A group of 10 advisers to the far-right British party Reform UK have resigned, trying to get Nigel Farage to leave the post of leader of the political force. This is reported by Politico.
All advisers are from the Derbyshire region, which is considered key for the electoral expansion of Reform UK. On January 10, they said the current leadership of the political force was “either incompetent or malicious” and criticized Farage for his “autocratic manner.”
The mass resignation came less than a week after American billionaire Elon Musk demanded that the leader of Reform UK leave his post, claiming that he lacked the qualities necessary to lead a political force.
Meanwhile, back in December, Farage and Musk seemed to be allies when they were photographed together at the residence of US President-elect Donald Trump in Mar-a-Lago in Florida, Politico notes.
But after Farage distanced himself from radical politician Tommy Robinson, Musk reportedly cut ties with him. The billionaire is a vocal supporter of Robinson, the founder of the far-right Islamophobic English Defence League, who is currently in a British prison for contempt of court.
The controversial leader has recently become a divisive factor within Reform UK, with party members split over whether to support Robinson, the publication notes.
Earlier this week, Reform UK's candidate for mayor of London, Howard Cox, quit politics. This comes after the politician clashed with his party colleagues over his support for “what [Robinson] is fighting for”.
Underlining the divisions within Reform UK, former councillors are calling on former deputy leader Ben Habib to take over as leader. The latter considers Robinson a political prisoner, and Musk recently shared several of Habib's posts calling for the English Defence League leader to be fired.
Instead, Farage said he had no intention of resigning and called the former advisers members of a “criminal group” that had not been properly vetted.
He claims to remain in touch with Musk and is still friends with the billionaire.
The Reform UK party has five seats in the lower house of the British parliament and is in opposition.