What a difference a month makes. In December, Nigel Farage was tweeting about his meeting with Elon Musk and the world’s richest man’s support for his party. On Sunday, the Reform leader found himself defending himself from Musk’s criticism – after the tech billionaire declared on his platform X that Reform needed new leadership as Farage ‘doesn’t have what it takes’.
Musk can clearly change his opinion pretty quickly
The cooling of relations between the two men seems to come down to their differing views of Tommy Robinson, the jailed activist. Thanks largely to the tweets of Musk, the grooming gangs scandal has moved to the top of the news agenda over the past week. Both Reform and the Conservative party have joined Musk in raising concerns over the lack of attention the story has received over the years. Both Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage have called for a government inquiry – after Labour turned down a request for one from Oldham council. However, where Musk differs from the two party leaders is his praise for Tommy Robinson. Musk has praised Robinson’s role in covering the grooming gang scandal and called for his release from prison. In several interviews, Farage has taken a different line – saying Robinson would not be welcome in the Reform party and distancing himself from him.
In response to Musk’s tweet, Farage has said he will stick to his principles. He’s also had his base come out to support him – with the Reform party chairman Zia Yusuf and Reform MP Lee Anderson among those to praise Musk while defending Farage from criticism. Musk has hinted that he has more time for the Reform MP Rupert Lowe right now than Farage. Lowe has in turn praised Musk and Farage – however, his support for Farage comes across as a little less enthusiastic as some of his colleagues. The general approach from Reform is to keep calm and carry on.
Does any of this matter? The bigger story is of course the grooming gangs scandal. But the incident does raise questions about how the Musk/Reform dynamic will play out in the coming year. No one seriously thinks Farage’s position is in danger – what’s more the structure of Reform means Farage is very hard to remove even if that changes. What’s more, when it comes to relations with the new US administration Farage has a longstanding personal relationship with Donald Trump that outlasts his dealings with Musk.
But the view of Musk is relevant. First off, will it impact the likelihood of a big money donation to the Reform party? The hope and expectation of many in Reform has been that some type of financial donation would be forthcoming from Musk through one of his UK companies. This would then help Reform make 2025 their year and establish themselves as the main opposition. An ongoing disagreement between Farage and Musk could endanger that. It’s not gone unnoticed that Kemi Badenoch’s supporters have been messaging Musk urging him to look at the new Conservative leader as the next great hope for the right. He has since praised her on X. But the past 24 hours ought to have highlighted the risks of placing too much store on the endorsement of Musk. He can clearly change his opinion pretty quickly.
Yet with Musk’s social media platform and his close relationship with President-elect Donald Trump, there is good reason UK politicians will hope for a constructive relationship with the world’s richest man. As Keir Starmer is discovering the hard way, criticism from Musk creates problems and distractions for the government. Meanwhile a good relationship can open doors – Italy’s Giorgia Meloni’s meeting with Donald Trump on Sunday is said to have been brokered through Musk. The past week has shown what a delicate balancing act dealing with Musk is – even for those who have much in common with the tech billionaire.
