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Elon Musk turns on Nigel Farage and calls for new leader of Reform Elon Musk turns on Nigel Farage and calls for new leader of Reform
(about 2 hours later)
It is unclear what prompted Musk to post message on X saying Farage ‘doesn’t have what it takes’ to be Reform UK’s leaderIt is unclear what prompted Musk to post message on X saying Farage ‘doesn’t have what it takes’ to be Reform UK’s leader
Elon Musk has said Nigel Farage “doesn’t have what it takes” to be Reform UK’s leader, hours after Farage refused to condemn the billionaire businessman for his inflammatory comments about Keir Starmer and Jess Phillips. Elon Musk has called for Nigel Farage to be replaced as Reform UK leader hours after Farage described the billionaire businessman as “a hero”, in what is likely to be a preview of how a chaotic Donald Trump presidency could affect British politics.
In a surprise intervention, less than three weeks after Musk met Farage at Donald Trump’s Florida home amid reports he could donate $100m (£80m) to Reform, Musk used X, the social media platform he owns, to say: “The Reform party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes.” Farage, who is also the de facto owner of Reform, “doesn’t have what it takes”, Musk said on X, the social media platform he owns, less than three weeks after the pair held seemingly warm talks at Trump’s Florida home. “The Reform party needs a new leader,” he wrote.
It was not clear what prompted Musk, who has tweeted numerous times recently about UK politics, to change his mind about the Reform leader. Musk, who has sent a mass of largely misleading posts in recent days about a series of aspects of UK politics, appeared to endorse Rupert Lowe, the Great Yarmouth MP, as a possible replacement, saying statements he had read from Lowe “make a lot of sense”.
But Farage indicated it could have been due to disagreement about Tommy Robinson, the jailed far-right anti-Islam agitator whom Musk has characterised as a political prisoner, but whom Farage condemns. The sudden change of heart from Musk is highly embarrassing for Farage, who had just spent much of a TV interview earlier on Sunday refusing to condemn the businessman for inflammatory comments about Keir Starmer and Jess Phillips, including calling the latter a “rape genocide apologist”.
Farage indicated the move could be connected to a disagreement about Tommy Robinson, the jailed far-right anti-Islam agitator whom Musk has characterised as a political prisoner, but whom Farage condemns.
“Well, this is a surprise!” Farage wrote on X after Musk’s tweet. “Elon is a remarkable individual but on this I am afraid I disagree. My view remains that Tommy Robinson is not right for Reform and I never sell out my principles.”“Well, this is a surprise!” Farage wrote on X after Musk’s tweet. “Elon is a remarkable individual but on this I am afraid I disagree. My view remains that Tommy Robinson is not right for Reform and I never sell out my principles.”
Speaking earlier, Farage said Musk, who has called Phillips a “rape genocide apologist” and said Starmer was “complicit in the rape of Britain”, had brought back free speech on social media since buying Twitter, which he renamed X. While the apparent split does relieve Farage of having to defend Musk’s increasingly prolific, freewheeling and far-right views, there had been significant speculation that the world’s richest man could donate as much as $100m (£80m) to Reform, which now appears less likely.
“I don’t agree with everything he stands for,” Farage told BBC One’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg. “But I do believe in free speech. I think he’s a hero.” More widely, the incident is a reminder to Farage and other UK politicians that trying to win favour with either Trump or his ever-changing coterie of advisers and hangers on, particularly Musk – a capricious figure who seems to understand little about British politics – is a risky affair.
Musk’s embrace of Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, has coincided with his interest in cases of grooming gangs in some UK towns and cities, and the decision by Phillips to tell Oldham council, one of the areas affected, that she did not think a second national inquiry into lessons from the scandal was needed.
As well as his comment about Phillips, the safeguarding minister, Musk said Starmer was “complicit in the rape of Britain”. In another flurry of tweets on Sunday, Musk again praised Robinson, and promoted discredited conspiracy theories that Starmer failed to act against the prolific sex offender Jimmy Savile when he was director of public prosecutions.
Musk has also endorsed far-right figures in other countries recently, expressing support for Germany’s Alternative für Deutschland in next month’s federal elections.
Asked about this in an interview with the German weekly Stern, Olaf Scholz, the country’s chancellor, said: “Don’t feed the troll,” adding: “You have to stay cool.”
