On February 12^th 2014, I began posting blogs on my website jrbpublications.com and have been blogging away, along with my forays into Facebook, ever since. This is post no. 2432!

From those early days, there were two stand out political personalities: Donald Trump, soon to put his hat into the ring for the 2016 US Presidential race with his mission to drain the swamp. The other was UK’s Nigel Farage, then leader of UKIP. His mission was to get Britain out of the EU and thus regain its national sovereignty that had been given over to globalists and bureaucrats.

Trump has featured much in my blogging, notably in my Trumpwatch postings (70 to date) and so has Nigel Farage, the subject of today’s post, along with Reform UK, which he leads, having earlier led the Brexit Party and before that UKIP (he also led). This is not going to be an endorsement of either Nigel or Reform but rather the thoughts of a concerned onlooker in the light of the dismal array of hapless UK politicians and political parties that have failed to come to grips with the real issues facing us. There was not room on the meme above of personalities (I will get to) in Reform’s internal inflicts that have flared up in recent weeks but one image I might have added, if room, might be a jar of marmite because that is how many see him (marmite is something some love and others hate – and Nigel more than most elicits that response).   

Let me begin with a rant that encapsulates the feelings of many who share my concerns, that are not championed by the main English political parties: Labour and Conservative, followed by, in the wings and with their own hopes for power, Lib Dems and Greens. Then comes Reform, the party that some who think like I do have pinned their hopes for delivering us out of our malaise. That is not to dismiss others. UKIP still exists and then there is Heritage (a personal favourite) and in a strange way given this party is seen to be of the left – the Workers Party of Britain, led by the charismatic George Galloway, who in my recent checking out of him speaks a lot of common sense, including sharing my views on the main parties, and who hope to win the forthcoming Runcorn by-election, a useful barometer of national feelings, despite pollsters favouring Reform.

But back to the rant … as I see it – Britain lost its way – when Boris said he would get Brexit done, he did so on paper but failed in other ways and today we continue to go along with the EU who have been increasing exposed as the corrupt institution it is, while ruled by our own Deep State – the latest being a proposed use of its citizen’s savings to push its support for Ukraine in its war against Russia and its behind the scenes shenanigans to stop a the popular Romanian presidential candidate from being elected. We have been inundated with foreign immigrants (legal as well as illegal) that do not share British values and we go beyond providing a welcoming environment by stopping anything that might offend some. Our governments continue to push causes that they shouldn’t. It was Covid lockdown and the jab. It is now net zero, a transgender / transhuman ideology and the war in Ukraine. Taxes are being raised; prices for fuel, food etc. are escalating and the poor are suffering. Free speech is increasingly being suppressed, and people who speak out are being imprisoned. People are depressed, as they see through both Labour and Conservative empty promises and failure to reverse the decline. They are looking for hope!    

For some, that way out appears to be Reform and Farage. But back to marmite, many who resonate with my rant are prepared to put aside their reservations (as historically is often the case when voting or supporting a person / party) hoping for changes for the better, overall! But before I assess that hope in the light of stern criticisms by some of the people I identify who speak sense, that I list below in the context of their related videos and articles articulating their concerns, addressing the salient issues better than I ever could, simply because they have spent time researching the facts and, in most cases, know the some of the key players involved: Nigel and people close to him who are both supportive and critical:

1. “Nigel Farage Has Been Badly Damaged. Zia Yusuf Must Be Sacked & Reform Must be Reformed” Ben Habib (see here)
2. The Speech That Got Rupert Lowe Cancelled (see here)
3. Why Reform’s Attack on Rupert Lowe Failed (see here)
4. Douglas Murray & Musk DESTROY Farage’s Lies – The Truth is Finally Out (see here)
5. Calls are growing for Nigel Farage to sack Zia Yusuf—but there’s one major problem: he can’t (see here)
6. “Stop interrupting me!” GB News’ Matt Goodwin explosive on air bust-up with ex-Reform boss Ben Habib (see here)
7. Katie Hopkins: come, walk with me. Nigel’s RULEBOOK at Reform (see here)
8. Baghdad Farage (see here)
9. Former UKIP Leader, Gerard Batten: Control Freak Farage is Controlled Opposition!
10. The Truth About Nigel Farage – “Sex, Lies & Treachery”? – Martin Jay with Andrew Eborn

But back to the spiritual … this Sunday just past, a sermon was preached at my church titled: “Trust not in the Kings of the South and the Kings of the North” (see here), which in effect was an exposition of one of the most challenging passages of the Bible (Daniel 11), albeit a thrilling one since it touches on numerous prophecies fulfilled in Daniel’s time and some that are yet to be fulfilled. The title though is an intriguing one but pertinent given it is to do with kings coming and going, then and in the future, making the point that while we may know what kings are up to and why, their times of elevation are short and their record showed and will show the folly of anyone trusting in them, and the only constant is God. The other spiritual morsel concerns a book I am reading about the influential nineteenth century theologian, J.N.Darby (review to follow after I finish reading it), who well understood the political paradigm of his day but chose not to get involved as he saw his calling was a heavenly one to trust in God and invite others to do so too. While I applaud his understanding of the times and dedication to his task, I believe I should get involved and encourage people of good will to do so too, and that is why I am writing this article.

