Michael Lambert: Why Reform's Crazy Operation Fortress Is Unworkable

Aug 28, 2026 | Reform's new Operation Fortress will never work — it's illegal, unworkable and would put lives at risk.

Reform UK have just published their big plan to stop the small boats — Operation Fortress — and, frankly, it's just not right. On paper it sounds tough: Royal Navy River Class patrol vessels, RHIBs, helicopters from Doncaster, P8 Poseidon aircraft and drones to force every small boat back into French waters.

In practice, as I explain in this video, it collapses on three grounds. First, it's illegal. Forcing dinghies back violates the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and French sovereignty — you can't just dump people in France's waters. Second, it's logistically absurd — you'd need to station warships permanently in the Dover Strait (the busiest shipping lane in the world, 400-500 large vessel movements a day), manhandle people who don't want to go into RHIBs, fly helicopters 200 miles from Doncaster, and even threaten "lethal force" if French police intervene. One photo in the document shows an aircraft carrier — to stop a rubber dinghy. And third, it's diplomatically impossible — as one of Reform's own endorsers admitted, France will never agree to take them back. It's another fantasy policy — after the £1bn Rwanda farce — paid for by the taxpayer.

Was Clacton Fiasco Beginning of the End for Farage and Reform?

August 21, 2026 | Farage has gone missing since the Clacton by-election — and the party he built is falling apart around him.

I wasn't going to talk about Farage this week, but after the Clacton by-election he's done a disappearing act and Reform UK appears to be in complete meltdown.

n this video I look at why calling that by-election was the first major unforced error of Farage's career — the moment he realised he'd made a classic mistake and went to ground.

From the poll slump (27% down to 24%) to the pressers from Richard Tice and Bob Jenrick, the £50 billion benefit cut plan, and the long list of scandals and fallings-out — the £5 million gift, the tax investigations, the convictions — this is a party beginning to look like a complete rabble.

I also ask the bigger question: Is this finally it for the man who brought us Brexit? …

Nigel Farage Has Had ‘A Complete Change of Character’ | Michael Crick

Aug 16, 2026 | “Gone is the affable character, affable Farage of old, who you know, gets on with people, laughs at himself, has a bit of fun. Now we've got the snarling man of continuous grievance who makes ridiculous claims against the media.”

Nigel Farage’s biographer, Michael Crick says that over the past few months the Reform UK leader has had “a complete change of personality.”

Rob Groves: The Establishment "UniParty" Candidate Was Farage

August 15, 2026 | Nigel Farage won the Clacton by-election he triggered to dodge a parliamentary investigation into his £5 million donation scandal. But that investigation is already back on. Here are ten things the result actually tells us about him and Reform UK.

Michael Lambert: Farage Won the By-election. His Supporters' Comments Prove the Problem

August 14, 2026 | Farage won the Clacton by-election — as expected. But his supporters' reactions to my last video tell the real story. In this video I read through the comments and respond to what they're actually defending: the "man of the people" image versus the private planes, five houses and the £5 million gift that hasn't gone away.There's also the question of why Farage didn't turn up to his own count — and why another by-election may be coming sooner than he thinks.

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Count Binface Wins the Hearts of the British People against Far-right Candidate Nigel Farage

August 14, 2026 | In yesterday's Clacton-upon-Sea special election, a record-breaking field of 34 candidates lined up on the ballot paper. Among them stood Nigel Farage, leader of the xenaphobic Reform UK, seeking to consolidate his political standing. But standing right alongside him was Count Binface—the self-described bin-clad space politician who may not have won enough votes, but came second to a loser.

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Widdecombe Murder Police Reopen Inquiry into Alleged Attempt to Firebomb Farage’s Home

THE GUARDIAN: Watchdog examines handling of an incident last year that was treated as an attempted burglary

Counter-terrorism police investigating the death of Ann Widdecombe have reopened an inquiry into an incident last year, in which Nigel Farage’s home was allegedly firebombed.

During the incident in April 2025, a lit incendiary device was pushed through the Reform UK leader’s letterbox, according to reports.

Police did not identify any suspects during their investigation of the incident at the time, which was treated as an attempted burglary, and so the investigation was closed, pending any new lines of inquiry.

