The photograph sent shivers down the spines of Britain's Labour and Conservatives alike: On December 16, 2024, Nigel Farage, leader of the far-right Reform UK party, stood smiling alongside Elon Musk beneath a portrait of Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago, the US president-elect's estate in Florida. At 60, the former UKIP party leader and Brexit inspirer could hardly conceal his excitement at being the only British political leader to have his way with the future American president and the richest man in the world.

He only weakly denied rumors that Tesla's CEO was about to invest $100 million in his anti-immigrant party, founded in 2018, to help it become the leading opposition force to Labour. Reform UK is now nipping at the heels of Labour and the Tories in the polls, with around 20% of voting intentions.

On Sunday, January 5, Farage again enjoyed his new media status as Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer's most threatening opponent, as the main guest on the BBC's major weekend political program, Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg. He called Musk a "hero" and said that the American billionaire's attention to Reform UK makes his party "look cool." It would help the party attract younger men, not just older ones, he explained, a demographic essential to winning the British general election.

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