Eliot Wilson Eliot Wilson

Unionists are right to feel furious with Nigel Farage

Leader of Reform UK Nigel Farage (Getty images)

Nigel Farage likes to see himself as a reliable pal, so it was very much in that spirit that Reform UK’s new leader said that he was endorsing two Democratic Unionist Party candidates, Ian Paisley Jr in North Antrim and Sammy Wilson in East Antrim. Both are DUP stalwarts. Both are very likely to be re-elected on 4 July. Farage’s endorsement rests on their support for him during the long years of fighting to achieve and secure the UK’s departure from the European Union. The only problem is that Reform UK had previously signed a formal ‘memorandum of understanding’ to support the candidates of their rivals, Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) – the unionist party founded by former DUP politician Jim Allister.

Reform UK, like the Brexit party before it, is not in any meaningful sense like other parties

This pact was unveiled at TUV’s annual conference in March, which former Reform UK leader Richard Tice and deputy leader Ben Habib attended, and was presented as a major achievement.

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