LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 7: Reform UK leader Nigel Farage announces his resignation as Member of Parliament, making a statement about his “future in public life” at Millbank Tower on July 7, 2026 in London, England. Farage added that he would stand in the by-election prompted by his resignation. The remarks come as a renewed review of the financial support he received ahead of his election as Clacton MP. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
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Nigel Farage, leader of Britain’s right-wing Reform UK party, announced on Tuesday that he would resign from parliament to fight a snap election on a “people versus establishment” basis.
Farage, an ally of US President Donald Trump and a prominent figure in British politics, resigned as a lawmaker amid growing criticism of his financial arrangements.
Farage has been under investigation by the UK Parliamentary Standards Commissioner since May after he failed to declare a £5 million ($6.7 million) gift from Christopher Harborne, a cryptocurrency investor and Reform Party donor, ahead of his election to Parliament in 2024.
Over the weekend, The Sunday Times reported that the reform leader had also received financial support from George Cottrell, a political ally convicted of wire fraud in the US in 2017.
In a statement on Tuesday, Farage said parliamentary standards had been used as a “political tool” against him, adding that the voters of his Clacton constituency “should be the judges”.
“Now the establishment has decided they can’t beat us fairly… they’ve decided to use dishonest means,” Farage said, having previously described the review of his finances as an “establishment strike operation”.
What is the connection between Donald Trump and Nigel Farage?
Trump appeared to support Farage on Monday when he published an article on Truth Social entitled “They’re plotting an anti-Trump 2024 strategy on Nigel Farage.”
It comes despite suggestions of a rift between the two in recent months after Farage failed to secure a meeting with the president during his trip to Mar-a-Lago in March.
Farage has led Britain’s populist right-wing Reform Party since 2024, following his election to Parliament in that year’s general election.
Reform Britain has led most UK opinion polls since April 2025, suggesting the party is on track to win the country’s next general election, due no later than 15 August 2029, and potentially form the next government with Farage as prime minister.
A key figure in the campaign for Britain to leave the European Union, Farage was previously a member of the European Parliament, where he earned a reputation as a fierce critic of the EU and its institutions.
He previously led the UK Independence Party (UKIP) from 2006 to 2009 and 2010 to 2016 before stepping down as leader following the successful Brexit vote.
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