Will Farage's finances lead to his downfall?

Summary

The Story – Will Farage's Finances Lead to His Downfall?

Podcast: The Story
Hosts: Manveen Rana, Luke Jones
Guest: Sebastian Payne (Times columnist, leader writer)
Date: July 3, 2026
Episode Focus: Unpacking the mounting financial controversies around Nigel Farage and how they could threaten his status as Reform Party leader and “man of the people” image.

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Episode Overview

This episode delves into the series of revelations about Nigel Farage’s finances: a £5 million “gift” from a crypto tycoon, a rapidly growing property portfolio, lucrative side jobs (including gold bullion and cameo videos), and new political rivals exploiting the perception that Farage is no longer the outsider. The episode examines whether these financial scandals could precipitate Farage’s political downfall.

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Key Discussion Points

1. The £5 million "Gift" Scandal

• Source: Christopher Harborne, crypto tycoon, gave Farage a personal £5 million gift—not to the party, but to Farage himself.

• Controversy: Farage failed to declare the gift per a new rule requiring MPs to declare income from the year before joining Parliament, ironically stemming from an EU directive ([12:07]).

• Farage’s Reaction: Aggressively defensive, claiming, “It’s none of your business” ([02:34], [13:23], [16:13]).

• Investigation: Parliamentary Standards Commissioner is now investigating for a possible breach ([13:28], [14:13], [29:46]).

• Implications: Possible suspension if found in violation, which could trigger a recall and by-election if more than 10 days ([29:46]).

  "It's an unconditional gift. I can spend it on Ferraris if I want. That'd be entirely up to me."
  — Nigel Farage ([13:23])

  "It's literally none of your business if I've given it to charity, but the truth is I haven't... How much of your salary do you spend on beer? On petrol? It's none of your business."
  — Nigel Farage ([16:13])

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2. Farage’s Rapid Wealth Transformation

• 2017: Declared himself "skint" despite a preceding City career ([03:03], [09:09]).

• 2020 Onwards: Became star presenter on GB News (3–4 nights/week), earning six figures ([09:48]).

• Additional Income:

  • Highly paid cameo videos (some controversial) ([10:47], [11:11])
  • Gold bullion ambassador, making £270,000 for just 12 hours’ work ([22:43], [23:05]), at £22,500/hr
  • Crypto startup with Kwasi Kwarteng ([25:43])

• Property Portfolio: Expanded to five properties (most bought with cash) since 2017 ([20:16]). Described in detail with amounts and ownership models.

• Transparency Issues: Not all properties or interests declared; Farage claims company ownership exempts him ([21:53]).

  "Since the last election, Nigel Farage has made £1.3 million... the second highest earning MP behind Rishi Sunak..."
  — Sebastian Payne ([24:23])

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3. The Image Crisis: "Man of the People" vs. Millionaire Politician

• Longstanding Persona:

  • “Pub-going, beer swilling, smoking man of the people” ([05:55])
  • Crafted as a counter to the political establishment, but Paradox: Dulwich-educated City trader ([14:13])

• Current Damage:

  • £5m gift and property headlines have cut through, even to his base
  • Appeared “tetchy,” evasive, and diminished in media appearances ([14:13], [16:10])
  • Sally Nugent (BBC) grilled him on air; Farage refused to clarify funds' use ([16:10])

• Scandals' Impact:

  • Focus groups/pollsters say ordinary supporters now question his anti-establishment identity ([24:23], [25:34])
  • Direct political challenge from Rupert Lowe’s "Restore Britain," pitched as a less tarnished populist alternative ([27:31])

• Quotes Illustrating Image Crisis:

  "It's the tetchiest and the most on the ropes I've ever seen him because he clearly knows that he's messed up here."
  — Sebastian Payne ([14:13])

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4. The Political Fallout: Parliamentary, Party, and Electoral Risks

• Potential Sanctions: Suspension and possible recall petition if Standards Commissioner finds rule-breaking ([29:46])

• By-election Risk: Restore Britain could erode Farage’s Clacton base ([29:46])

• Party Unrest:

