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Elon Musk met Nigel Farage within the US on Monday because the Reform UK chief seeks to bolster ties with the incoming US administration and capitalise on his social gathering’s rising momentum in Britain.
Farage had a one-hour assembly with the tech billionaire and Reform UK’s new treasurer Nick Sweet at US president-elect Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida on Monday, the social gathering stated in a press release.
“We realized an incredible deal concerning the Trump floor recreation and may have ongoing discussions on different areas,” Farage and Sweet stated in a joint assertion. “We solely have yet another likelihood left to avoid wasting the west and we will do nice issues collectively.”
Musk is about to co-lead a brand new so-called Division of Authorities Effectivity and seems to have develop into deeply concerned in Trump’s transition workforce, holding conferences with world leaders.
Former minister Peter Mandelson, who’s within the operating to develop into the following ambassador to the US, has beforehand urged the UK to make use of Farage to foster nearer ties with Musk, within the face of the billionaire’s criticisms of Sir Keir Starmer’s authorities and issues the X boss might undermine official diplomatic channels between the 2 nations.
Musk, who additionally leads Tesla and SpaceX, denied a report earlier this month that he was getting ready to present a $100mn donation to Farage’s social gathering, although the assembly got here after Sweet promised to turbo-charge the organisation’s fundraising operations.
Reform declined to touch upon whether or not the boys mentioned doable donations, and stated Farage, Musk and Sweet have been the one folks in attendance on the assembly.
Farage is making an attempt to rework his political start-up — which gained 5 seats in July’s common election — into a reputable car for energy by constructing a floor marketing campaign in areas the place the social gathering already has important assist.
These embrace swaths of northern and japanese England, in addition to Wales. The social gathering got here second in 98 seats on the UK election, of which 89 have been gained by Labour.
Sweet, a former Tory donor, introduced he was becoming a member of the social gathering as treasurer final week, and vowed to present at the least £1mn of his personal cash to Reform and lift “tens of thousands and thousands” extra.
When Farage posted on X earlier this month that the social gathering was “constructing a profitable workforce to vary British politics perpetually”, Musk responded: “When is the primary electoral alternative?”
Farage is hoping Reform will make important inroads at native elections in Might when he believes will probably be in a position to win a number of hundred council seats and at the least one mayoralty.
The social gathering has been buoyed in current weeks by a number of high-profile defections from the Conservative social gathering, together with former Tory MP Dame Andrea Jenkyns who will run as mayor of Larger Lincolnshire; Tim Montgomerie, the founding father of the Conservative House web site; and Rael Braverman, the husband of former dwelling secretary and sitting Tory MP Suella Braverman.
Farage met Musk for the primary time in October when he was launched to the billionaire by Trump, and advised the Monetary Instances that he was impressed by the Tesla chief’s “unimaginable information” concerning the UK, “even on farmers and inheritance tax”.
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