I am not going to is go over the main points made in each of the references above, but rather to provide a brief synopsis of what I learned about Farage and Reform, say how I see things turning out in the days to come and to share my hopes (even if they are slim ones) for the future. With reference to the portrait collage presented above, there appears to be two factions. One comprises Nigel Farage, Zia Yusef and Richard Tice and the other Rupert Lowe and Ben Habib. Other than Farage, I confess that before the present storm blew up I knew little of the other four and I needed to go to Wikipedia to build up a rounded picture as to where they fit in.

Concerning Richard Tice, according to Wikipedia he: “is a British businessman and politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Boston and Skegness and Deputy Leader of Reform UK since 2024, having previously been the chairman of the party from 2019 to 2021 and again briefly in 2024. Since 2023, he has also been Reform UK’s energy and foreign-policy spokesman. He became the leader of Reform UK in March 2021, but stood down in June 2024 and was succeeded by Nigel Farage”.

Concerning Zia Yusef, according to Wikipedia: “On 11 July 2024, he succeeded Richard Tice as Chairman of Reform UK … On 7 March 2025, it was reported that Reform MP Rupert Lowe was suspended from the party due to alleged physical threats of violence against Yusuf on “at least two occasions”. Lowe said the allegations were “untrue and false”. Furthermore, Rupert Lowe alleges that Yusuf may have forced him out of the party for “talking too much about ‘mass deportations'”. This comes after Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, called mass deportations of illegal immigrants a “political impossibility”, distancing the party from advocating for deportations”. 

Concerning Rupert Lowe, according to Wikipedia he: “is a British politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Great Yarmouth since 2024. Initially elected as a candidate for Reform UK, he currently sits as an independent following the suspension of the party whip in March 2025. He was a member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the West Midlands from 2019 to 2020”.

Concerning Ben Habib, according to Wikipedia he: “is a Pakistani-British politician and businessman who served as a co-deputy leader of Reform UK from October 2023 to July 2024, alongside David Bull. He and Bull were removed from their positions and replaced by Richard Tice following the 2024 general election. Habib was a member of the European Parliament (MEP) for London from July 2019 until the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union (EU) in January 2020”.

A lot more can be said about all four that is interesting and, depending on one’s perspective, also pertinent. I found the ethnic and big business links interesting, where all seem to have been successful and have made a lot of money. Also, there have been strong links to the Conservative Party which, if I were a cynic, explains why the party strategy is veering toward attracting disaffected Conservative voters and not wanting to upset the apple cart when it comes to equality and diversity and going soft on things like deporting immigrants who are illegal or break the law. There are underlying wranglings in the party involving strong personalities who won’t back down that have led to three of them facing off against the other two, with it seems little prospect of reconciliation.  

Of all the British politicians of the current era, Farage is the one who stands out, as much because he has been at the tip of the spear for such a long time and going against the establishment on his more populist views on subjects like immigration. But he has struck me as one with egoist, authoritarian tendencies with a veneer of being a man of principle, not taking well to people he sees as a threat (like the two opposed to him) who get in his way. His throwing Tommy Robinson under a bus and lying as part of wanting to be seen as a Conservative alternative rather than a far right, bigoted racist, was a despicable act. I don’t know enough about Tice but referring to those who support Tommy and those taking a robust stand on subjects like immigration as “that lot” has meant I am unable to view him in a favourable light. I don’t know enough about Yusef, yet noting he is a key figure in expelling Lowe from the party. I know little about Lowe and Habib too, including the rights and wrongs of distancing themselves from the present Reform leadership, but having listened to what they have had to say and what people I respect have to say about them, I am inclined to place them in the good guy camp.

It all begs the question: where do we go from here? In recent months, Reform leaders have boasted about how they have been catching up with the two main parties in the polls and are even overtaking them. I believe we are beginning to see a reversal to this, evidenced by Reform members and supporters turning away from them. And back to my rant and the common sensical, ordinary chap in the street who is proud to be British and longs for traditional Britishness, who agrees with much of it. If they are going to be treated as “that lot” because they speak out concerning what they see to be clearly wrong, they are unlikely remain Reform supporters for much longer, despite being willing to eat Marmite in order to get rid of the terrible Starmer government, with the other main parties ignoring their concerns and other alternative right parties not having enough clout. While Reform appears to be the most likely party to achieve this, I am doubtful right now if that will happen.