  • Reform is nominally more democratic now, so Farage could theoretically be ousted—unlikely, but possible.
  • Allies (e.g., Robert Jenrick, David Bull) have voiced criticisms, a rarity in Farage’s teams ([32:08])

• Uncertain Future:

  • If cleared, shine is still gone
  • If sanctioned, could lose seat
  • Even if survives recall, divided right-wing vote and weakened image may end ambitions for higher office ([29:46], [32:08])

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• Farage's Defiance:

  "With all due respect, what's it got to do with you?" — Farage on scrutiny over gift ([01:56])

• Shift in Persona:

  “He is the party as far as most people are concerned. But you've seen people around him being ever so slightly critical, which, to look back through his past, is a very dangerous thing for Nigel Farage because he does not take criticism well.” — Sebastian Payne ([32:08])

• On the Financial Transformation:

  "He builds up this whole second career of outside earnings, alongside, of course, his generous salary as a Member of Parliament. At this point, he's now really quite a wealthy man." — Sebastian Payne ([11:00])

• On the Recall Risk:

  "If the Standards Commissioner finds that he has broken rules, he could recommend sanctions... means if 10% of his constituents sign a petition, that prompts a by election." — Sebastian Payne ([29:46])

• Public Reaction:

  "This stuff has started to come up for people. It has started to cut through in a sense of, you know, why is he doing this? Why is he earning so much outside money?" — Sebastian Payne ([25:34])

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Farage Responding to £5m Gift: [01:56] – [02:38]
• Early “Skint” Claims: [03:03], [09:09]
• Origins of “Man of the People” Persona: [05:55]
• Second Act: GB News, Cameos: [09:48] – [11:00]
• Gold Bullion Side Job: [22:43] – [23:36]
• Mounting Scandals: [20:16] Property, [22:43] Gold, [25:43] Crypto
• Image Problems on BBC Breakfast: [16:10]
• Restore Britain & Right-Wing Rivalry: [27:31] – [29:29]
• Sanctions and By-election Risks: [29:46]
• Reform Party Internal Tensions: [32:08]

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Conclusion & Reflection

This episode paints a portrait of a once untouchable political operator in crisis. Farage’s elaborate personal finances, his initial lack of transparency, and his handling of the scrutiny may have finally punctured his carefully maintained everyman image. With his political reputation eroding among core supporters, a potential by-election, and rivals on the right sniffing opportunity, Farage faces his greatest threat yet—not from traditional parties, but from his own success and ambition.

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For listener feedback:
“Do you think Nigel Farage's finances will damage his political ambitions? Drop us a line at [e-mail].”

Transcript

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[Manveen Rana]

From the Times and the Sunday Times, this is the story. I'm Manveen Rana. For Nigel Farage, the anti politician politician, 2026 was shaping up to be a year of surging poll ratings, gathering momentum. But now he's hit a glitch.

[Nigel Farage]

I've got to ask you a question about this £5 million gift from this crypto billionaire. I'm getting comments as you and I speaking. This man needs to tell us what has he done with the £5 million? Get him to be. Get him to be truthful. Nigel Farage, please. What has happened to this 5 million pound gift? With all due respect, what's it going to do with you?

[Manveen Rana]

Since the news broke of the 5 million pound gift gift, Farage has appeared flustered and at times furious with the growing media scrutiny.

[Nigel Farage]

Let's be clear, it's an unconditional gift. I can spend it on cars if I want to. It's entirely up to me.

[Optum Narrator]

Right, so, Mr. Farage, how much of that money have you spent?

[Nigel Farage]

Look, literally none of your business.

[Manveen Rana]

And the revelations about his personal finances didn't stop there. Earlier this week, there was the news of his lucrative role with a gold bullion company.

[Nigel Farage]

I gotta tell you, I'm very impressed with this company and I'm Very pleased and proud to put my name to it.

[Manveen Rana]

And then the Times is reporting how

[Nigel Farage]

Nigel Farage has built a 4 million pound portfolio alongside his partner, Laura Ferrari in the past decade.

