Is Nigel Farage heading to the Commons?
Reform UK leader looks on track to 'turn British politics upside-down' once again

It has been a bruising end to the election campaign for Reform UK, said Stephen Bush in the FT.
Nigel Farage has attracted flak for asserting in an interview that the West "provoked" Russia into invading Ukraine. And his party has been hit by a string of embarrassing news reports about its supporters.
Last week it distanced itself from a volunteer canvasser who had been filmed by an undercover Channel 4 reporter making offensive comments. Andrew Parker had called Rishi Sunak a "f**king P***", and suggested that the Army should use migrants arriving on British beaches for target practice. Over the weekend, Reform disowned three candidates over other offensive remarks.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Collectively, these stories have generated "the worst headlines in the party's brief existence". But since Reform UK is largely targeting older voters, many of whom are likely to have already voted by post, the impact may be limited.
Lib Dems' 'patron saint'
Despite the fuss over his "Putin-sympathising language", Farage looks on track to "turn British politics upside-down" once again, said Fraser Nelson in The Spectator. By splitting the conservative vote, Reform will gift seats to the other opposition parties and devastate the Tories.
The Lib Dems are predicted to win Salisbury, which has been Tory for a century, and could even claim Tunbridge Wells, which has voted Tory for even longer. "Farage has become our patron saint," says one Lib Dem strategist. "He can do more for our chances than we can. Our guys should really dress up [like] his and campaign for Reform."
The voice of voter discontent
Farage has been tormenting the Tories for 14 years, said Freddie Hayward in The New Statesman. After the election, he'll become Labour's problem, too. No other politician in Britain can match him when it comes to getting a message across and enthusing supporters.
Although many of his backers are older, he has been attracting growing support from the young. Reform UK polls higher than the Tories with 18- to 25-year-olds. "Farage has 804,000 followers on TikTok, compared with Labour's 207,000 and the Tories' 67,000."
The difference between Farage's campaign and those of the main parties has been striking, said John Crace in The Guardian. While Sunak and Keir Starmer "have gone out of their way to meet as few members of the public as possible – one or two strictly controlled photo ops a day", Farage has held old-fashioned rallies. His plans, to the extent that he has revealed any, don't bear much examination, but he does know how to give voice to people's discontent. Next week, in all likeliness, he will have a seat in Parliament. "Don't say you haven't been warned."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Trump's strikes on Iran: a 'spectacular success'?
In Depth Military humiliations 'expose the brittleness' of Tehran's ageing regime, but risk reinforcing its commitment to its nuclear program
-
RFK Jr.: How to destroy vaccination
Feature Robert F. Kennedy Jr. replaces all 17 members of the federal Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice
-
ICE: Targeting essential workers
Feature After a brief pause, the Trump administration resumes its mass deportation plan
-
'No Kings': A turning point for the resistance?
Feature Millions of Americans nationwide took to the streets to protest against the Trump administration
-
Trump: Making the military into a 'partisan militia'?
Feature Donald Trump held a military parade just days after sending troops to stop protests in Los Angeles
-
Is the US sliding into autocracy?
Talking Point Donald Trump's use of federal troops on home ground, dismissal of dissent and 'braggadocious' military posturing are all symptoms of a shifting political culture
-
Will Iranians revolt?
Talking Point The chasm between Iran's rulers and their subjects is 'as great now as it was when Iranians toppled the Shah'
-
Travel ban: It's back and it's bigger
Feature Trump revives a controversial travel ban, targeting mostly poor, nonwhite countries