QAA Podcast – Episode 311: Reform UK, Nigel Farage, and Elon Musk

Date: February 13, 2025
Hosts: Jake Rockatansky, Annie Kelly, Julian Feeld, Travis View
Special Guest: Joe Mulhall (Hope Not Hate)

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the rise of Reform UK—a surging right-wing party in British politics—under the leadership of Nigel Farage. The hosts analyze the party’s links to far-right figures like Tommy Robinson and recent flirtations with billionaire Elon Musk. They explore how political respectability, online amplification, and rightward shifts in mainstream parties have allowed far-right talking points to march into public discourse. The episode balances reporting, analysis, and sardonic humor to unpack the threat Reform UK poses, the strategies it uses to appear “respectable,” and what can be done to challenge its growing influence.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The British Far Right: A Pub Conversation Gone National

• Class Divide, Same Destination:
  The British far right’s two most notorious figures—Nigel Farage (upper class, ex-banker) and Tommy Robinson (working-class football hooligan)—both present as men you’d reluctantly encounter in a grimy pub, underscoring the far right’s penetration across social classes.

  • “That is so awesome that your country is being held hostage by two pub lizards, essentially.” (Annie, 01:41)

• Robinson’s Recurring Imprisonment:
  Despite repeated incarcerations (currently 18 months for libel against a Syrian refugee), Robinson’s fan base has grown to include more “respectable” figures such as Jordan Peterson and Elon Musk, aided by replatforming on X (Twitter).

  • “He goes in and out… like the Trailer Park Boys. At the end of every season, he goes into prison and at the beginning he gets out.” (Jake, 02:55)

2. Reform UK's Meteoric Rise

• Election Surprises:
  Reform UK exceeded expectations in the 2024 election, gaining five MPs—including Farage finally entering Parliament. Despite the UK’s electoral system disadvantaging smaller parties, polling shows Reform vying with Labour and overtaking the Conservatives in some surveys.

  • “Eighteen months ago, we had 8,000 members. We've now got more than 100,000.” (Richard Tice, 10:11)

• Mainstreaming the Fringe:
  Polling, and the party’s own rhetoric, suggest Reform’s support base is split: wealthier libertarians support Farage’s anti-immigration and minimal state policies, while economically deprived supporters want more worker protections and state intervention—policies contradictory to Reform’s actual agenda.

  • “There are real fault lines between Farage, who tells them that he's a man of the people, but actually supports a raft of policies that deep down his supporters don't agree with.” (Joe Mulhall, 20:46)

3. The Culture War Toolkit

• Rhetoric vs. Reality:
  Reform UK’s platform blends aggressive culture war language (on immigration, “wokeness,” drag queens, etc.) with vague promises of reviving public services. However, analysis points out that cutting immigration and taxes would likely devastate UK public services, especially the NHS.

  • “It seems to me that freezing immigration, cutting taxes and government spending would… absolutely obliterate public services and especially the NHS.” (Jake, 18:33)

• Coded Messaging:
  Reform uses “woke ideology” and school “confusion” as code for anti-LGBTQ+ politics. Hosts emphasize the party’s Americanization of UK culture war discourse.

  • “We’ve got a new American export: wokeness.” (Jake, 13:18)

4. Respectability Politics & The Far-Right Spectrum

• Drawing Lines—Strategically:
  Farage has always positioned himself just close enough to “fight tough battles” on “acceptable” right-wing issues, but draws a public line at explicit white nationalism and Robinson’s style—framing it as a matter of optics, not genuine ideological disagreement.

  • “We absolutely excluded anybody who'd ever been a member of the British National Party, the English Defence League…” (Farage, 24:26)
  • Yet, as guest Joe Mulhall points out, the dividing line between Farage and Robinson is mostly stylistic and strategic, not substantive. Their views on immigration and Islam often align. (30:51)

• Internal Party Tension:
  About half of Reform’s support base sympathizes with or openly supports Robinson, while the leadership tries to distance itself for respectability reasons.

5. Elon Musk Enters UK Politics

• Billionaire Endorsement—With Strings:
  Elon Musk expressed open support for Reform, praising Farage, hosting him at Mar-a-Lago with Trump, and (reportedly) considering $100 million in donations.

  • “There have also been persistent rumors of Musk considering a donation of $100 million to Reform.” (Jake, 34:10)

• Public Advocacy—And Fallout:
  Musk amplified far-right tropes about Muslim grooming gangs and accused Labour politicians of complicity, endangering MPs with inflammatory rhetoric.

  • “Musk called her [Labour MP Jess Phillips] a wicked witch and a rape genocide apologist.” (Jake, 42:17)

• Divorce Over Robinson:
  Musk’s passionate support for Robinson—and willingness to pay his legal fees—forced a public rift when Farage refused to back Robinson fully. Musk publicly called for Farage to step down as leader.

  • “The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn't have what it takes.” (Musk, 53:27)

6. Shifting the Overton Window

• Reform’s Effect on Mainstream Parties:
  Labour’s rhetoric on immigration has become nearly indistinguishable from Farage’s—highlighting the pull exercised by Reform’s rise.

  • [Labour Leader Keir Starmer:] “Brexit was used for that purpose—to turn Britain into a one nation experiment in open borders.” (Labour speech via host, 62:27)

  This “race to the bottom” is compared to U.S. Democratic strategies of out-competing Republicans on tough border enforcement, demonstrating international parallels.

