Elon Musk will help Reform UK win over young voters and beat the Tories, Nigel Farage claims
Nigel Farage said Elon Musk is ‘an absolute hero figure’ for the younger generation and would be a ‘huge help’ in connecting them with Reform UK
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Elon Musk will help Reform UK win over younger voters and beat the Conservatives at the next general election, Nigel Farage has claimed.
The Tesla tycoon is “an absolute hero figure” for the younger generation and would be a “huge help” in connecting them with the party, the Reform UK leader added.
With rumours swirling of a potentially massive donation to Reform from the world’s richest man, Mr Farage said any handout from Mr Musk would be “legal and above board”, but added the billionaire was indeed considering giving a “reasonable-sized” chunk.
There has been speculation a donation could be as much as $100m, which would be by far the biggest donation in British political history and still significantly less than what Mr Musk spent on the re-election of Donald Trump.
Mr Farage has said he and Mr Musk discussed the donation during a trip to Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida alongside Reform’s new treasurer, former Tory donor Nick Candy.
And, commenting on Mr Musk’s popularity with younger voters in an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Mr Farage said: “The shades, the bomber jacket, the whole vibe. Elon makes us cool – Elon is a huge help to us with the young generation, and that will be the case going on, and frankly that’s only just starting.
“Reform only wins the next election if it gets the youth vote. The youth vote is the key. Of course you need voters of all ages, but if you get a wave of youth enthusiasm you can change everything.
“And I think we’re beginning to get into that zone – we were anyway, but Elon makes the whole task much, much easier. And the idea that politics can be cool, politics can be fun, politics can be real – Elon helps us with that mission enormously.”
Mr Farage also said he hoped that Mr Musk would give Reform the plans for the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) he has been tasked by Mr Trump with running. The body is being set up to slash trillions of dollars of US government spending, and Mr Farage said: “I’m hoping he gives us the blueprint, and the blueprint is how to cut the administrative state.
“The message from us to young people is we want the state to leave us alone. The message to young people is your youth was messed up by government lockdowns – we want the state to leave us alone to live our own lives, make our own choices and do our own things, and again Elon helps with that enormously.”
The comments come amid a blazing row between Mr Farage and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, who he has hinted he could sue over her claim Reform UK faked its leadership numbers.
A digital counter on Reform’s website showed a membership tally on Boxing Day ticking past the 131,680 figure declared by the Conservative Party during its leadership election earlier this year.
But Ms Badenoch said the Reform figures were “fake”, accusing Mr Farage of lying to his supporters at Christmas.
Mr Farage, in a statement issued on Mr Musk’s social media site X, said the accusations of “fraud and dishonesty” made against him were “disgraceful”.
He said Reform had opened up its systems to media outlets, including the Telegraph and the Financial Times, in the “interests of full transparency to verify that our data is correct”.
He added: “I am now demanding Kemi Badenoch apologises.”
Mr Farage, on whether he was threatening legal action or not, said: “I haven’t threatened anything. I’ve just said that unless I get an apology, I will take some action. I haven’t said whether it’s legal or anything.”
He added: “All I’ve said is I want an apology. If I don’t get an apology, I will take action.”
Ms Badenoch, in a series of messages posted on X on Boxing Day, said: “Farage doesn’t understand the digital age. This kind of fakery gets found out pretty quickly, although not before many are fooled.”
There were 131,680 Conservative members eligible to vote during the party’s leadership election to replace Rishi Sunak in the autumn.
Ms Badenoch claimed in her thread that “the Conservative Party has gained thousands of new members since the leadership election”.
Mr Farage said he would gladly invite a firm to audit Reform UK’s membership numbers if the Conservatives did the same.
“We understand you are bitter, upset and angry that we are now the second biggest party in British politics, and that the Conservative brand is dying under your leadership,” he wrote on social media. “However, this not an excuse to accuse us of committing fraud.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments