Reform UK! Electoral Commission Approves Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party Name Change

Former UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage gestures during an interview with
AP IMAGES
Oliver JJ Lane

Veteran freedom campaigner Nigel Farage has taken a step towards turning his fire on new political issues in the post-Brexit world, with his Brexit Party officially being renamed Reform UK.

The government body which controls elections in the United Kingdom and maintains the register of official political parties has approved Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party becoming Reform UK, the conclusion of a process that began over one year ago.

Mr Farage and his party Chairman Richard Tice first floated transforming the then-new Brexit Party into a post-Brexit political force in December 2019, saying that after Britain left the European Union he wanted to focus his energy on addressing structual issues in UK politics. By June 2020, Mr Farage was reportedly coalescing the purpose and structure of the new party, and was speaking of opposing the government’s long-running coronavirus lockdown as well as the sudden resurgence of hard-left politics in the UK delivered through the BLM UK vehicle.

Speaking then, he said: “[I am] watching and waiting. The lack of leadership from our government has been pitiful. Millions of Conservative voters want to see some moral courage, not the current cowardice in the face of anarchic Marxism.”

Now Reform UK is official, with the Electoral Commission, the UK government body which enforces electoral law, approving the new name and logo.

Commenting on the change, party leader Mr Farage, said: “This is great news and the perfect time in the New Year. The need for Reform is greater than ever as we try to recover from Covid. We have a huge opportunity as a nation post Brexit, but there are many areas of the UK that need real, bold reform: our economy, House of Lords, BBC, civil service, the voting system to mention a few.”

Richard Tice, Chairman of Reform UK said: “the name change reflects what our country needs: Reform. Real change to benefit the people, to make our nation more successful. We must reform our approach to Covid, and reform the economy so that it incentivises the self-employed, entrepreneurs, and small businesses. Faster growth for all will be achieved by reforming our approach to tax, unnecessary regulation and wasteful government spending”.

Another issue for the Reform Party may be the Conservative Party’s unwavering dedicated to increasingly hard-green politics. Speaking in December, Mr Farage said of wide ranging green policies being pushed through during the coronavirus pandemic: “If measures to improve the environment really are necessary, they can only be introduced sensibly and with proper consultation, not sneaked through cynically under the guise of the pandemic… My new party will stand candidates against any and every local councillor who backs these new cycle lanes and road closures in next year’s local elections.”

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