• The Power of Euphemism:
  Media descriptions like “populist” or “national conservative” help sanitize and normalize far-right ideas, avoiding more accurate terms like “racist” or “far right”.

  • “Using ‘populist’ instead of more accurate but also stigmatizing terms such as ‘far right’ or ‘racist’ acts as a key legitimizer of far right politics.” (Annie quoting Dr. Aurelien Mondon, 64:53)

7. Far Right Entryism & Policy Extremism

• Extremist Infiltration:
  Neo-Nazi Mark Collett urges ethnonationalists to join Reform covertly, seeing it as the most viable vehicle for far-right ideas. (69:05)
• Vetting “Issues”:
  Reform’s vetting failures have led to candidates making explicitly racist and anti-Semitic posts, some even advocating to let migrants drown—a stance publicly made by their (now-former) deputy leader.
  • “At some point... do they take them back to France or not? … Are you genuinely saying the reform UK policy is we will let people drown to make a point? Because I think that's what you're saying.” (Jake, 67:00)

8. Climate Change Denial & Big Money

• Anti-Climate Platform:
  Reform politicians (notably Richard Tice and Rupert Lowe) publicly promote climate denial and claim net zero policies are ineffective—aligning with heavy funding from fossil fuel–linked donors. (72:46, 73:30)
• Oligarch Backing:
  The party now boasts major billionaire donors and property moguls joining as treasurer, deepening links to vested wealthy interests.

Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• “There is a broccoli uprising and it is not good.” (Annie, 45:21)
• “He just always so chipper. It's quite a clever media strategy when some of the policies that you're advancing are, like, a little bit nasty.” (Jake, 23:43)
• “It lends these parties a veneer of democratic support through the etymological link to the people and erases their deeply elitist nature.” (Annie via Dr. Mondon, 64:53)
• “It's the easiest thing to do is to blame it on, you know, somebody else and advertise a quick fix.” (Jake, 80:19)
• “I've been researching the far right for long enough to know that it’s never a bad bet staying pessimistic.” (Jake, 76:44)
• “No matter what Farage says about maintaining a firewall against the fascist or white nationalist right, they just keep doing joining.” (Jake, 68:27)
• “It would be brilliant if the Reform Party ended up getting sort of, you know, 80 something MPs at the next general election. And 10, 15% of them were sort of closet ethno-nationalists who could help drag the party even further in the right direction.” (Mark Collett, 69:54)

Important Timestamps

• 00:45–02:34: Introduction to the episode’s focus: “the looming threat of the far right,” Farage, Robinson, and the pub analogy.
• 04:23–07:18: Review of Robinson’s career, his attempts to portray himself as a political prisoner, and his new transatlantic support.
• 08:57–11:18: Richard Tice celebrates Reform UK’s growth; polling data showing Reform overtaking Conservatives.
• 12:56–14:45: Reform’s messaging focuses on economic hardship and “woke” culture war issues.
• 20:46: Joe Mulhall explains the split in Reform’s support base (rich libertarians vs. poorer state-supporters).
• 24:26: Farage describes why he previously excluded BNP/EDL members for respectability.
• 30:51: Mulhall on the split between Farage’s and Robinson’s supporters within Reform.
• 34:10–36:27: Farage boasts about support from Musk and details about alleged $100 million donation.
• 41:05–42:17: Musk singles out Labour MP Jess Phillips, leading to security concerns.
• 44:02: Farage refuses to condemn Musk’s incendiary language, falling back on "free speech."
• 53:27–54:11: Musk turns on Farage, calls for new leadership after the Robinson rift.
• 64:53: Media language and mainstream parties' complicity in normalizing far-right ideas.
• 69:05–70:03: Mark Collett (Patriotic Alternative) details strategy of far-right entryism into Reform.
• 73:30–74:52: Tice and other Reform figures dismiss net zero climate policies as futile.
• 77:48: Joe Mulhall on fighting Reform UK: only mass organizing, not just protests, can counter their rise.

Analysis and Takeaways

• Reform UK is skillfully navigating the boundaries between “acceptable” and “unacceptable” far-right discourse, pairing nationalist/anti-immigrant positions with populist economic appeals, even as its leadership quietly undermines the welfare state.
• Figures like Farage are less ideological boundary-keepers than astute managers of public respectability. Their rejection of figures like Robinson is about optics for broader appeal, not substantive policy dispute.
• Despite media attention and public handwringing, mainstream parties, especially Labour, have adjusted language and priorities rightwards under the pressure of Reform’s surge instead of directly challenging their underlying premises.
• The support and visibility provided by figures like Elon Musk underscore the internationalization and online amplification of British far-right narratives—often using American-style culture war rhetoric.
• The hosts and their guest argue that fighting this trend requires both large-scale organizing against the far right and a material improvement in people’s daily lives to prevent fertile ground for scapegoating and simple solutions.

Conclusion

The episode ends on a note urging pragmatic resistance: only mass organizing, holding Labour to account, and providing a positive vision for change can stem the far right’s momentum. The hosts admonish against fatalism and urge listeners to both get active and stay informed, blending their characteristic humor with a sobering analysis of the UK’s political landscape.

Further Reading

• Jake’s article about the grooming gangs scandal on Webworm (link in episode description)
• Hope Not Hate newsletter & campaign info

Summary prepared for listeners new to the episode.