Party members and influence over the Government's 'policy direction'. Mr Farage's response was to text a 'very rude' message to Boris.

The banking giant's pre-tax profits slumped by 27 per cent to £1.33billion in the opening three months of 2024, although this was above analyst expectations of £1.26billion. Total income fell by around £400million to £3.48billion following a drop in deposit balances and a shift by customers towards savings accounts offering higher returns.

Rick Haythornthwaite, who took over in January, told the bank's annual general meeting in Edinburgh: 'A return to private ownership is now in sight.' And he said he was confident that Paul Thwaite - the bank's fourth chief executive since it was rescued from collapse in 2008 - would be the last to answer to Treasury shareholders.

Rishi Sunak has sparked a row after lining up Sir Tim Barrow, his national security adviser, as Britain's next ambassador to the US. The Prime Minister is said to have plumped for Sir Tim, who played a key role in the Brexit negotiations with the EU, for the prestigious position. He is expected to take over from Dame Karen Pierce, the current ambassador, after the US election in November. But Mr Sunak prompted anger from Labour who questioned why the PM was 'rushing through' a key diplomatic appointment before the UK's own general election. They warned they could 'revisit' Sir Tim's appointment if Sir Keir Starmer replaces Mr Sunak in Downing Street. Mr Sunak's decision to send Sir Tim to Washington DC is also a blow to those who had been touting Nigel Farage , an ally of Donald Trump , for the ambassadorship.

Britons made 4,000 complaints about their bank accounts being shut down, figures show. The row broke out last summer when Mr Farage's account with private bank Coutts - owned by NatWest - was closed. Former NatWest chief executive Alison Rose was forced to quit after she admitted telling a BBC journalist that the move against the leading Brexiteer was made for purely commercial reasons. However, internal reports showed Mr Farage's political leanings had been a factor in the decision.

What is a conservative? All supporters of free speech must, of course, rally to the defence of the strange conference in Brussels which was briefly shut down by the city's Leftist, intolerant local government chiefs last week. But if this was conservatism, then no wonder the cause is lost. Among its planned, or actual, speakers was our own Nigel Farage. What is conservative about him, exactly? He looks to me like a liberal - much as Liz Truss does.

Nathan Cofnas, an early career research fellow in the Faculty of Philosophy, has had his relationship with Emmanuel College ended following an investigation into his conduct. Mr Cofnas came under fire in February after he published a blog post which claimed the number of black professors at Harvard would 'approach zero' in a meritocracy, and that 'Blacks would disappear from almost all high-profile positions outside of sports and entertainment.' He also dismissed equality between people of different ethnicities as a 'thesis' that is 'based on lies'. The college's decision followed the philosopher stepping down from all student-facing duties, which included teaching and marking examinations, amid strengthening backlash.

Research by Ipsos put the Tories on just 19 per cent - a point down on last month and the worst since the company started doing comparable surveys in 1978. Reform UK was not far behind on 13 per cent, as Nigel Farage mulls a comeback. Meanwhile, Rishi Sunak 's personal ratings have dropped to minus 59, matching the all-time floor set by John Major in 1994. Just 16 per cent were satisfied with the job Mr Sunak is doing as PM, with 75 per cent dissatisfied.

Broadcaster James Whale celebrated his MBE with a glitzy bash at a Mayfair restaurant attended by a host of celebrities such as Vanessa Feltz, Nigel Farage and Jeremy Kyle. Even Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un showed up, by way of uncanny impersonators, to help the TalkTV presenter toast to his success. Other familiar faces in attendance included GB News presenter Eamonn Holmes, actress Su Pollard, actor Terry Stone, Pimlico Plumbers founder Charlie Mullins, 'Allo 'Allo! actress Vicki Michelle, musician Matt Goss and socialite Lizzie Cundy.

