13 worst Reform moments of 2025 – from Elon Musk, racism scandals and Russian bribes
Reform UK’s first full year since winning seats in Parliament at last year’s general election has been a rocky journey – The Mirror takes a look back on the party’s 2025
It’s been a long, long year. Remember Elon Musk turning on Nigel Farage and saying he should not be leader of Reform UK? That was still this year. Reform UK’s first full year since winning seats in Parliament at last year’s general election has been a rocky journey. There have been incendiary rows, scandals and fall outs.
Mr Farage lost two of his MPs this year – Rupert Lowe and James McMurdock – and has faced calls to sack other people in his party. He has faced multiple racism rows – with his MP Sarah Pochin coming under fire over comments she made about ethnic minority people in adverts – and Mr Farage himself has been interrogated over racist and antisemitic allegations relating to his time at school.
There have been a lot of lows for the party this year – but don’t fret, The Mirror has rounded up the worst moments for you to look back on.
1. War with Elon Musk
The year kicked off to a good start for Nigel Farage… with his so-called pal Elon Musk dramatically attacking him.
In a huge embarrassment for the Reform leader, the tech billionaire claimed Mr Farage “doesn’t have what it takes” and said the party needs a new person in charge.
The unexpected call for change came just hours after a fawning Mr Farage branded him a “hero” and said his support makes his party “look cool”. Musk posted on Twitter /X: “The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes.” He then threw his weight behind then-Reform MP Rupert Lowe.
It followed weeks of cosying up together, with Mr Farage suggesting Musk could plough millions of pounds into his party.
2. Huge row erupts with Rupert Lowe
An extraordinary row erupted between Mr Farage and then-Reform MP Rupert Lowe in the Spring.
Reform reported the Great Yarmouth MP to the Metropolitan Police in March over alleged threats of physical violence against Reform chairman Zia Yusuf. He was suspended from the right-wing party in March amid a deepening civil war and allegations about his conduct, which he strongly denied.
In May, prosecutors decided no criminal charges will be brought against him, but the very public war between Mr Lowe and Mr Farage was hugely damaging.
Mr Lowe accused Mr Farage’s Reform UK of trying to “weaponise the criminal justice system against me”, claiming that he had become a target because he criticised Mr Farage. It came after Mr Lowe branded Reform a “protest party led by the Messiah”.
3. Party chair resigns – then un-resigns
In June, Reform UK descended into chaos after the party’s chairman dramatically quit – then un-quit – the party after criticising its MPs for calling for a burka ban.
In a parting jibe, he wrote on social media: “I no longer believe working to get a Reform government elected is a good use of my time, and hereby resign the office.” But he then returned to the party 48 hours later, saying “the mission is too important”.
Mr Yusuf initially resigned after he criticised newly elected Reform MP Sarah Pochin for demanding a ban on the burka. Reform UK distanced itself from her comments, confirming that a burka ban is “not party policy”. They added there needs to be a “national debate” about it.
But Mr Yusuf waded in to say it was “dumb” for Ms Pochin to make the comment if it was not Reform policy. He later returned to the party to lead Reform’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team.
4. James McMurdock leaves Reform
In July, Mr Farage lost another of his MPs – this time James McMurdock.
The MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock, who was elected last year, left the party after having previously ‘suspended himself’ from Reform UK over questions related to Covid loans.
McMurdock had “removed the party whip from himself” the week before pending the outcome of an investigation relating to allegations around “business propriety during the pandemic”. It came after the Sunday Times published a story which alleged two businesses connected to Mr McMurdock took out Covid-19 loans totalling £70,000 during the pandemic, one of which had no employees.
The following week, he said he “had a chance to take specialist legal advice from an expert in the relevant field” since the loans came to light, adding: “In light of that advice, which is privileged and which I choose to keep private at this time, I have decided to continue my parliamentary career as an independent MP where I can focus 100% on the interests of my constituents.”
