Nigel Farage is ‘probably the most consequential politician of our age | Politics | News

Nigel Farage is dead serious in his ambition to become Prime Minister and his fellow Reform UK comrades are determined to build a party that will last long into the future, according to the veteran Brexiteer’s latest biographer. Billionaire entrepreneur, philanthropist and author Lord Ashcroft has turned his gaze to Mr Farage, whose last party has been topping the polls since April last year; This fueled panic in Labor circles that forced Sir Keir Starmer to resign.

His new work – The Farage Factor: Reformation in the UK and the Restructuring of British Politics – delves into the quiet revolution unfolding in our democracy. Although Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has ruled out a deal with Reform, Lord Ashcroft, the Conservatives’ former deputy leader and treasurer, argues the two parties will find a post-election partnership “hard to resist” if Labor rejects another term in power. He is “more confident than ever” that Mr Farage will be ready to strike a deal.

His motivation for writing the biography is simple: “He was a fixture in British politics for 30 years, I know him personally and few can deny that he is the most important politician of our time.”

His other books include headline-making biographies of David Cameron and Angela Rayner, but the Reform leader did not try to stop his retired Conservative colleague from examining his life story.

“He was very relaxed about it,” he says. “I think he likes the attention.”

Mr Farage may welcome Lord Ashcroft’s conclusion that it is wrong to see him as a politician so far beyond the mainstream.

“He’s been labeled ‘far Right’ by a lot of people, when in many cases what he’s defending are petty-conservative, common-sense ideas,” he argues. “Many ‘old’ Labor supporters, who are generally quite socially conservative, support him.”

Mr Farage contributed to Boris Johnson’s landslide in 2019 by outperforming Brexit Party candidates in Conservative-held seats. Should the Conservatives have thanked him by placing him in the House of Lords?

Lord Ashcroft says: “I don’t believe Nigel could ever aspire to nobility, but he always said his sacrifice was never recognised.” “If true, that was carelessness.”

Far from fading away when Britain left the EU, Mr Farage entered the world of reality television. Donald Trump He gained millions of fans by going into the jungle as a contestant on I’m a Celebrity.

“He did it to connect with younger audiences, and I’m sure it was successful to some extent,” his colleague explains. “Even now, in my research, people are still talking about him. It’s helped a lot of people warm up to him.”

So if Lord Ashcroft were a young man today, would he join the Reform or the Conservatives?

“Kemi’s principled, straightforward approach appealed to me and I think it will be the same no matter how young I am,” he says. “But I can understand why people are looking for an alternative like Reform and why they are disappointed by the established parties.

“His challenge is to show that the Conservatives have changed so much more than their leaders.”

He considers a pre-election deal between the two parties “highly unlikely and probably unwise”, stating: “My polling suggests that some voters in both parties, particularly on the Tory side, will delay this deal. After the election, if it is a choice between some sort of deal or another Labor term, I’m sure both parties will find it hard to resist.”

He says writing this biography has made him “more confident than ever that Nigel Farage will be prepared to strike a deal with the Conservatives if necessary”.

He claims that the two parties are “much closer together now” in the polls when people are asked how likely they are to vote for a party in the next election, rather than asking what they would do “in an imaginary election tomorrow”.

“We’ll see how things develop over the next few months, but I don’t think the story is over yet,” he says.

The key question in Westminster circles is whether Reformation would have survived without Mr Farage at the helm and who might replace him. Its research shows potential Interior Minister Zia Yusuf and deputy leader Richard Tice are the two most popular choices among members.

“In my survey last month I asked Reform members who they would want and the answer was narrowly Zia Yusuf,” he says. “I was told that if Nigel were to withdraw for any reason, Richard Tice, who was close behind in second place, would really do well.”

He notes that Mr Farage is “serious about becoming prime minister”, adding: “As I was working on the book, it was clear to me that Reform UK people want to build a party that will last long into the future. It’s a difficult thing to do, but they seem quite determined to do it.”

Politics is far from the 80-year-old man’s only passion. He is fascinated by courage; The origins of this interest date back to the stories told to him by his father, Eric, who participated in the D-Day landings.

Born in Chichester, Lord Ashcroft spent some of his childhood in Malawi and Belize; where his father worked as a colonial officer and, after studying business at what is now Anglia Ruskin University, he briefly managed a rock band called Trident.

Looking back at his time in the music business, he says he learned the basic truth that revenues had to exceed expenses to make money. But most of all, he discovered that “being the manager of a rock band wasn’t going to be my long-term career.”

Instead, he bought and turned around a loss-making cleaning business, which set the path for lifelong ventures in fields as diverse as car sales, security and pharmaceutical packaging.

The international businessman amassed one of the world’s largest collections of Victoria Crosses and was the biggest donor behind the Bomber Command memorial in London.

“I think it is vital to educate our young people about the quality of courage,” he says. “I see Victoria Cross recipients as ‘the bravest of the brave’ whose stories should be told widely.”

He visits Ukraine regularly and is an enthusiastic supporter of the country, both as a philanthropist and as a campaigner fighting Vladimir Putin’s forces. His contribution was recognized this year when he was awarded Ukraine’s Honorary Cross of Merit and sanctions were imposed on Russia in 2024.

In this country he founded Crimestoppers UK, which allows people to report crimes completely anonymously, and raised the alarm about the state of the NHS in his book Life Support.

He also cares deeply about wildlife and opposes trophy hunting, and has funded surveys and focus groups to reveal what Britons really think about the men and women who want to lead the UK.

Lord Ashcroft has plenty of advice for the Chancellor on how to stimulate the economy: “Control spending and reform welfare so we can cut taxes and borrowing. Give up the obsession with net zero.”

“Reduce energy costs. Lift the ban on new drilling in the North Sea.

“Make it easy to hire people, not expensive… Their employers’ National Insurance uplift was off to a terrible start and hasn’t gotten any better.”

A Labor Chancellor is unlikely to thank him for his advice, but it is clear he believes Britain’s fortunes can be turned around. He may have turned his back on his music career, but he enjoys shaking up the status quo.