The Brussels mayor (top right) who tried to block a right-wing conference attended by Nigel Farage (main, right) and Suella Braverman on Tuesday once hosted an Iranian politician since sanctioned by the UK and implicated in 'rights violations or abuses' in Iran. Mayor Philippe Close, who pressured a venue in Belgium not to host the National Conservatism Conference on Tuesday, last June welcomed Tehran mayor Alireza Zakani to the Brussels Urban Summit alongside a number of global counterparts. Despite joining in efforts to push back on the conservative event in Belgium, Close at the time championed the congress focusing on 'sustainable development and social inclusion' alongside the standing mayor of the Iranian capital.

Campaigners have slammed banks for 'waging' war on Britain's adult industry by closing and freezing the accounts of sex workers and escorts. Financial firms have been warned they could be making sex workers more vulnerable to being exploited financially by denying them access to banking services. One woman who works in the adult industry has claimed that her savings accounts have been frozen or cancelled 15 times by banks as a result of how she earns a living. It comes after the issue of debanking was brought into the public eye by Nigel Farage, after the politician had his account closed by private bank Coutts. However, the issue is believed to also affect thousands of ordinary people and business, including the adult industry which sees more than 72,000 people make money through selling sexual services.

Nigel Farage (main) has penned a scathing tirade against cancel culture and blasted 'the Brussels elite' for ensuring 'no other views are allowed' following attempts to shut down his right-wing conference in Belgium on Tuesday. 'Cancel culture is saying, "I do not want to hear your opinion". What happened today is an updated form of Soviet communism,' the former UKIP leader lamented in The Telegraph after police and local officials mounted a closure order to shut down his keynote speech yesterday. Mr Farage had been due to speak at a gathering of Europe's hard-right in Brussels for the National Conservatism Conference, featuring guests including Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán and former Home Secretary Suella Braverman (inset left). Emir Kir (bottom right), the mayor of Saint-Josse-ten-Noode where the event was held, said he would 'immediately take measures to ban' it, provoking threats of a legal challenge from the organisers.

Nigel Farage insisted he is on the verge of making up his mind about a comeback, with potentially just months until a general election. But he stressed that he will not be joining the Tories , despite a 'very sweet' suggestion from Liz Truss that he would be welcome, The comments came as Rishi Sunak faces mounting Conservative anxiety about dire polls, with Labour enjoying double-digit leads and Reform UK gaining ground.

A socialist mayor ordered the National Conservative conference to shut down - but Brussels authorities really objected to Right-wing politicians like Nigel Farage gathering to exchange ideas on immigration, social media and the family. Their views are in no way extremist, but reflect those held by millions of ordinary people. This is a grotesque irony. Only last year Brussels welcomed with open arms the mayor of Tehran, a man sanctioned by the EU for human rights violations.

MATT GOODWIN: At 1.50pm, the police stormed in. Clad in body armour, with stun guns strapped to their belts, the officers pushed past the assembled Press, barged through the audience and silenced a democratic forum for the sharing of ideas. But this was not North Korea. This was the Carnegie Hotel in Brussels yesterday, where the annual National Conservative Conference (NatCon) had been brought to a terrifying and abrupt close on the instruction of three left-wing mayors of districts in the Belgian capital. Along with hundreds of others, I found myself holed up inside the hotel for much of the afternoon, fearing for my safety. The hours were long and tense - and, at times, dangerous. Deciding against a violent eviction of the auditorium, the police instead formed a cordon outside the hotel forbidding entrance to the premises. Through glass doors I saw some officers hiding their faces behind balaclavas. These armed agents of the EU's capital city bellowed intimidatingly that anyone who left the venue would not be allowed back inside. This was siege warfare - and hundreds of us were effectively being held prisoner. Our crime? Holding mildly Right-of-centre views.