5. Sarah Pochin racism scandal
Nigel Farage has continued to face pressure over a racism row involving his MP Sarah Pochin.
In October, Ms Pochin faced a wave of fury after saying it drove her “mad seeing adverts full of Black and Asian people”. She was appearing on TalkTV when she was asked to respond to a question from a caller named Stuart about whether her party will do anything about the “representation of demographics in TV adverts”.
Responding, the Reform UK MP said: “I think Stuart is absolutely right, it drives me mad when I see adverts full of Black people, full of Asian people, full of people that are basically anything other than white.”
Mr Farage said the comments were “ugly” but failed to take any action. Keir Starmer has since accused Nigel Farage of being “spineless” when it comes to dealing with racism.
6. Nigel Farage schoolboy racism allegations
Towards the end of this year, Nigel Farage has faced increasing demands to apologise over alleged racist and antisemitic comments he made when he was a schoolboy.
Claims include Mr Farage saying “Hitler was right” and making references to Nazi gas chambers at his private secondary school Dulwich College.
In the latest update, in December, some 25 former pupils and one ex-teacher came together for the first time to express “dismay and anger” at the Reform UK leader’s reaction to the allegations in recent weeks.
In a powerful letter, the 26 signatories said it is “false” to suggest their allegations are politically motivated, as they “represent a broad swathe of professional backgrounds and political opinions”. They said Mr Farage’s recent denial “disturbs us” and said it is important people seeking high office “own their past”.
Mr Farage has repeatedly denied the allegations, with Reform UK suggesting the claims are part of a smear campaign against him.
7. Top Reform politician jailed over Russian bribes
If you thought the year couldn’t get any worse for Nigel Farage, in November, a top Reform politician was jailed for taking Russian bribes. Nathan Gill, Reform’s ex-leader in Wales, was sentenced to 10-and-a-half years in prison for taking bribes to spout pro-Russia lines in interviews and speeches in the European Parliament.
Gill was an MEP for Ukip and the Brexit Party, both led by Mr Farage , from 2014 to 2020, before becoming Reform’s leader in Wales in 2021. He quit after failing to win a seat in the 2021 Senedd election. Gill, 52, of Anglesey, North Wales, was paid at least £40,000 by former Ukrainian MP Oleg Voloshyn, who was described as a “pawn” of the Russian security services by the US Government.
In December, Mr Starmer ordered a probe into foreign financial interference in British politics following the scandal. Mr Farage last month ruled out investigating Russian influences in his party as he said Reform are “not a police force”, but he welcomed the idea of a UK-wide probe.
At the final PMQs of the year, Mr Starmer made a joke in reference to the Gill case, telling MPs: “A little festive advice to those in Reform. If mysterious men from the East appear bearing gifts, this time report it to the police.”
8. Dropped manifesto tax cuts
In November, Mr Farage dropped his flagship £90billion tax cuts after they were ridiculed by economists.
During last year’s election campaign, Reform vowed to cut corporation tax, slash stamp duty on homes and lift the threshold when people start paying income tax. The plans were torn to shreds by economists, who warned the sums don’t add up.
At the time, Carl Emmerson, deputy director of the IFS, said Reform’s spending splurge would “require much more than a crackdown on waste; it would almost certainly require substantial cuts to the quantity or quality of public services”.
The Reform UK leader blamed the state of the finances under Labour as an excuse for dropping his plans, which he said were no longer “realistic”.
9. Reform’s Kent County Council in chaos
Kent County Council – which was won by Reform UK at the May local elections – had been pitched as their flagship “shop window” for what the party would look like in Government. And it’s fair to say, it hasn’t gone well.
The council has been plagued by rows, suspensions and scandals. In October, a leaked Zoom video revealed a chaotic internal council meeting where members were told to “f****** suck it up”.
