For British politicians, the question of the moment is how do they handle Elon Musk?
The billionaire owner of
Many of them are inflammatory statements about Keir Starmer and his government, despite his efforts to build good relations with Donald Trump.
And even today, enthusiastic support for Nigel Farage, who only met Musk in the glitzy surroundings of Mar-a-Lago in mid-December to talk money, amid reports that he was considering a $100 million donation. to Reform.
Then bam! – after Farage repeatedly hailed Musk as a “hero” who made Reform “look cool” and was looking forward to a talk at Trump’s inauguration – the tables have turned quite dramatically.
Musk tweeted that Farage “doesn’t have what it takes” to lead the party. and that Reformation needs a new leader.
His change of heart comes after Musk spent days tweeting intensely about recruiting gangs in the UK and his support for jailed far-right activist Tommy Robinson, who seized on the issue.
Farage, who has tried to distance himself from Robinson for most of his career, believes this is the reason for the row, responding that he was surprised but adding: “My view remains that Tommy Robinson is not suitable for Reform and I will never sell.” my principles.”
Last week, Musk posted a series of tweets calling for Robinson, whose current name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, to be released from prison, where he is serving an 18-month sentence for contempt of court for repeating false accusations against a Syrian refugee.
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“Badenoch is unlikely to apologize for a false claim to Reformation affiliation.”
What does this dispute mean for reform?
In the short term, Reform would hardly have wanted an unexpected fight just when they are touting rising membership numbers and Farage is set to meet them in Washington.
But Farage sees Robinson as toxic to his brand and a distraction from his mission to build a campaign machine to fight the next UK general election, even if he loses powerful friends.
The prospect of a donation from Musk, who has donated huge sums of money to Donald Trump’s campaign, would have been tempting, but there were already significant legal questions surrounding it under UK election rules.
Farage’s friendship with Trump, which dates back to his first term as president, also appears to have been unaffected, so establishing a direct line to the White House is still possible.
What does it mean for Starmer and Labour?
It’s unclear what Trump thinks about Musk’s recent obsession with British politics, as he criticizes Keir Starmer and other US allies hour after hour, and whether this online trolling will be tolerated after he takes office in the White House. .
This is a question to which Labor officials are eagerly awaiting the answer, although there may be some relief that criticism will now be directed at Farage.
Musk has – in the last two days alone – made a series of inflammatory and unfounded accusations against Starmer, claiming that he was “complicit in the rape of Britain”, that he is “guilty of terrible crimes” and questioning whether he, as director of public prosecutions, “allowed gangs of rapists to exploit girls without facing justice?”
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, in an interview today, said Musk’s criticisms were “completely reckless and ill-founded” and that Starmer had done much to support victims and secure prosecutions in grooming cases. But to a large extent, the government is trying to ignore the noise.
Kemi Badenoch was accused of dancing to Musk’s tune by calling for a national inquiry into recruitment gangs (the Conservatives rejected one when he was in government just two years ago).
An unelected billionaire based in the United States is putting a cat among the pigeons for all parties in Britain and throwing into the limelight issues that neither will find it easy to ignore.