Since the case was reopened, CTP London said it had identified a line of inquiry “which may have been relevant” but was “not identified and pursued by [counter-terrorism police] at the time”. » | Donna Ferguson and Nadeem Badshah | Saturday, August 8, 2026

Michael Lambert: Nigel Farage's £5 Million Cover-up Is Falling Apart

August 7, 2026 | Nigel Farage triggered a by-election in Clacton — not for his constituents, but to distract from a parliamentary inquiry into an undeclared £5 million gift from a Thai-based crypto billionaire.

His plan: win big, claim a mandate, and make the inquiry look like political persecution. It hasn't gone to plan. The main parties refused to stand. He's running against Count Binface and 33 others. He'll win — but on a reduced majority and a humiliatingly low turnout. And in September, the inquiry resumes anyway.

If the Parliamentary Standards Committee suspends him for 10 or more days, a recall petition follows — requiring 10% of Clacton voters' signatures. That triggers yet another by-election. More humiliation. More decline.

This is a man who built a 25-year political career on being the plain-speaking outsider. Now he's the one dodging questions about £5 million he "forgot" to declare. The beginning of the end? I think so.

Rupert Lowe And Farage ‘Can’t Work Together’ | Peter Hitchens

Aug 4, 2026 | “If Nigel Farage is in charge, then Rupert is not going to be happy and vice versa.”

Nobody who has worked with Nigel Farage has “lasted very long”, and that is unlikely to change, says author and broadcaster Peter Hitchens.

Rob Groves: Telegraph Defends Farage Over Guillotine Hypocrisy

August 1, 2026

Rob Groves: Burnham's Brexit Reset vs the Farage Clause

July 25, 2026 | Andy Burnham's first week as Prime Minister brings a new Europe minister, a fresh call with Brussels, and a reset that might finally go further than Starmer's timid version ever did. But the EU isn't just hoping for the best, they're planning for the worst, with a clause reportedly nicknamed after Nigel Farage.

Farage’s Furious Clash with Times Editor Stuns Figures Close to Him

THE GUARDIAN: ‘Strong confrontation’ comes at fragile moment for Reform’s relations with rightwing media as coverage turns negative

Screenshot taken from this Guardian article. | Nigel Farage speaking at the inaugural CPAC GB event on 17 July. Photograph: James Veysey/Shutterstock
Nigel Farage is no stranger to expressing his ire at what he regards as the liberal establishment, but even figures close to him were surprised at the tirade of anger he unleashed upon the editor of the Times.

The exchange, which is said to have included an expletive aimed at Tony Gallagher, was triggered by the Reform UK leader’s outrage that the paper was planning to run a story about his houses, which he said endangered his family.

A source with knowledge of the encounter said it ended in “a strong confrontation”.

It is a fragile moment for Reform’s relationship with Britain’s rightwing media, whose coverage of Farage and his byelection gamble has taken a negative turn since questions were raised about his funding and finances.

Coverage by the Times and the Sun, part of Rupert Murdoch’s News UK stable, as well as the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, has made for tough reading for Reform in recent days.

While the Telegraph has given column inches to party figures to air their grievances at the media, recent stories have also described Farage’s decision to subject himself to a “people versus the establishment” byelection in Clacton as a “summer gamble” and a farce. » | Michael Savage | Media editor | Saturday, July 18, 2026

Michael Lambert: I Found Out that Nobody Cares about the By-election

July 17, 2026 | I went to the seaside this week. I went to Clacton to experience the excitement of the coming by-election; but what I found was something much more concerning for our democracy.

I spoke to more than 40 people, and what astonished me was the sheer number of voters who knew nothing about the by-election or simply didn't care about politics at all.

Of those who did, the divide was stark: either a cult-like devotion to Nigel Farage, or a damning view of him as an opportunist chancer.

In this video, I break down the conversations I had, the misinformation being spread, and why the "they are all the same" narrative is dangerous for our political discourse.


Nigel Farage is indeed a charlatan. I agree with you totally. Unfortunately, many people in this country are not discerning enough to be able to observe his character flaws. I cannot help but worry for the future of democracy in this country. In fact, with Trump in power in the US as well, I cannot help but worry about the future of democracy in the West as a whole. — © Mark Alexander

Meet George | Posh George: The Criminal Behind Farage Ep.1

Jul 16, 2026 | Who is George Swinfen Cottrell, aka Posh George? Booted out of his expensive boarding school after gambling in 2010, he comes of age in London’s Mayfair district, learning the tricks of his trade in international finance, private banking, and offshore structures.

