Reform leader Nigel Farage would end WFH culture, insisting people are ‘more productive being with other fellow human beings’

Nigel Farage has called on the UK to end the work-from-home culture, claiming employees are ‘more productive with other people’.

The Reform UK leader told 2,000 supporters at a rally in Birmingham that the UK needed ‘a change of attitude towards hard work rather than work-life balance’.

Mr Farage added that people worked better ‘as part of a team’ in the office and described claims that staff were more productive at home as ‘nonsense’.

The politician, who was preparing to announce his shadow cabinet, told the NEC: ‘You can’t stay sick because you have mild anxiety. But this is a change in attitude that Britain needs. A change in attitude towards hard work rather than work-life balance.

‘A change in attitude towards the idea of ​​working from home. People are not more productive when working at home; This is a bunch of nonsense. ‘They are more productive when they are with other people and work as part of a team.’

Thousands of companies in the UK have introduced remote working policies during Covid-19 lockdowns, with office workers most affected.

According to the Office for National Statistics, the number of people working from home doubled between the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2022, from 4.7 million to 9.9 million.

The latest official data from the start of 2025 showed 28 per cent of the UK workforce was working in hybrid work, 13 per cent were working fully remotely and 44 per cent were traveling to work.

Latest data from the Office for National Statistics from the beginning of 2025 showed that 28 per cent of the UK workforce is working in hybrid work, with 13 per cent working fully remotely and 44 per cent traveling to work.

But a growing number of major companies such as Amazon, Boots and JP Morgan have told their employees to return to the office full-time over the past few years.

Mr Farage first pledged to end the ‘work from home culture’ ahead of local elections last May, saying staff at Reform councils would be told: ‘You either work from the office or you leave.’

It comes after Lord Rose, the former chief executive of Asda and Marks and Spencer, said in January last year that remote working policies were producing a generation that ‘doesn’t work properly’.

He claimed at the time that working from home was making people less productive and attributed this to the ‘general decline’ in the UK economy.

Yesterday Mr Farage said Reform UK was now on a ‘general election war footing’ and called on the Prime Minister to resign.

He told the crowd that Reformation was ready to fight and win the next general election, and said he felt it could happen sooner than expected.

(From left) Suella Braverman, Robert Jenrick, Richard Tice, Nigel Farage, Lee Anderson, Andrew Rosunull, Sarah Pochin and Danny Kruger during the Reform UK rally yesterday

Leader Nigel Farage takes to the stage during a rally for the Reform UK party at the NEC Birmingham. Picture date: Monday, February 9, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should be: Jacob King/PA Wire

Mr Farage added to growing pressure on Sir Keir Starmer to resign over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as US ambassador, despite his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

He said Scottish Labor leader Anas Sarwar’s calls for Sir Keir’s resignation meant it was ‘almost impossible’ for Labor to contest the Scottish election.

Mr Farage said the May 7 election would be ‘critical’ but said he planned to announce his shadow cabinet this week because the party had the ‘right people’.

He also revealed that Reform was working on plans to revolutionize the civil service.

The party has promised to cut 68,500 jobs in the public service and cut the wage bill by 17 per cent if they are successful at the ballot box.

All Reform UK MPs joined the party leader on stage at the end of the rally as Mr Farage greeted those joining the team before throwing branded T-shirts into the crowd.