Belgium's PM tonight waded into a furious row over a local mayor's bid to ban a right-wing political conference attended by Nigel Farage and Suella Braverman. Alexander De Croo slammed the 'unconstitutional' attempt to shut down the 'National Conservatism' event in Brussels. It came as the two-day gathering in the Belgian capital descended into chaos on its first morning as local authorities attempted to enforce a ban. Police barricaded the entrance and were claimed to have barred some attendees from entering the venue, while event organisers complained at being held 'hostage' inside. As well as Mr Farage, the ex-UKIP leader, and Mrs Braverman, the former home secretary, other keynote speakers were due to include Hungarian PM Viktor Orban. But the future of the conference was thrown into jeopardy following an order issued by Emir Kir, the mayor of Brussels district Saint-Josse-ten-Noode. He said he was banning the event from taking place in the Belgian capital 'to guarantee public safety'. 'In Etterbeek, in Brussels City and in Saint-Josse, the far-right is not welcome,' Mr Kir added.

Police today barricaded the entrance to a right-wing political conference as a local mayor tried to shut down the event attended by Nigel Farage and Suella Braverman. The two-day 'National Conservatism' gathering in Brussels descended into chaos as authorities attempted to enforce a ban. As well as Mr Farage, the ex-UKIP leader, and Mrs Braverman, the former home secretary, other keynote speakers were due to include Hungarian PM Viktor Orban. But the future of the conference was thrown into jeopardy following an order issued by Emir Kir, the mayor of Brussels district Saint-Josse-ten-Noode. He said he was banning the event from taking place in the Belgian capital 'to guarantee public safety'. 'In Etterbeek, in Brussels City and in Saint-Josse, the far-right is not welcome,' Mr Kir added. Police were seen inside the 'Claridge' venue around midday - as Mr Farage took to the stage to deliver a speech - and officers held talks with conference organisers. It was reported that attendees had been given 15 minutes to leave the venue. But officers did not appear to force the event to shut down and speeches continued. Event organisers later claimed that police were 'not letting anyone in' and posted a video on social media of a police barricade outside the venue. Eric Zemmour, the controversial former French presidential candidate, was said to have been denied entry with his keynote address postponed 'possibly indefinitely'. In his address to the conference, Mr Farage lashed out at the 'monstrous' efforts to shut down the gathering on its first morning. He warned: 'We are up against a new form of communism.' Mrs Braverman attacked the 'thought police' who were trying to close the event.

Nearly a quarter of voters who backed the Conservatives at the last general election now support Reform UK, a new poll has found. According to a Redfield & Wilton survey, 24 per cent of those who supported the Tories in 2019 have since switched to the Nigel Farage-backed party - a record high. Only two in five (42 per cent) of 2019 Tory voters said they would still back the party at a general election, which was the joint-lowest level since Rishi Sunak became PM. Meanwhile 18 per cent said they would support Labour and 7 per cent would opt for other parties if an election was held tomorrow. It will further increase Tory fears of looming catastrophe amid Labour's huge poll lead and the recent rise in Reform's popularity. Among all voters in the Redfield and Wilton poll, Labour held a 22-point lead with Sir Keir Starmer's party on 44 per cent and the Conservatives on 22 per cent.

Rishi Sunak today warned that voting for Reform UK would only help put Labour 's Sir Keir Starmer in Downing Street as he was confronted by a disgruntled former Tory. The Prime Minister stressed that only 'one of two people' would be in No10 after the general election - either him or the Labour leader. There is growing panic in Conservative ranks about the rising popularity of Reform, with fears the insurgent party will split the right-wing vote at the election and prompt a Tory wipeout. A new poll this week showed the Nigel Farage-backed outfit are now only six points behind the Conservatives after surging to their highest vote share. Mr Sunak was challenged directly about the threat posed to Tory fortunes by Reform when he was quizzed on a radio phone-in show this morning by a voter called Jerry, from Whitley Bay in the North East. He told Mr Sunak he had voted for the Conservatives ever since 1979, the year that Margaret Thatcher became PM, but had now switched to Reform due to his unhappiness with the Government's handling of Net Zero and immigration.