[Sebastian Payne]

He declared in 2017 that he was skint. That's the word he used. Now, from then, he's gone to being skint, to having five properties and four of them bought with cash. Now, how did he manage that?

[Manveen Rana]

And it's not just the media who are asking questions. The MP for Clacton and leader of the Reform Party has stirred up a storm in Parliament.

[Optum Narrator]

The member for Clacton has apparently raked

[Manveen Rana]

in £2 million over his past two

[Optum Narrator]

years of service as a Member of Parliament. Just yesterday, as we heard, £270,000 for 12 hours of work.

[Manveen Rana]

It is frankly obscene. What exactly do we know about Nigel Farage's finances? Do his millions undermine his man of the people image? And could this prove to be his political Achilles heel. Story today? Will Farage's finances lead to his downfall?

[Sebastian Payne]

When I was a very young journalist at the Spectator magazine, I started following ukip in about 2011, 2012. Now, which point the party had been going for almost two decades, but that was a moment when they were starting to get real traction.

[Manveen Rana]

Times columnist and leader writer Sebastian Payne has also been a Farage watcher of some repute for a decade and a

[Sebastian Payne]

half, partly because the Conservative Party was very exercised about the EU issue long before the word Brexit came into the lexicon, but also because I could see something was happening, and it was very much on the Kent and Essex coasts, where you had a lot of communities that felt economically deprived, they felt abandoned by mainstream politics, and Nigel Farage appealed to them in a way. And I can remember when I interviewed him, he said to me, you tell UKIP members, because they had their bomber command ties on from the Second World War, so that was very much the vintage of those people. So I spent endless days and weeks down on the Kent and Essex coast when Nigel Farage was starting to make headway, particularly in the 2014 European elections. Then, of course, with his bid in 2015, become the MP for Thanet south, which did not work.

[Manveen Rana]

And that was with an earlier guise of his political parties. That was with ukip, one of the longest running. As somebody who's watched him up close, you know, he has a reputation for being a great political operator, for being great with people, a great speech maker, charismatic. I mean, just describe his style from

[Sebastian Payne]

what you've seen back in those days, he really brought back the town hall political Meeting where people had given up on this a long time ago. I think it was Tony Benn who said that Britain used to be a nation of town hall political speeches, now it's a nation of book festival go. And Nigel Farage brought back where he would get anything from tens to hundreds of people to come out on a Friday evening and hear his rabble rousing speech. And I think particularly in that era when politicians were seen as maybe a bit identical, seen as very metropolitan, he came across in a way that was authentic. Now, of course, like all politicians, it is still a shtick, right? In the same way that Andy Burnham has his shtick as being Mr. Manchester, Farage had his shtick as the pub going, beer swelling, smoking man of the people. But I think there's also another side to Nigel Farage as well, which you've seen when you've spent enough time around him, which is that he's very thin skinned and he's very tetchy. And I first really saw that in the Sathanit south campaign when it looked as if he was going to break with the past and actually become a member of Parliament for Ukip. And he didn't win that and the Conservatives won that. See the candidate called Craig McKinley, who's now in the House of Lords. And in the final days of those campaigns, he was very angry, very, very tetchy with his staff, very frustrated. They could feel the campaign was going away for him. And that contrasts with the jovial side that a lot of people will see when they see him out and about on the media.

[Manveen Rana]

You're so right. He is definitely tetchier than most politicians. I remember doing an interview with him years ago and he clearly got very annoyed, threw off his microphone and stormed off down the stairs in Millbank. And I remember having to run after him. But that sort of became almost his trademark. He is very. When he's criticized and he would say

[Sebastian Payne]

it's pugilistic against the establishment and he would say that there are people, journalists, the mainstream media, as he would call it, that are out to get him and he is therefore pushing back against that. And when you're in an era where journalists are not that well trusted or liked by the public, it does kind of work for him.

[Manveen Rana]

As you say, he was, you know, he was the man of the people who you would have a pint with in the pub. But he was also somebody who was known as a city. You know, he had his background as a sort of city wide boy done good, he'd made his money, although that was certainly the image he gave, you know, wore tweed a lot, sort of seemed to be comfortable in city crowds as well as with ordinary people. And yet in 2017, after he's had his Brexit success, he does make a rather unexpected announcement. Take us back to that moment.

