What is going on with Reform UK right now?

From chaos at the party conference, to undercover filming of a donor sting, Reform UK has been swept away by scandal and controversy this week - so here's everything you need to know.

Nigel Farage and his party, Reform UK, have had far from a quiet few days, with scandal and various developments happening over the tail end of this week. Perhaps the biggest story to break was the sting operation that exposed top Reform councillors, and Farage himself, to be in reciept of foreign donations. Having only recently been under investigation for a £5m donation from billionaire Christopher Harborne, a US citizen, which led to Farage's stepping down and re-election as MP for Clacton through a triggered by-election, the timing couldn't be worse; he was only reinstated to Parliament when they reconvened on the 1st of September.

A Channel 4 documentary covered the sting, created in partnership with undercover independent journalists, Verbatim. The undercover journalists posed as a wealthy American and his British son "William Lockwood", representing a US company, who paid a total sum of £32,500 for three opinion polls. The polls in question were those that bolstered the party's support heading into the May local elections, in which they did surprisingly well for a minor party. Involved were Head of Policy, James Orr, and senior adviser, Dan Jukes, both of whom's resignations were announced on Friday. Farage himself is also filmed the July following the elections, saying "It worked. Boom." and calling the donation "bang for buck". Farage's involvement, however, didn't end there, as conversation turned to a future donation of a potential £500,000 with a plan in place for the UK-based son to process the payment to make it appear as though it was a domestic donation, despite it actually coming from a US-based donor. 

Nigel Farage pictured with Chief of Staff Dan Jukes (left), filmed by undercover journalists.

Donations in excess on £11,180 per calendar year must be declared to the Electoral Commission, of which the poll donation was more than double, however this only applies to permissable donors. Donations from impermissable donors must, by law, be reported to the Electoral Commission within 30 days and the money returned to that donor in that time - official records do not contain disclosure of these payments in any capacity. As a result, the Electoral Commission is speaking with the police on the matter.

The scandal, however, does not end there, as Thursday 3rd also marked the first day of the Reform UK Conference in Birmingham, which has made headlines in recent days as Nigel Farage's keynote speech was repeatedly interrupted by protesters. Representing the group, Climate Resistance, multiple protesters were in the crowd of the convention, and stood, interrupting Farage, and heckled with comments concerning the donations he'd recieved and his backing from billionaire's, one woman calling him a "billionaire bootlicker". The protests themselves are only half the story.

Nigel Farage on stage at the Reform Conference 2026, pictured alongside French politician John Bardella, a member of the EU Parliament.

Going viral on social media, footage shows a young woman being physically assaulted by members of the crowd before being taken away by security, one woman pulling at her hair and a man behind her shoving fingers in her mouth to drag her head backwards. The same man was recorded beating a second woman with his walking cane. As of today, the BBC have reported West Midlands Police's appeal for the woman to come forward, stating:

"We're aware of a video circulating from the Reform UK Conference showing an incident with a protester. We haven't received a complaint but would ask the woman involved to come forward and contact us so we can carry out enquiries."

Farage's immediate response from the stage was laughter, followed by him stating "That poor young girl, she looked like she was going to do herself an injury, didn't she?" Well, you know I've got a saying for that!" before chancing his famous quote "Boring, boring, boring."

While these two scandals have dominated the headlines over the past few days, Reform UK have also been hammering out policy promises for potential voters, several of which were covered during the conference, including a promise to increase tax-free personal allowances - that is, the amount that an individual can earn before they are taxed - to £15,000 per year.

Official MP portrait of Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK and MP for Clacton

Farage unveiled a roadmap for his "First 100 Days" in office, should an election be held, in which he focused on attacking key British institutions, wanting to appoint new peers to the House of Lords, prevent the judiciary blocking legislation through "outdated conventions" and suggesting a complete overhaul of the Civil Service which would see civil servants that refused to co-operate replaced with businesspeople. The overall aim was clear - concentrated power in a centralised executive branch with the support of big business - something that clearly mirrors the current governmental structure under President Trump.

With the events of the last few days fresh, and scandals over foreign donors and the assault of protesters obscuring the actual content of the convention, it is unclear whether much of the UK outside of the party have paid an interest in Farage's plan, however, some political commentators are hailing a beginning of the end for Reform UK. Whether this is the case, only time will tell.