Since the party banned seven of his opponents for 'inappropriate' online messages, Reform UK leader Richard Tice has warned his candidates not to use social media while inebriated. Mr Tice, the aspiring politician in every seat of the forthcoming general election, defended Reform's vetting process by saying that the party acted quickly and insisted that "every party has its fair share of muppets and morons." The rebel party, which is only a few points behind the Conservatives, has already dropped a number of its candidates for a variety of offences, including inflammatory remarks regarding black, Jewish, and Muslim people. "For heaven's sake, we're really straightforward to all our candidates," Mr Tice said yesterday: "For heaven's sake, if you're going to have a glass of wine on a Friday night, don't use social media; it's not sensible." And if someone lets us down hereafter, we're going to part the company. You can enjoy your freedom of expression and expression, but that doesn't mean you have the right to represent Reform UK as a parliamentary candidate.'

At the general election, Nigel Farage predicted that his Reform UK party would gain more seats than the 'doomed' Tories. In terms of numbers, the rebel party would be backed by more voters than the Conservatives, according to the ex-UKIP leader, who now serves as the Prime Minister of Reform. Mr Farage has yet to announce whether he will return to frontline politics to lead Reform's general election campaign. However, he said the Tories could overtake them 'with or without me" and that Winston Churchill, the party's leader, would not save them. Mr Farage made the remarks shortly after Richard Tice, the current Reform leader, used a Westminster press conference to set his sights on 'woke' Labour. Mr Tice outlined Reform's proposal to abandon Britain's push for Net Zero and instead use saved funds to improve the NHS and reduce wait lists. However, he was also required to alert Reform's general election candidates that they should not use social media after drinking alcohol. Following allegations regarding their social media pages, reform has dropped seven candidates, including derogatory remarks toward Muslims and black people.

GLEN OWEN: It is the 'dream ticket' during Nigel Farage's 60th birthday party on Wednesday: Priti Patel as Tory leader, with former Ukip chief Priti Patel as her deputy. The Patel/Farage axis was one of many scenarios in which Farage would save a Tory party facing electoral annihilation between Labour and his own Reform Party as his guests wolfed down oysters and listened to risque comedian Jim Davidson making jokes straight from the 1970s. Farage, the tease, told the group that he would determine whether he will return to frontline politics before the general election in the next few weeks. Events could be briskly if Tory whips admitting openly that they do not expect Rishi Sunak to survive as Prime Minister beyond July. He'll stand in Clacton, the country's heartland seat, where opinion polls will point to the former Ukip leader after seven failed attempts, eventually becoming an MP.

Rishi Sunak has been warned that re-independence in the United Kingdom could cost the Conservatives 41 seats in the general election. According to polling experts, the rebel group would fatally damage the Conservative Party's prospects in a slew of constituencies, including six held by Cabinet ministers. Reform's effect on the Tories' electoral fortunes will'no doubt rise' if Nigel Farage returned to lead the group ahead of the general election, according to them. The warnings came after a new review of a YouGov mega-poll, which has caused new anxiety in Conservative ranks after being announced earlier this week. According to the pollster's most recent MRP report, the Conservatives will gain just 155 seats in the forthcoming general election, less than the 165 seats they gained in the face of New Labour's landslide victory nearly 27 years ago. Labour is expected to win 403 constituencies, giving Sir Keir Starmer a stonking 154-seat majority, according to Mr Sunak, who has declared a red 'tidal wave' when he calls the general election.

Farage, the one-time UKIP leader and now honorary president of Reform UK, was seen tucking into lunch at Scott's Restaurant in London's wealthy Mayfair district on Thursday. Senior advisor George Cottrell is pictured on Thursday. The reservations-only restaurant specializes in seafood, as well as a befuddled Farage dug into what seemed to be deep-fried haddock, priced at £26 on the restaurant's menu, while Cottrell sipped wine. His low-key lunch came after Liz Truss, Derek Chisora, and Jim Davidson's birthday party in Canary Wharf, which also included a special video message from former US President Donald Trump.