[Sebastian Payne]

So the Brexit referendum was a very odd moment for Nigel Frost because obviously this is what he'd spent his whole life campaign, but in the campaign itself he was sidelined and he was not actually a part of the main Brexit campaign. And of course UKIP had failed in terms of the 2015 election. So he announced he was leaving mainstream politics and he essentially, with his wilderness years, in a way, he wasn't really doing that much. But in 2017, he basically said he was 53, he was single and he was skint.

[Nigel Farage]

53, separated. Skint, yeah. Great.

[Manveen Rana]

Why are you skint?

[Nigel Farage]

20 years of doing this.

[Sebastian Payne]

And even though he'd had that city career, Nigel Farage had said he basically had given up a lot of prospective wealth to focus on politics. And at that moment there was not that much going on for him. You know, he was not involved in Parliament, he was not involved in the Brexit debate and he was so just a UKIP MEP at that point.

[Manveen Rana]

I mean, he was still a well paid MEP with expenses and presenting gigs, but he, as far as he was concerned, was skinned. Things have certainly changed. Just describe the financial journey he's been on since.

[Sebastian Payne]

So the sort of second coming of Nigel Farage starts in about 2020 and you can link that with the launching of GB News, the rolling news channel where Nigel Farage became its star presenter and its peak, I think, was presenting three or four nights a week. The nightly Farage program had the biggest ratings on GB News and that is when he started to earn six figures, serious sums of money, his presenting at that point. But at that same point he also starts to pick up some side hustles as well. And we know about all this because of course, a couple of Years later, in 2024, Nigfor Farce does finally become an MP and all of his finances become public through the parliamentary register. So it's not only his GB News salary, he's also got a cameo, which is normally celebrities, or maybe washed up celebrities doing short videos. He earns a terrific amount of money for doing those. But perhaps the most bizarre thing is sell direct gold bullion.

[Nigel Farage]

Well, I bet no one ever told you before that you can put gold into your pension and that it's been producing returns of over 10% a year, year after year after year.

[Sebastian Payne]

So he builds up this whole second career of outside earnings alongside, of course, his generous salary as a Member of Parliament. At this point, he's now really quite a wealthy man.

[Manveen Rana]

And the cameo is, as you say, an unusual move for a politician, but it does land him in trouble.

[Sebastian Payne]

It. Some of the cameos, there was one that was infused with language used by the ira. There was another cameo as well that seemed to refer to drug gangs, I believe, at that point. So they're quite unedifying, you might say. Nigel Farage did a lot of them from his home during the pandemic and you could see them in his home at that point. And I think John Burko, the former speaker of the House of Commons, is the only other mainstream politician to engage in this. But it's clearly been a very lucrative side hustle for him, Seb, as you

[Manveen Rana]

said, it was when we sort of started to see his parliamentary interests, the money, he declared that we started to see some of the side hustles. What's even more interesting is the stuff that wasn't declared. Tell us about the 5 million pound donation which has really got him in hot water. Now.

[Sebastian Payne]

So this is a man called Christopher Harborne, who is a crypto tycoon, I believe you're supposed to say, and he has been a longtime backer of various right wing causes. He gave money, I believe, to the Conservation Conservative Party. But in the run up to the 2024 election, it's been revealed that Christopher Harborne gave Nigel Farage £5 million. Now, that is not a donation to Ukip or the Brexit Party or Reform Party. It's to Nigel Farage personally. And this was not declared. Now, some people would say Nigel Farage was a private individual who gives him money is their business. But a new rule came in, said that any Member of Parliament has to declare their income the year before they become an mp. Ironically, a European directive that meant this has to happen. Nigel Farage did not declare this 5 million pounds. It was reported by the Guardian and that has landed him to his second investigation by the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner on whether he broke Parliamentary rules. And there's been a lot of questions on why was this money given, what was it meant to be used for and how it's being spent. And the answer is, Nigel Farage has given a whole bunch of different answers. This. Sometimes he said it's for security. He's also said he could spend it on whatever he likes.

[Nigel Farage]

It's an unconditional gift. I can spend it on Ferraris if I want. That'd be entirely up to me, as

[Sebastian Payne]

he told Nick Ferrari of lbc. And essentially he said it's none of the public's business, but it is the business of the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner.

[Manveen Rana]

And that's why he's coming a cropper, because there is an investigation into this now because it wasn't declared and it fell into that period of a year before he came to power. And presumably that rule is because people want to know what might be influencing the decisions of our politicians, which seems fair. You described his reaction, which has been interesting. He seemed to go into hiding for a while. He seemed for once to be reluctant to be all over the media. Just describe that sort of period of self exile and how he's come out of it because I mean, this does feel like a very new Nigel Farage.

[Sebastian Payne]

So Nigel Farage has been omnipresent in our politics essentially since the 2024 general election and the rapid rise, reform and obviously the party has won several by elections. He had an amazing result in May's local council elections where it completely wiped out labor in big parts of their traditional heartland. But Nigel Farage has sort of disappeared because he doesn't want to answer questions about this 5 million pound donation. And he stopped doing press conferences. He used to do quite regular, almost weekly at times, press conferences. Again, another old political intervention he's brought back and instead just does pieces to cameras where he's not asked these questions. But he did do a broadcast round very recently and he came across incredibly badly, I would say, throughout this long 15 year period from 2011 onwards of following Nigel Farage. It is the tetrist and the most on the ropes I've ever seen him because he clearly knows that he's messed up here. And people I've spoken to who've talked to Nigel Farage in private about that, he has told them he realizes he has messed up because the £5 million, it's an enormous sum of money, particularly in the land of British politics, where compared to say a, donations tend to be much smaller than that. And I think for the first time it is challenging his man of the people shtick. And you mentioned Van Veen, this point that, you know, he is the Dulwich educated city trader who comes across the man of people. That's always been the paradox of knights for us. But for Some reason this £5 million seems to have cut through that and caused him real damage to his reputation. And when he did those interview rounds he didn't want to answer questions about it and he was pulled apart. The most interesting one was on the BBC breakfast breakfast sofa, which is normally for politicians. It's the place you want to be because you get to speak to Middle England. And the BBC presenter Sally Nugent forensically pulled him apart and I think he came across terribly.

[Optum Narrator]

So, Mr. Farage, how much of that money have you spent?

[Nigel Farage]

Look, it's literally none of your business if I've given it to charity, but the truth is I haven't. I know what it's like.

[Optum Narrator]

You haven't spent any of it.

[Nigel Farage]

It's none of your business. It's literally none of your. How much of your salary do you spend on beer? On petrol? It's none of your business.

[Optum Narrator]

I think it is the public's business to know.

[Nigel Farage]

No, it's not the public's business.

[Optum Narrator]

Well, it's being investigated by the Parliamentary Standards Committee. So it's somebody's business.

[Nigel Farage]

Let them investigate security.

[Optum Narrator]

A legitimate point. How much of that money have you spent on security so far?

[Nigel Farage]

I'm sorry? Well, I know I'm not going to answer that deliberately. Willfully.

[Manveen Rana]

And we should say Nigel Farage has denied any wrongdoing in relation to not declaring his 5 million pound gift from Christopher Harborne. He said, and I quote, the rules are very clear. There is no obligation to declare something that is an unconditional non political personal gift. The Parliamentary Standards inquiry into this is yet to deliver its verdict. Coming up, the scandals keep mounting. We'll be back in just a moment.

[Optum Narrator]

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[Grow Therapy Narrator]

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[Nigel Farage]

Lemonade sings a pet insurance customer Review

[Sebastian Payne]

my new puppy swallow the bones.

[Manveen Rana]

Good boy though. And boy was I glad that I had lemonade.

[Sebastian Payne]

I was paid back quickly and efficiently. Everyone was so nice. Got this pet insurance

[Nigel Farage]

and get a [e-mail] Peter.

