Nigel Farage Photo: Peter Macdiarmid / Eyevine / Profimedia
A group of 10 councilors from the far-right Reform UK party have resigned in a bid to force Nigel Farage to resign as leader, citing his “incompetent and malicious” leadership, less than a week after the Briton was criticized by Elon Musk. reports Politico and The Guardian, cited by News.ro.
The rebel councilors – all from the Derbyshire region, which is seen as key to Reform UK’s electoral expansion – said on Friday that the party’s current leadership was “incompetent or malicious” and criticized Farage for the his “autocratic style” of leadership.
The resignations come after tech tycoon Elon Musk called on Farage to step down as leader of Reform UK, claiming he “doesn’t have what it takes” to lead the party.
Musk’s statements came as a surprise, because the two appeared to be allies last month, when they were photographed together at the Mar-a-Lago property of US President-elect Donald Trump. But, after Farage distanced himself from Tommy Robinson, a prominent figure of the British far-right, who was in prison, the American billionaire, who asked for his release, broke with Farage.
Musk is a vocal supporter of Robinson, the founder of the far-right League for the Defense of England, currently in prison in the UK for contempt of court. The controversial politician has recently become a divisive factor in Reform UK, with its members firmly divided between support or rejection. Earlier this week, the party’s London mayoral candidate in 2024, Howard Cox, resigned from Reform after clashing with other officials over their support for “what (Robinson) is fighting for”.
Underscoring the rift in the party, the resigned councilors are calling on the party’s former deputy leader, Ben Habib, to take over. Habib considers Robinson a “political prisoner,” and Musk recently received some of his messages calling for his release.
In a media appearance on Friday, Farage said he had no intention of resigning and described critical councilors as members of a “corrupt branch” that had not been properly vetted. He added that he was “in touch” with Musk and that he is “still friends” with the technology mogul turned right-hand man of Donald Trump.