The recording from the meeting in August showed bitter divisions on Reform’s flagship council – described as a “shop window” for a Reform UK government at Westminster. Council leader Linden Kemkaran could be heard telling members she is “not a dictator”.
The leak triggered councillor suspensions over bringing the party into “disrepute”.
10. Nigel Farage accused of turning ‘blind eye’ to racism – again
Nigel Farage was recently accused of yet again turning a “blind eye” to racism after failing to sack a Reform mayoral candidate who said David Lammy should “go home” to the Caribbean.
In December, pressure continued to mount on the Reform leader to sanction Chris Parry after the remark came to light more than a week ago. Mr Farage was urged to take action after his number two, Richard Tice, refused to criticise the Hampshire and the Solent mayoral candidate despite having the comment read to him.
London-born Deputy Prime Minister Mr Lammy has called on Reform to tackle “1950s-style hate”. And in a letter to Mr Farage, Labour chairwoman Anna Turley wrote: “If you take racism among your members and representatives at all seriously or consistently, you must remove Mr Parry from your party and withdraw him as your candidate for the Hampshire and the Solent mayoralty.”
11. Chaos at Reform’s party conference
Reform UK came under fire after platforming a doctor at its September party conference who quoted a claim that the Covid vaccine was a “significant factor” in members of the Royal Family having cancer.
Speaking on stage, Dr Aseem Malhotra said: “One of Britain’s most eminent oncologists, Professor Angus Dalgleish, said to me to share with you today that he thinks it’s highly likely that the Covid vaccines have been a factor, a significant factor, in the cancer of members of the Royal Family. What I’m telling you today is nobody is immune to medical misinformation because of this corrupted system.”
The King, 76, has been living with cancer since January last year, while the Princess of Wales, 43, this January announced she was in remission from cancer after being diagnosed last year. After he came off the stage, Dr Malhotra told the Mirror he was referring to the Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnosis.
Reform was also criticised for treating Lucy Connolly, who was jailed after calling for migrant hotels to be set on fire on the day of the Southport attack, like a hero. After featuring her on stage, a Labour source said: “No matter what you think of her sentencing, celebrating someone who publicly expressed these views is beyond irresponsible. It shows just why Reform aren’t fit for office.”
12. Council tax rise despite DOGE pledge
In October, it emerged Reform-led Kent County Council is likely to hike council tax by the maximum amount next year – admitting services are already “down to bare bones”.
The council, which was snatched from the Tories by Nigel Farage’s party at the May local elections, is set to increase the levy by 5%.
Earlier this year the right-wing Reform UK promised to assess “wasteful” council spending. It also launched its own Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) modelled on the tech billionaire Elon Musk’s US outfit tasked with cutting spending and jobs.
But Diane Morton, a councillor and cabinet member for adult social care and public health at Kent council, told the Financial Times services were already “down to the bare bones”. “We’ve got more demand than ever before and it’s growing,” she said. “We just want more money.”
Labour MP for East Thanet Polly Billington accused Reform of making “huge promises about savings, then failing to find any because they don’t know what they’re talking about”.
13. Election expenses row
Nigel Farage faced a row over general election spending in December.
Labour had called the Electoral Commission to look into the Reform UK leader’s spending in his constituency, alleging that an overspend could have breached electoral law. But the elections watchdog confirmed the claims will not be investigated.
Mr Farage’s campaign had been accused of falsely reporting election expenses during his bid to become an MP in Clacton at the 2024 General Election.
Former Reform councillor and member of Mr Farage’s campaign team, Richard Everett, suggested Reform had failed to declare spending on leaflets, banners, utility bills and the refurbishment of a bar in its Clacton campaign office, which would breach the £20,660 limit in the Essex constituency.
But the Electoral Commission has now said it has not identified any spending which should have been declared by Reform nationally.
Reform previously strongly denied breaking the law on election spending, and accused Mr Everett of being a “disgruntled former councillor” who was expelled from the party “several months ago”.
