Farage and Musk meeting: ‘UK politicians are asleep at the wheel on this’

By Michael Baggs (with Emily, Jon and Lewis)

Following rumours of a huge donation to Reform UK, a photo of Nigel Farage and Elon Musk has reignited concerns that the Tesla billionaire wants to get involved in British politics.

Read time: 5 mins

In brief…

• Farage shared a photo on social media of the pair, along with newly appointed treasurer, billionaire Nick Candy.
• The News Agents say it achieved everything Farage could have wanted – to have the entire British media discussing his relationship with the billionaire.
• They say British MPs are “terrified” about Musk’s potential influence, and that Labour needs to act to review UK electoral processes, as promised in its manifesto.

What’s the story?

It is a simple photo – three men grinning – but it is one that could have enormous implications for the UK.

It is, of course, the image of Nigel Farage, Elon Musk and Nick Candy, shared on social media this week, following speculation of Musk's potential involvement with Reform UK. It was taken at Donald Trump’s Florida home of Mar-a-Lago, and in front of a painting of the president-elect (in his younger years).

Candy is a new addition to the top table of Reform UK. A UK property billionaire, married to former actress and pop singer Holly Valance, the couple were photographed with Farage and Trump earlier this year.

It has been rumoured that Musk is planning to give £100 million to Reform, an unprecedented donation, and one The News Agents have previously described as potentially "dangerous" for British politics.

Musk exerted his influence, and his billionaire bank balance, during the 2024 election campaign, helping secure a win for Donald Trump, and landing himself a job in a brand new government department for his efforts.

Now, experts are worried he's sowing the same seeds here, by backing right-wing populism on this side of the Atlantic.

He has already used his platform on X/Twitter to criticise Starmer's government, despite living thousands of miles away.

Musk did not retweet Farage's photo, but Farage has said Musk has already given him “considerable help” and that a discussion has been held about a donation.

What can we learn from the photo itself?

Lewis Goodall describes the photo as “astounding”, and says it has achieved everything Farage was aiming for when he shared it.

“This was clearly completely calibrated to do exactly what Farage wants – which is to get us all talking about his links with the court of Trump.”

He says that this may also be a distraction from the fact that Farage allegedly did not meet with Trump during the visit to his home.

"He's managed to compensate for that with this picture with Musk, which has got the entire British media talking about the possibility of Musk providing financial resources for Reform," Lewis adds.

Although Emily thinks the Mar-a-Lago setting, not to mention the painting behind the men, suggests the photo-op was all done with “Trump’s blessing”.

“I don't think it makes a jot of difference if Trump's there or not,” she says.

“It shows that Elon Musk has been given the power to go and talk to everybody.”

And that, she adds, must make us question whether the British electorate can be “bought”.

Should British MPs be doing more to counter this?

No one expected Reform UK to claim five seats in this year’s general election, but that’s where the country found itself after the events of 4 July, with the right-wing populists also coming second in a huge number of constituencies in the results of the snap election.

And Lewis believes MPs are now “asleep at the wheel” when it comes to the influence Musk could have on our political system.

“I find the lack of urgency about this possibility quite astonishing,” he says.

“I think lots of Labour MPs are really worried about it, and there are stirrings at the top of government, but I find it surprising the extent of the dormancy of it.

“We are at a point of real vulnerability for someone like Musk to come along with a lot of money – essentially as a foreign agent – to try and buy a UK election, or to be able to wield unique interference."

He says UK politics has never seen such huge amounts of money flow into it before now.

Jon Sopel says he believes most British MPs are "terrified" of Reform.

“The cheques may not have been signed yet, the money may not be flowing in, but by God, the tweets are. The support on X is already there,” he says.

Emily believes we now live in a world where political power means nothing compared to "financial power".

It is rumoured Musk will give the money to Reform through a UK subsidiary of one of his international companies, therefore avoiding regulations over how much can be donated to a political party by people outside the UK.

Does the electoral commission lack the “guts” to tackle Musk?

Lewis says not only should Labour act now due to concerns of a Musk donation to a populist party such as Reform, it should do so because it made a promise in its election manifesto.

“The Labour government literally has a mandate to do this. It was in its manifesto to review our electoral and election law, to ensure that there could not be foreign interference in our elections and to ensure that the system was robust.

He believes the biggest political question of 2025 will be how to tackle the populist forces of a party like Reform.

“The Electoral Commission, under current law, could deem this is a foreign donation,” Lewis adds.

“The problem is, the Electoral Commission has been a toothless body for many years, and I doubt it would have the guts to do that.

“So Labour should bolster the Electoral Commission to make sure that it finally shows some guts.”

Listen in full on The News Agents

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