[Manveen Rana]

Sebastian, you've been describing how this 5 million pound donation from a crypto tycoon, as we must call them, has really rattled both Nigel Farage but also some of his supporters who don't quite know what to make of the this. On top of that come a succession of headlines about his other personal finances. So let's begin with his property portfolio. Just describe it for us.

[Sebastian Payne]

So going back again to 2017 when Nigel Faraz called himself skint, he has now amassed five properties and as the Times has revealed this week, There is his 2017 village property which was owned with his second wife Kirsten Farage, but it's now occupied by his daughter. That is well known about. But then you've got a beachfront property that was purchased in 2020 for half a million pounds and that was under Thorn in the side Limited which is one of Knights of Farage's media companies which overlooks the beach. But then you've also got a beachfront renovation project that was purchased in 2023 again by Thorning the Side Limited and it's been given planning permission for a one million pound demolition and luxury three story build. Then you've also got in May 2024 a Surrey Woodland Lodge that's grade two listed 7.5 AC purchased for £1.4 million in cash with another £350,000 spent on extensions. And then finally in November 2024 there was an Essex property which is a four bedroom detached house with a heated pool that was purchased for 885,000 by Laurie Farage who is Nigel Farage's partner I believe. Now he claims that is his Clacton constituency residency. Now once again, Nigel Farage denies any wrongdoing. It's his money can spend as it wish. But not all of these properties have been decl to the parliamentary standards. Now Nigel Farage says because some of these were purchased by his companies, they don't need to be out there. But once again, this is a sign of how wealthy Nigel Farage has become from 2017 until now?

[Manveen Rana]

Yeah. I mean, firstly, it's a sign of how wealthy he's become because, you know, as you said, many of those properties, they're not mortgaged. These are being paid for outright, which is surprising to most people. Again, just raises that slight sense that he's not being entirely transparent, I think. I mean, has he done anything wrong? Will there be implications? Or is it just that it just raises more question marks?

[Sebastian Payne]

This one is about question marks, because, again, you don't have to declare absolutely everything you've got in terms to Parliament. It's about your income. And some MPs are more transparent than others when they come to it, realising that it's quite bad for their reputation. But on the property front, I think the question people will be saying is, how did he afford all of them?

[Manveen Rana]

Another revelation this week has been about his role as an ambassador for gold bullion. Tell us about that and why it's proving to be so controversial.

[Sebastian Payne]

So, as well as crypto, Nigel Farage loves gold and has done for quite a long time. And he has become a brand ambassador for direct gold bullion, which is essentially doing social media and TV adverts praising gold bullion.

[Nigel Farage]

Why choose direct bullion? Well, I've decided this is the right company to be with. Why? Well, there are four,

[Sebastian Payne]

and it emerged this week that he's been paid £270,000 for 12 hours of work promoting this Go dealer. That's double what he was paid last year and it is £22,500 an hour. That is a lot of money for gold bullion. And once again, there's no suggestion he has done any wrong by. He's been fully declared. It's in the Parliament, Jules. But it's a judgment question. Is this what MPs should be doing advocating selling products essential.

[Manveen Rana]

And that raises many questions. You know, one will be, is there a conflict of interest?

[Sebastian Payne]

Well, Nigel Farage, of course, is a backbench mp. He's not a minister, he's not in government, and he's not in a position to change policy towards crypto or gold bullying, in fact. But of course, all this comes the fact that reform has been ahead in the polls for a long time now, and everything Nigel Farage is done through the lens of a potential future prime minister. So there are questions right now in terms of what he is advocating, what that could mean. If there is a reform government and

[Manveen Rana]

the sort of sums we're talking about £270,000 for about 12 hours work, that will be Difficult when you're telling nurses and schoolteachers and people who earn a fraction of that in a year they can't have any more.

