Kemi Badenoch just dropped major prediction about Nigel Farage’s future amid controversy.TA
Kemi Badenoch has made a call on what the future looks like for Nigel Farage.
Kemi Badenoch (Image: Politics UK)
Kemi Badenoch has warned that a Nigel Farage government would be “chaos”. But the Conservative leader said she would be “surprised if this was the end” of the Reform UK leader following a spate of controversies.
The Brexit architect is facing intense scrutiny over the support given to him by long-term associate George Cottrell, which included funding for staffing, security and the use of a London townhouse.
Asked if the Tories were preparing to fight a potential by-election in Clacton amid scrutiny over the Reform UK leader’s finances, and whether Mr Farage was finished, the Tory leader said: “I would be surprised if this was the end of Nigel Farage.
“He’s been hanging around politics for a very long time. He’s had his ups and downs, and it’s very clear that he’s going through quite a difficult time.”
Speaking at a Politics UK event, Mrs Badenoch added: “But I just see this as an indicator of what, if he ever got in, what a Nigel Farage government would look like. It would just be this over and over again, things not being reported, endless scandals, and I just think that it would be chaos.
“So we have to be prepared for any eventuality. What I’m trying to show is that while Andy Burnham is having his summer holiday, Keir Starmer is walking off into the sunset, Nigel Farage is dealing with the latest scandal… I’m coming up with an entire plan for government.”
She added: “There’s only one person who’s actually turning up to work right now.”
Mr Farage has claimed he is the victim of an “establishment hit job” and insisted he had committed “no wrongdoing”.
The Sunday Times said Mr Cottrell recruited and paid three staff to work on Mr Farage’s social media before the general election, and has continued to allow him to use a five-storey Georgian property he rented near Buckingham Palace.
Under rules in place at the time of Mr Farage’s election in 2024, new MPs were required to register any gifts worth more than £300 they received in the previous 12 months, except where the gift “could not be reasonably thought by others” to relate to their political activities.
Labour and the Lib Dems have called for Parliament’s standards commissioner, who is already investigating a £5 million gift Mr Farage received from crypto-billionaire Christopher Harborne, to examine the support from Mr Cottrell.
The Reform leader on Sunday issued a statement insisting he had not broken any rules.
He said: “I have done no wrongdoing, followed the rules and I am now considering legal action against The Sunday Times.
“It’s now clear the establishment will stop at nothing to hurt Reform – we want to smash their cosy consensus.”
Reform UK’s Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick said Mr Cottrell is an “old friend” of Mr Farage and has “no formal role within Reform”.
The Times reported Mr Cottrell handed out a business card printed with his name, the Reform UK logo and Mr Farage’s official email address, despite having no formal role in the party.
After becoming the MP for Clacton in 2024, Mr Farage registered a £9,000 trip to Belgium donated by Mr Cottrell, and belatedly added £15,000 for a US domestic flight, but no other support.
Asked if Mr Cottrell paid for Mr Farage’s security and staff in 2024, Mr Jenrick told the BBC’s Sunday With Laura Kuenssberg programme he did but this was “before he became a Member of Parliament”.
Mr Cottrell was jailed for eight months in the US in 2017 after pleading guilty to a charge of wire fraud after admitting attempting to defraud criminals on the dark web by masquerading as a money launderer.
He was arrested as he and Mr Farage travelled back to Britain following a trip to the US.
Mr Cottrell reportedly remains a close adviser to Mr Farage after first becoming involved in Ukip as a volunteer in the run-up to the Brexit referendum.
Parliament’s standards commissioner Daniel Greenberg is already investigating whether Mr Farage should have registered an undisclosed £5 million gift from Thai-based billionaire Mr Harborne.
If found to have breached the rules, Mr Farage could face sanctions including a Commons suspension that could trigger a recall petition and a by-election in his seat.
