He’s a clever bugger that Nigel Farage. You don’t spend literally decades trying to turn your one-man business into a political giant to have it blow up on you with one fatal misstep.
And that would undoubtedly have happened had he announced (as the Times had been briefed) that Nadhim Zahawi would be Reform’s ‘’Foreign Secretary’’ as part of his new Cabinet, with Robert Jenrick being the star name as Shadow Chancellor.
I’m afraid Zahawi is a shocker. You will remember he was fired by Rishi Sunak over a “serious breach” of UK government ethics rules relating to his tax affairs.
The former chancellor later admitted he’d made a “careless mistake” with the tax he paid on the sales of shares in YouGov, the polling company he helped found.
I found it incredible that when Zahawi was being appointed chancellor, questions were being raised about his tax affairs, and he discussed it with the Cabinet Office at the time.
How bad is that?
So, when I read the Times, I was astonished to see that his name was linked to one of the great offices of state. To be honest, I have no idea why Farage even thought Zahawi joining Reform was wise either.
I wonder if the latest YouGov poll might have persuaded Reform to leave him out of the press conference in which Farage heralded the appointments of Jenrick to run the economy, Zia Yusuf to stop the migration number, Richard Tice to scrap net zero and give the UK a business boom, and Suella Braverman to run education and equalities.
Nigel Farage almost blew up his shadow cabinet with one fatal misstep. Thank god he didn't - Kelvin MacKenzie | Getty Images
The poll put Reform on 24 per cent with Labour on 19 per cent, Tories on 18 per cent, Greens on 17 per cent and the Lib Dims bringing up the rear at 17 per cent. That’s closer than it has been, but not surprising because there hasn’t been the focus on illegal migration of late.
My advice to Farage is that he should keep on about it. It’s an area none of your other political rivals can compete with.
When faced with the issue, the Tories were a disaster, and Labour not only don’t want to do anything about it, they don’t even want to talk about it.
I like this lineup. They are heavyweights. I’m a big fan of Yusuf and am pleased to hear him say of illegal migrants: ‘’I will ensure that you are deported from these lands.’’
Waited a long time for a British politician to say that. I would have been more impressed had he said that he was going to turn back the illegals at Dover, but we may have to wait for that.
The other decent appointment is Tice. A businessman first and foremost. His ambition is to raise growth to four per cent and will abandon net zero and use oil and gas to boost the economy.
I have heard some of this before, but I have confidence in Reform. But as I look at the poll, it’s clear there will have to be some accommodation with the Tories. Either before or after the General Election.
That is down to the judgment of Farage. He’s been right more times than he’s been wrong over the last 30 years.
In Nige we trust.
Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter
More From GB News