[Sebastian Payne]

Since the last election, Nigel Farage has made 1.3 million pounds and that makes him the second highest earning MP behind Rishi Sunak, who has a very well enumerated role at Goldman Sachs, Microsoft and Anthropic of which Rishi Sunak donate a lot of that to charity. A big difference between that and what Nigel Farage is doing. And I think this is starting to raise a question, I think about is this really the anti establishment tribune that he has set to be in the past. Now, if he was to become a minister in a future government or even prime minister, it will be a question of does he continue this or does he not continue this? So far he said it's not on people's business about how he earns money and what he does with it, but it is starting to challenge people. And we saw that in the recent Makerfield by election. And I've spoken to some pollsters who did focus groups. It was a very focused group constituency, given the focus on Andy Burnham there. And they said that this stuff has started to come up for people. It has started to cut through in a sense of, you know, why is he doing this? Why is he earning so much outside money?

[Manveen Rana]

And then, Seb, you mentioned crypto. We haven't talked about crypto yet. Just explain Nigel Farage's ties with the crypto world.

[Sebastian Payne]

So it's not just the donation that we talked about from Christopher Harborne. He's also been involved in a crypto startup with Kwasi Kwatang, the former Conservative Chancellor.

[Manveen Rana]

And what do we know about that?

[Sebastian Payne]

Well, I can't confess to be a crypto expert, but it is a company that is set to make a lot of money if there were changes in crypto legislation to liberalize some of the restrictions around it. And this is fascinating because if Nigel Farage was to be Prime Minister and wants to loosen regulations around crypto, it could benefit him personally on that front. And I don't think there's any precedent on that of someone being paid in advance of being a minister for something they've spoken about. And Nigel Farage really believes in crypto money. And this is not just an idea to earn money. He gave a speech where he talked about crypto being The Big Bang 2 and has criticized the treasury and the bank of England for being too slow on crypto regulation.

[Nigel Farage]

There's a global boom in the trade in digital assets, in the use of stablecoins, in the usage and investment in all forms of cryptocurrency. We've literally, literally turned our backs on it, both the bank of England and the FCA being guilty of this.

[Sebastian Payne]

So it is clear it is something he really believes in, which is something he shares with Donald Trump world, that Nigel Farage, of course, spends a lot of time in America, very close to the US President and those around him, and they are crypto bugs as well. They believe in it and so does he.

[Manveen Rana]

You know, you mentioned the pollsters in Makerfield who said it was coming up increasingly, how do Reform supporters feel about this series of scandals?

[Sebastian Payne]

All this has chimed with the rise of Restore Britain. Now Restore Britain is another populist party more to the right of Reform uk, set up by a former Reform mp, Rupert Lowe.

[Nigel Farage]

I am now launching Restore Britain as a national political party. I'm now going to dedicate my life to finding, organizing, funding and providing hundreds of qualified candidates to present to the British people at the next general election.

[Sebastian Payne]

And Rupert Lowe was kicked out of Reform after falling out with Zia Youssef, Reform's home affairs spokesperson, and Mr. Farage, and he has started this party that has gained huge traction online thanks to the support of Elon Musk, who has promoted restore content and Mr. Lowe personally. And in the Makerfield by election, Restore polled 8%. Now, some people say that's not a lot, but that 8% could have made all the difference when it came to Labour's vote. Now, in the case of Andy Burnham, his popularity was so great it wouldn't have made a difference. But there will be scores of constituencies at the next election where if Restore Britain runs, it could cause reform a real problem. And I spoke to Luke Trill from the More In Common think tank and he said that in focus groups, those Reform voters who are flirting with RESTORE had said that Nigel Farage was not seen as the new anti establishment figure. That was Rupert Lowe and that was restore. And I think another poster, I spoke to Scarlett Maguire of Merlin Strategies. She has said that in some ways RuPaul is seen as less risky than Nigel Farage, as less because of his manner. And he's got a kind of slightly traditional old fashioned Tory view to him and is a bit less tetchy than Nice Farage. But again, Rupert Lowe has shied away from a lot of interviews in the mainstream, preferring to do social media. But I think if that was replicated elsewhere, it would be a real problem for Mr. Farage.

[Manveen Rana]

And you know, he does Feel Restore at his heels, they're biting away at his support. In terms of what happens next, I mean, just talk us through the potential scenarios, because there is this parliamentary investigation into that 5 million pound donation. How might all of this play out?

