Brutal ‘true patriot’ swipe aimed toward Nigel Farage after his grovelling to Elon Musk

David Blunkett has taken a brutal swipe at Nigel Farage by saying a true patriot would “want to see off” meddling Elon Musk.

The former Labour Home Secretary voiced his alarm over “foreign interference”. Reform UK boss Mr Farage has been criticised for cosying up to billionaire Musk before the tech boss turned on him.

The Twitter /X owner was reportedly considering donating around £70million to the party. In December Mr Farage and party treasurer Nick Candy met the erratic businessman – who is set to become part of Donald Trump’s administration – in Florida.

Speaking in the House of Lords, Lord Blunkett pressed the Government to crack down on foreign donations to political parties. He questioned whether “true patriots and those who believe in the sovereignty of our democratic system” would want to side with those interfering from overseas.

Communities minister Baroness Taylor of Stevenage pointed out the Government had committed to “protect democracy” by strengthening the rules around donations. She said: “Foreign money has no place in our elections and the rules already provide clear safeguards against foreign interference.

“We are considering changes that will help further protect our system from such risks and we are engaging with the Electoral Commission as we do so.” She added: “Details of our proposals will be brought forward in due course.”

Lord Blunkett pressed her by asking: “”Would she agree that true patriots and those who believe in the sovereignty of our democratic system in the UK will want to see off those, whether they are malign state actors or multi-billionaires, who seek to interfere in our democracy?

“And is it not now that we must act to safeguard our future?” Lady Taylor said ministers take the “threat posed by disinformation and foreign actors interfering” very seriously. She went on: “”The law is already clear. Accepting or facilitating foreign campaign donations is illegal.

“Only those with a legitimate interest in UK electoral events can donate to candidates or to political parties. Donations from individuals not on the electoral register are not permitted and there are strict rules in place to make sure that foreign money is prohibited from entering through proxy donors, providing a safeguard against impermissible donations by the back door and we are looking at ways to make that even stronger.”

Mr Farage has repeatedly refused to condemn Musk’s vile attacks on Home Office Minister Jess Phillips. He was rocked when the mega-rich businessman turned on him, saying Reform UK needs a new leader.

But Mr Farage went on to describe the tech billionaire as a “cult hero” and said he will chat with him when he jets off to the US for Trump’s inauguration. The Reform leader said: “I am confident that whatever has been said we can mend, you can build bridges.” Mr Farage told LBC he would be in the US for “four or five days”. He said: “I have no desire to go to war with Elon Musk, and I’m not going to. And I haven’t done.

“I’m a huge admirer of him. I think he’s a heroic figure. I think the sort of tech changes that he’s bringing to the world are incredible.”