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Nigel Farage is no stranger to expressing his ire at what he regards as the liberal establishment, but even figures close to him were surprised at the tirade of anger he unleashed upon the editor of the Times.
The exchange, which is said to have included an expletive aimed at Tony Gallagher, was triggered by the Reform UK leader’s outrage that the paper was planning to run a story about his houses, which he said endangered his family.
A source with knowledge of the encounter said it ended in “a strong confrontation”.
It is a fragile moment for Reform’s relationship with Britain’s rightwing media, whose coverage of Farage and his byelection gamble has taken a negative turn since questions were raised about his funding and finances.
Coverage by the Times and the Sun, part of Rupert Murdoch’s News UK stable, as well as the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail, has made for tough reading for Reform in recent days.
While the Telegraph has given column inches to party figures to air their grievances at the media, recent stories have also described Farage’s decision to subject himself to a “people versus the establishment” byelection in Clacton as a “summer gamble” and a farce.
Meanwhile, Kemi Badenoch appeared in its pages stating the Conservative party “is for serious people, not a retirement home for failed politicians” – a jibe at Reform’s collection of Tory defectors.
The Mail has run a positive interview with Farage, but an editorial on the same day read: “How quickly times – and political fortunes – can change. It is only weeks since Reform UK’s rise appeared almost unstoppable. But two byelection defeats and concerns over leader Nigel Farage’s financial affairs have significantly altered the landscape.”
This time last year, Farage was wooing News UK’s leaders and readers, seen as a crucial group in converting Reform’s poll lead into a broad enough power base to make a serious assault on Downing Street.
He pressed flesh at the news group’s summer party and dined with the Sun’s editor, Victoria Newton. By then, Reform had already seen its local election slogan, “Britain is broken”, emblazoned on the Sun’s front page.
In recent days, however, a damning verdict on Farage’s current predicament was delivered by Trevor Kavanagh, the Sun’s veteran political commentator and a figure close to Murdoch.
“We are witnessing the sudden death of a political movement which began as the UK Independence party, morphed into the Brexit party, and now Reform,” he wrote. “Or, to simply name names, Nigel Farage.”
Figures within Reform continue to believe they have a case that the Times should not have published a story containing a picture of a property where one of Farage’s children lives. They say the death of Ann Widdecombe has underlined their argument.
A senior News UK figure is said to have reached out to Farage for a meeting.
A Times spokesperson said: “We stand by our journalism, and do not accept that the published photograph identified the location of any property or presented a security risk.”
At News UK, Reform’s anger is seen more as a sign of frustration at failing to decisively win over the titles or more of their readers.
Farage’s decision to raise the spectre of the Leveson inquiry, which examined the ethics of the press and recommended stricter regulation, has also gone down incredibly badly with the leadership of the rightwing media.
The timing was unfortunate. Many across the titles have been celebrating the Mail’s victory this month over a group of litigants including Prince Harry, who failed in their attempt to sue over alleged unlawful information-gathering techniques. The claimants had been supported by campaigners for tighter press regulation.
One senior editor said Farage had abandoned attempts to build broad support in favour of appealing to his base, resulting in attacks on the press. “It’s straight out of Trump world,” they said. “Demonise the messenger, rally the base, undermine the MSM.”
Figures within Reform say they are not surprised by the downturn in coverage. Many have spent their political careers battling against what they see as the Conservative establishment. “We’ve seen this before,” said one. “The rightwing press is always a fair-weather friend.”
It is still too early for any discussion of election endorsements, which have become less potent as newspapers have lost influence.
However, Des Freedman, a professor of media and communications at Goldsmiths, University of London, said the right-leaning media’s ties to the Conservative party ran deep. He said previous, more positive coverage of Reform also served to pressure Labour and the Conservatives over tax and immigration.
“To the extent there was a honeymoon a year ago, I think that is much more fluid now,” he said. “They’re obsessed by Farage, but there’s much more criticism that they’re willing to make because they see him as not quite a reliable ally.
“They’re not ready to write off the Tories just yet, and to a certain extent Farage and Reform have lost that insurgency appeal.”
Farage has still been able to rely on supportive coverage from the Daily Express, traditionally the most Eurosceptic title.
After the Sunday Times published claims that he had been financially backed by George Cottrell, a convicted fraudster, it was the Express to which Farage turned. He told the title he was considering legal action and that it was clear “the establishment will stop at nothing to hurt Reform”.
Yet should scepticism continue among the other newspapers on the right, it would put a serious dent in Reform’s grander ambitions of power.