[Sebastian Payne]

So that inquiry is set to wrap up imminently. We don't know what that means, but one would have to think it's before summer recess, in a couple of weeks time, and if the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner founds nitrofroz has broken the. Again, Mr. Farage denies any wrongdoing, but that donation was not declared. So it'll be interesting to see how those two things reconcile. But if the Standards Commissioner finds that he has broken rules, he could recommend sanctions. And those sanctions can include a suspension from the House of Commons. If that suspension is 10 days or more, then NAGFARZ can face what's called a recall petition. So that means if 10% of his constituents sign a petition, then that prompts a by election. Now, given that there is more than 10% of Lib Dem, Labour and Conservative voters, you would have to think that there would be a by election in that case. Nigel Farage, it's been reported, is now worried about a by election. And before the rise of Restore, you would have said, he will walk a by election and he will say, this is the establishment out to get me, vote me back in. And I'm gonna take them on because I hate them just as much as you do. But the thing is, he's now not the new game in town. And Clacton on Sea is a place where RESTORE will do very well. And Nigel Forest's majority was about 8 or so at the last election, that's pretty substantial. But once again, if RESTORE run and if they take away that vote and they will say, no, no, no, this is not the establishment, this is you, Nigel Farage. Because Rupert Lowe's antipathy towards Mr. Farage is personal and it is passionate, and they would put that front and center. So I still think it will be difficult, but you'd have to bet Nigel Farj would win that by election. But even the process of that will continue to take some of the shine.

[Manveen Rana]

If there isn't a suspension, or if the suspension isn't 10 days and there isn't sort of any option of a recall. There are other scenarios where this could be a worry for him. His party will be feeling the fact that he's losing his shine, they'll be feeling the fact that they're losing momentum. He's been in hiding for a while. When he is doing media appearances. They're not going very well. He does have a history of. Of falling out with the parties. He tends to lead. I mean, you followed him for 15 years. You'll know how often that seems to happen. Could that be a problem for him?

[Sebastian Payne]

When Nigel Farage ran Ukip, he became incredibly frustrated at the democratic structures as they were within the party and having to be accountable to a chairman and a board. And he found it very frustrating when he started the Brexit party that then became Reform, it was ran as a company and he was the sole company director. And that's a very good insurance policy in case anyone wants to challenge you. That has actually now changed and there is an element that Nigel Farage could be ousted. Now, I think that is unlikely because Reform is Nigel Farage and Nigel Farage is Reform. He is the party as far as most people are concerned. But you've seen people around him being ever so slightly critical, which to look back through his past is a very dangerous thing for Nigel Farrs because he does not take criticism well. Robert Genrick, who was of course recently a Conservative Shadow Cabinet minister when MP and leadership contender defected to Reform, and he has said some ever so slightly critical things about the donation. The much more interesting one was David Bull, who was chair of Reform until very recently. And he said, Nigel Shafarge needs to take a break now. He's insisted he just meant a summer holiday, but again, that has been seen, I think correctly, as a sign that they're starting to get a sense that he is tired out and he's not up for the fight ahead to become Prime Minister. And whenever he's asked by this, he doesn't just a clear yes. If you asked Kemi Badenok or Andy Burnham or even Ed Davy, they would say, yes, of course. I want to be Prime Minister, I want to lead the country. Nigel Farage ever so slightly hesitates. And there is that feeling within Reform that this, for the first time, he might not lead the party into the next election.

[Manveen Rana]

That was Sebastian Payne, columnist at the Times. Do you think Nigel Farage's finances will damage his political ambitions? We'd love to hear your thoughts, so do drop us a line at the [e-mail]. the producers today were David Witty and Sophie McNulty. The executive producer was Edward Drummond and sound design and theme composition were by Malicetto. Thanks for listening. We'll be back tomorrow.

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[Sebastian Payne]

You're never just one thing.

[Manveen Rana]

You're the boss.

[Sebastian Payne]

Hey Google, when's my next meeting?

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The athlete that class wrecks me and their mom.

[Sebastian Payne]

Everybody, everyone in the all new Mazda CX5 more to move every side of you.

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