Speaking before Musk disowned him, Farage declined to condemn the comments about Starmer and Phillips. “I don’t agree with everything he stands for,” Farage told BBC One’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg. “But I do believe in free speech. I think he’s a hero.”
He added: “Free speech is back. Well, you may find it offensive, but it’s a good thing, not a bad thing.”He added: “Free speech is back. Well, you may find it offensive, but it’s a good thing, not a bad thing.”
Speaking later to the BBC, Wes Streeting, the health secretary, condemned Musk’s comments about Phillips, among a mass of messages on the subject of grooming gangs Musk has sent to his 210 million X followers in recent days. Farage described Musk’s language as “very, very tough terms”, but indicated it would only be seen as unacceptable if it was deemed to be inciting violence. “You know, in public life, tough things get said,” he said. “Those on the left have thrown these sort of jabs at the right for many, many decades and will go on doing so.”
Farage also said he believed Musk had justification in calling Starmer complicit in the failures to swiftly prosecute gangs who targeted vulnerable young girls in a series of UK towns and cities.
“What he’s referring to, specifically, is that in 2008 Keir Starmer had just been appointed as director of public prosecutions, and there was a case brought before them of alleged mass rape of young girls that did not lead to a prosecution,” Farage said.
“I don’t know the rights and wrongs of that any more than you do, but if you believe in free speech, people are allowed to have an opinion.”
Speaking later to the BBC, Wes Streeting, the health secretary, condemned Musk’s comments about Phillips..
“It is a disgraceful smear of a great woman who has spent her life supporting victims of the kind of violence that Elon Musk and others say that they’re against,” he said.“It is a disgraceful smear of a great woman who has spent her life supporting victims of the kind of violence that Elon Musk and others say that they’re against,” he said.
Streeting condemned what he called “armchair critics on social media”, contrasting them with people such as Starmer and Phillips, who “have done the hard yards of actually locking up wife beaters, rapists, paedophiles”.Streeting condemned what he called “armchair critics on social media”, contrasting them with people such as Starmer and Phillips, who “have done the hard yards of actually locking up wife beaters, rapists, paedophiles”.
Asked about Musk, Streeting said: “If he wants to roll his sleeves up and actually do something about tackling violence against women and girls, then online platforms, whether X or any of the other platforms, have got a role to play in keeping people safe online, helping law enforcement clamp down on perpetrators of violence against women and girls, and people who want to groom kids online.”
Farage, speaking after he addressed supporters at Reform’s east of England conference in Chelmsford on Saturday, described Musk’s language as “very, very tough terms”, but indicated it would only be seen as unacceptable if it was deemed to be inciting violence.
“You know, in public life, tough things get said,” he said. “Those on the left have thrown these sort of jabs at the right for many, many decades and will go on doing so.”
Farage said he believed Musk had justification in calling Starmer complicit in the failures to swiftly prosecute gangs who targeted vulnerable young girls in a series of UK towns and cities because of the prime minister’s role as director of public prosecutions before he became a politician.
“What he’s referring to, specifically, is that in 2008 Keir Starmer had just been appointed as director of public prosecutions, and there was a case brought before them of alleged mass rape of young girls that did not lead to a prosecution.
“I don’t know the rights and wrongs of that any more than you do, but if you believe in free speech, people are allowed to have an opinion.”
Farage denied his disinclination to criticise Musk was connected to reports that Musk could donate as much as $100m to Reform. While saying Musk “may well” donate, Farage dismissed the idea of a $100m gift.
Being dropped by Musk might not be entirely without political benefit for Farage, however embarrassing.
Polling shows Musk is personally unpopular with many UK voters, and a number of the issues he is commenting on, for example support for Robinson and the idea that the king should dissolve parliament and call an election, were not prominent beyond limited social media bubbles.
Musk’s interest in sexual exploitation in the UK follows reports that Phillips told Oldham council that it would be better for it to hold its own inquiry into local failure, rather than commissioning a national version.
Streeting defended this decision, telling Sky News there had already been a national inquiry on the subject, headed by the child welfare expert Alexis Jay. He said: “What I think not just historic victims, but victims today, tomorrow, next week, deserve is the full implementation of the Alexis Jay recommendations. Our predecessors didn’t implement one of them.”