'Dodgy money' scandal rocks Farage's Reform UK ahead of conference
Two of Nigel Farage's top aides have resigned from Reform UK after an undercover investigation into donations, prompting the party to launch its own inquiry.
Reform UK, the British party led by Nigel Farage, has been engulfed in controversy after an undercover investigation exposed questions over the party's donations. The fallout has already cost two senior figures their jobs.
Dan Jukes, who had long served as Farage's media chief, and James Orr, the party's senior policy adviser, have both stepped down. Reform UK has confirmed it is now conducting an internal investigation into the matter.
The scandal broke just before the party's annual conference, an event Farage had planned to use to reset his party's image following a summer largely spent fending off a symbolic by-election challenge from satirical candidate Count Binface. At the conference, Farage had intended to adopt a more serious tone.
Separately, new polling by More in Commons suggests that any pact between Reform UK and Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain party could hurt Farage's standing in the polls, regardless of whether such a deal goes ahead.
Adding to the pressures facing Reform UK, the governing Labour Party has hit a setback in its own efforts to curb political donations: a proposed cap on domestic donations will not be included in the elections bill when it returns to parliament next month.
Taken together, the developments point to a turbulent period for Reform UK, a party that has recently risen in the polls, as it heads into a high-profile conference already overshadowed by scandal and rival political maneuvering.
