Coffee House Shots: is 2025 Farage’s year?

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🗓️ 2 January 2025

⏱️ 19 minutes

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Summary

Happy New Year! And it could prove to be a very happy new year for Nigel Farage and the Reform Party. They provided some of the stand-out political drama of 2024, with Lee Anderson’s defection and Farage’s return, before winning five seats at the general election (as well as a hefty chunk of the popular vote). They finished the year strong with a meeting with Elon Musk, where we understand that a possible donation was discussed. Farage also gave a memorable speech at The Spectator awards, warning that a 'political revolution' is coming. With the local elections coming up in 2025, could this be the year that Reform and Farage crystallise into a real political threat?

James Heale speaks to Katy Balls and Gawain Towler, former Reform UK strategist.

Produced by Natasha Feroze and Oscar Edmondson.

Transcript

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0:00.0	It's Ed Balls and me, George Osborne, here from our podcast Political Currency.
0:05.6	And we're really excited to tell you about a special series with David Cameron on the first six months as Prime Minister.
0:12.1	Letters to Trident submarine captains, hostage crises, that first budget.
0:17.0	There's so much we pack into those first few months.
0:20.0	This is David Cameron, as you've never heard him before.
0:23.2	It's Barack Obama on the telephone going, well done, David, enjoyed this moment.
0:26.9	It's all downhill from here.
0:28.2	I've had my rouse with Sarcosia over the years, but whenever I see him, I always give him this big hug.
0:33.3	Thank him for letting me see my dad before he died.
0:35.7	Listen, enjoy, be provoked.
0:37.7	Inside number 10, David Cameron, the first six months.
0:40.4	Search for political currency wherever you get your podcast.
0:48.3	Hello and welcome to Coffee House Shots.
0:50.2	I'm James Heel and I'm joined today by the Spectators, Political Editor Katie Balls
0:53.7	and former reform strategist Gwyn Taators, political editor Katie Balls and former
0:54.3	reform strategist Gwain Tauler. Now Katie, it's been a big year for reform. Nigel Farage
1:00.3	certainly broke the mould of British politics to use Roy Jenkins' phrase. What does 2025
1:04.8	likely have in store for Reform UK? I think the question is, is 2025 Nigel Farage is a year?
1:10.7	And reform often have talked in the past
1:12.6	about 2029. We're actually not planning two episodes that far ahead yet. But 29 being the year
1:20.0	on the grounds that could likely be where the next general election was. So even when we were writing
1:24.3	in 2024 ahead of the general election, you'd often have parts in this piece of saying, yes, 2024 is important, but is seen as a base towards 2029.
	...

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