Nigel Farage has issued a defiant three-word message to Reform UK supporters who are hoping he will play a role in the general election this year.
Reform leader Richard Tice said today that the party is on election footing heading into 2024, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak tipped to call a vote later this year. The populist party chief held an event in central London this afternoon in which he revealed deputy leader Ben Habib would stand in the upcoming Wellingborough by-election.
But Mr Farage – Reform’s former leader and current honorary president – was nowhere to be seen despite a highly-anticipated rumoured political comeback. While he has likely left some people disappointed, he issued a defiant follow-up statement teasing a potential role in the general election this year.
Mr Farage, the founder of Reform UK, is the majority shareholder and has long served as an electoral asset since his departure as official figurehead in 2021. Mr Tice, then the party chair, took over, and the ex-UKIP chief told The Guardian he was running the show during today’s press conference.
When asked whether he was coming back to assist his GB News colleague during the election, he issued a three-word response. He said: “I’m honorary president. It was Richard’s show today. All I will say is: never say never.”
Mr Farage stepped back from frontline politics when he stood down as Reform leader in 2021 and has since only teased that he may wade back into the political fray.
During his speech earlier today, Mr Tice said the 59-year-old was still assessing whether he would return to politics but said he was “very confident” he would play some role in the general election campaign.
He was similarly cryptic when discussing the former leader’s role in the party’s plan to “save Britain”.
He said: “A good poker player does not show their hand too early. Nigel is the master of political timing, but I am very clear. The job at hand is so big, to save Britain, the more help Nigel is able to give in the election campaign, the better.”
Reform is aiming to steal a dozen seats in Parliament this year, and its candidates will stand against the Conservative party – its closest rivals – during a coming campaign.
Doing so could cost both parties later this year, the Conservatives have warned, leading Labour’s Sir Keir Starmer into Number 10.