George is soon drawn into the orbit of UKIP leader, Nigel Farage.

Both George Cottrell and Nigel Farage deny any wrongdoing.

Host: Gabriel Pogrund, editor of Insight at The Sunday Times

Rob Groves: Farage's Runaway Gravy Train Derails

July 11, 2026 | Nigel Farage built his entire brand on being the one honest man taking on a corrupt establishment.

This week, the facts underneath Reform UK's accounts tell a very different story: an undisclosed £5m gift from crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne, a convicted fraudster acting as the party's unofficial treasurer, money routed through a renamed company and an Australian currency exchange nobody can trace, deputy leader Richard Tice's murky Dubai property deal, and Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick under active Metropolitan Police investigation over an allegedly illegal foreign donation.

Meanwhile Farage has triggered a pointless by-election in Clacton, running unopposed against novelty candidate Count Binface, in a transparent bid to dodge the scrutiny closing in from the parliamentary standards commissioner, the Met, the National Crime Agency and his own furious donors.

Michael Lambert: Nigel Farage's Political Career Is Collapsing

July 10, 2026 | Nigel Farage's political career is on the brink. The latest revelations regarding his financial dealings and the wider scrutiny on Reform UK suggest that what many thought was an unstoppable force is now facing a definitive collapse.

In this video, I break down the timeline of events, the serious questions regarding campaign funding, and why the narrative surrounding Farage has shifted so drastically. It’s a classic case of political hubris meeting intense public and legal scrutiny. I mean, the way this has been handled—or rather, mishandled—it's just… it's just not right. …


What amazes me about Nigel Farage is that so many of the so-called "great and the good" in this country take him so seriously as a future prime minister. He is the man who has impoverished the nation through Brexit and ruined its international standing; yet they are so ready and willing to talk of him one day soon occupying the top political job in this country! To me, the man is nothing but a charlatan and snake-oil salesman. A fraud. I couldn't and wouldn't vote for that man even if he was the last man standing! — © Mark Alexander

People in Clacton TURN ON Nigel Farage after Shock Resignation and NEW By-election Bid

July 8, 2026 | Rattled Nigel Farage has been left humiliated as his “cynical political stunt” to quit as an MP and trigger a by-election in his own seat spectacularly unravelled.

The under-fire Reform chief, who said he would fight in the Clacton contest, desperately attempted to frame the fight as a “people versus the establishment by-election”.

Critics said he had “jumped before he’s pushed” amid a probe by the parliamentary commissioner for standards over his failure to declare a £5million gift from Thai-based crypto billionaire Christopher Harborne before his election as an MP.

'Scratch the Surface and They Don’t Like It’ | Sunday Times Editor Explains Farage Investigation

ul 8, 2026 | Ben Taylor, Sunday Times editor, explains what Reform's reaction to the weekend's revelations reveals about how they view "proper scrutiny". He adds Nigel Farage should ask himself if he believes in a free press or wants to “go down the Trumpian route”.

“They’ve become quite used to the popularity and the acclaim ... But if you scratch the surface, they don't like it."


That these people are even giving mind space to the possibility that Farage could ever be this country’s prime minister is something which I find profoundly depressing. Farage is the cause of Brexit which has, in turn, impoverished the nation. Then, to go on and talk about his possibly becoming prime minister after he has caused the British economy so much harm is, to my mind, not only ironic and nonsensical, but it is also absurd! The man is a self-enriching, Trump-loving charlatan. Even now, at this early stage, he shows all the signs of being equally as corrupt. Too use Thatcher;s famous phrase: No! No! No! The British electorate deserve better than this. — © Mark Alexander

Andrew Neil: Farage Is ‘Losing His Touch’

Jul 8, 2026 | “It’s all backfired very badly on him.”

The fact that the other main parties are not standing in the Clacton by-election means the whole thing is a “charade”, says Andrew Neil.


Perish the thought that Nigel Farage should ever become prime minister! — © Mark Alexander

Farage Is Developing a ‘Trump-like’ Attitude | William Hague

Jul 7, 2026 | “I hope this playing the victim is not going to work with people.”

Nigel Farage is developing a “Trump-like” attitude when it comes to dealing with the press that “rules don’t apply to him”, but he is facing “normal scrutiny”, says former Conservative leader William Hague.