Nigel Farage's return is 'nightmare' for Sunak
Farage to lead Reform UK and run for Parliament, but even without election victory, party will put pressure on the Tories

Rebecca Messina, The Week UK
Nigel Farage's announcement that he will lead Reform UK into the upcoming general election is Rishi Sunak's "worst nightmare" come true, said The Times's political sketchwriter Tom Peck.
At an "emergency general election announcement" press conference in London yesterday, Richard Tice – Reform's leader since 2021 – revealed that he would be handing the reins to Farage, who will also be running as the party's candidate in Clacton.
A buoyant Farage then took to the stage, "popping out of the darkness like a clockwork Jack the Ripper", for a bullish victory speech in which he claimed the Conservatives were on "the verge of total collapse", and laid down the welcome mat to Tory defectors.
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.
It was another "potentially damaging blow" for the Conservative Party's "faltering" general election campaign, said The Guardian. Not only does Farage's entry into the election "pose an immediate threat" to the Tory candidate in Clacton, it may also "energise his party's national campaign, splitting the right-wing vote in other constituencies".
Even more than that, Farage's decision to stand could "both reset and re-align the Conservative Party", said the BBC's political correspondent Ione Wells. By "worrying Conservatives afraid of losing their seats", Reform UK will now be able to "influence Conservative policy" without even holding any seats.
Farage has never won a parliamentary seat despite trying seven times, but Clacton is the "perfect place" for him to stand, said The Independent. The Essex seaside town was the constituency of the only UKIP MP ever to make it to the House of Commons, Douglas Carswell, who held the seat until 2017.
The town's current Tory MP, former sitcom actor Giles Watling, was elected for the second time in 2019 with a comfortable 24,000 majority that now looks anything but safe. Or, as Farage's campaign manager, Peter Harris, put it: "Giles Watling starred in 'Bread', but now he is toast."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Regardless of whether the eighth time will prove to be the lucky one for Farage's parliamentary ambitions, his dramatic re-entry into British politics is "a moment that will haunt Rishi Sunak for four more weeks", said Peck, "and after that, one suspects, the rest of his life".
Arion McNicoll is a freelance writer at The Week Digital and was previously the UK website’s editor. He has also held senior editorial roles at CNN, The Times and The Sunday Times. Along with his writing work, he co-hosts “Today in History with The Retrospectors”, Rethink Audio’s flagship daily podcast, and is a regular panellist (and occasional stand-in host) on “The Week Unwrapped”. He is also a judge for The Publisher Podcast Awards.
-
FIRE is catching as people want to leave the traditional workforce
In the spotlight Many are taking steps to retire early
-
How might Bari Weiss change CBS News?
Talking Points Is the network trying to ‘appease’ the president?
-
‘A legacy news brand brings a visibility of its own’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
The end of ‘golden ticket’ asylum rights
The Explainer Refugees lose automatic right to bring family over and must ‘earn’ indefinite right to remain
-
Does Reform have a Russia problem?
Talking Point Nigel Farage is ‘in bed with Putin’, claims Rachel Reeves, after party’s former leader in Wales pleaded guilty to taking bribes from the Kremlin
-
The Liberal Democrats: on the march?
Talking Point After winning their highest number of seats in 2024, can the Lib Dems marry ‘stunts’ with a ‘more focused electoral strategy’?
-
Is Britain turning into ‘Trump’s America’?
Today’s Big Question Direction of UK politics reflects influence and funding from across the pond
-
Behind the ‘Boriswave’: Farage plans to scrap indefinite leave to remain
The Explainer The problem of the post-Brexit immigration surge – and Reform’s radical solution
-
Can the Lib Dems be a party of government again?
Today's Big Question Leader Ed Davey is urged to drop the stunts and present a serious plan for the country
-
Is Andy Burnham making a bid to replace Keir Starmer?
Today's Big Question Mayor of Manchester on manoeuvres but faces a number of obstacles before he can even run
-
Nadine Menendez gets 4.5 years in bribery case
Speed Read Menendez's husband was previously sentenced to 11 years in prison