It seems the bromance between Nigel Farage and Elon Musk has come to a bitter end.
Despite being photographed together at what Mr Farage called a “historic” meeting at US president-elect Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in December, Tesla CEO Musk seems to have pulled the plug on his friendship with the Reform UK leader.
Mr Musk tweeted on Sunday: “The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes.”
It’s a far cry from just a few weeks ago when the billionaire was reportedly considering donating £79m to the far-right political party.
“Well, this is a surprise!” Mr Farage responded to Mr Musk’s post, suggesting that the original tweet came from a disagreement the pair have over far-right figure Tommy Robinson. “My view remains that Tommy Robinson is not right for Reform and I never sell out on my principles,” he continued.
With Mr Musk’s significant influence on politics, many are now wondering who could replace Mr Farage now that major support has been pulled from beneath him.
Here, we’ve compiled a list of far-right figures who could take Farage’s place if he were to resign.
Stephen Yaxley-Lennon (Tommy Robinson)
Notorious far-right figure Tommy Robinson has been making headlines for years – whether with his Islamaphobic comments, stalking of journalists or repeated prison sentences. Currently, he’s serving an 18-month sentence after being found guilty of libelling a 15-year-old Syrian refugee at a school in Huddersfield, and breaching an injunction set out to prevent him from repeating the libel.
Seemingly, the catalyst that broke down Mr Musk and Mr Farage’s alliance, despite being behind bars, Mr Robinson’s high profile would make him an obvious choice to lead the party. Mr Musk has voiced his support for Mr Robinson on multiple occasions, including on January 5, when he wrote on X, “Free Tommy Robinson!”.
Mr Musk’s support for Mr Robinson is based on his belief that the controversial far-right activist tried to blow the whistle on the UK’s child grooming gangs. He has repeatedly criticised the Labour government’s handling of the scandal.
Lee Anderson
The former Conservative MP is also an obvious choice to lead Reform UK. Previously the chairman of the Conservatives during Rishi Sunak’s time leading the party, Mr Anderson had the parliamentary whip suspended in February 2024 after alleging that “Islamists” controlled London.
Soon after, Mr Anderson defected to Reform, becoming the party’s first-ever MP. In the general election, he was re-elected to Parliament with an increased vote share of 42.8 per cent.
Mr Anderson welcomed Mr Musk’s potential funding of the party, telling GB News that the tech entrepreneur is a “champion of free speech” and that “we need him in this world to save the planet”.
Richard Tice
As the current deputy leader of Reform UK (and previously leader of the party), multi-millionaire Richard Tice is another top pick to lead.
Mr Tice has held a number of positions within Reform – he financed the funding of the party when it was known as the Brexit party; he acted as its chairman from 2019 to 2021 and briefly in 2024; and he is also the party’s energy and foreign-policy spokesperson.
Formerly a CEO in property investment and development, Mr Tice previously supported the Conservatives before becoming a leading far-right figure and gaining attention for co-founding the pro-Brexit Leave.EU campaign in 2015.
Rupert Lowe
Another potential leader for the party could be businessman and politician Rupert Lowe, who has served as the party’s business and agriculture spokesperson since 2023.
The former chairman of Southampton Football Club and outspoken climate change denier won a seat for the party in the 2019 European Parliament elections, and in the 2024 general election won a seat for the party in Great Yarmouth.
When asked whether Mr Lowe would make a good replacement, Mr Musk posted on X: “I have not met Rupert Lowe, but his statements online that I have read so far make a lot of sense.”
However, despite thanking Mr Musk for his “kind comments”, Mr Lowe voiced his support of the Reform leader to the BBC. “Nigel is the leader of Reform. He made Brexit happen, and for that I will always be grateful,” he said.
“I look forward to working with Nigel and the entire team to continue to hold this incompetent Labour Party to account, democratise our own party, with the next election and form a Reform government.”
