Farage’s masterplan for Reform TV – and how it could backfire

Reform UK is advising its newly elected local government cabinet members to avoid implementing major policy changes during their first hundred days in office, a directive that stands in sharp contrast to the rapid legislative overhaul promised by party leader Nigel Farage for a potential national government. Leaked internal guidance titled "Leading Adult Social Care: A Practical Guide for Reform UK Cabinet Members" instructs officials to resist rushing into significant alterations and instead prioritize listening, learning, and understanding existing services. This cautious approach for local administrators contrasts directly with Farage’s recent rhetoric, in which he pledged that a Reform-led national government would declare a national emergency, cancel parliamentary recesses, and potentially require Parliament to sit twenty-four hours a day, six days a week, to force through the party’s agenda at speed. The leaked document, authored by Councillor Diane Morton, chair of the Reform adult social care network and former cabinet member for adult social care and public health at Kent County Council, is dated August 2026. It was produced just weeks prior to Farage’s speech at the party’s Birmingham conference in September, an event branded "The First 100 Days." Under the heading "Don’t Rush Into Big Changes," the guide explicitly warns councillors not to feel pressured to change everything immediately. It suggests that the initial period should be dedicated to building knowledge, relationships, and confidence to enable effective leadership in subsequent years. The text advises new cabinet members to get to know officers, build trust from the outset, and listen more than they speak. This internal advice appears to diverge significantly from the tone set at the Birmingham conference. During that address, Farage outlined a strategy of aggressive implementation for a future national administration. He stated that civil servants who opposed a Reform government would be removed from their posts and replaced by individuals from outside the government sector, such as from the business world. Farage further described "jeopardy pledges," wherein senior ministers would be assigned specific targets to achieve within the first hundred days, facing dismissal if they failed to deliver. Among these pledges was a commitment by Treasury spokesman Robert Jenrick to cut one hundred billion pounds in spending, with an offer to resign if he failed to reduce citizens' tax bills accordingly. Farage emphasized the urgency of this approach in his conference remarks, stating that the pledges were not vague promises but mandatory deliveries. He declared that the party believed in accountability and would do everything within its power to enact these changes. He reiterated the plan to declare a national emergency and keep Parliament sitting continuously if necessary to pass the required legislation. The juxtaposition between the slow-burn advice given to local councillors and the breakneck pace demanded of national ministers has raised questions regarding the consistency of the party’s operational philosophy across different levels of governance. The timing of the leak coincides with a broader strategic shift for Reform UK, which is currently deploying substantial financial resources to expand its media presence. The party recently received seventy-two million pounds from two cryptocurrency billionaires, Ben Delo and Christopher Harborne, in September. Harborne, a long-time donor based in Thailand, and Delo have granted the party discretion over the use of these funds. Approximately half of this sum is designated to cover the operating costs of the party’s Westminster headquarters until the next general election, scheduled for 2029. The remainder is being allocated to policy development, adviser recruitment, campaign expansion, and the launch of a newspaper with an initial print run of fifteen million copies. A central component of this expenditure is the creation of "Reform TV," a YouTube-based media platform intended to bypass traditional broadcasters subject to Ofcom regulations. The project carries an estimated budget of ten million pounds and involves the recruitment of approximately twenty-five new staff members, likely drawn from a mix of GB News alumni and recent graduates. Job advertisements released in early October sought twelve roles across video and social media production, website management, and senior leadership. An executive editor position was advertised with the goal of transforming the party’s current YouTube channel, which holds roughly 150,000 subscribers, into a high-quality, high-output media operation capable of functioning at a national scale. The role requires leading broadcast, video, website, news, and social media efforts as a coherent editorial unit, developing repeatable formats such as interviews, debates, panel shows, and documentaries. Gawain Towler, a member of the party’s governing board and a long-time associate of Farage, stated that the expansion aims to create a daily channel to counter what the party views as a hostile establishment media monopoly. The initiative mirrors the structure of US President Donald Trump’s Trump TV, a streaming channel that airs sanctioned content around the clock. The move comes after weeks of negative press coverage regarding donations and allegations of racism within the party, which have contributed to a loss of polling leads. By controlling its own media output, Reform seeks to present its message in a more managed environment and relieve its eight lawmakers from frequent exposure to mainstream media scrutiny. Tensions exist between Reform UK and GB News, where Farage, deputy leader Richard Tice, and chairman Lee Anderson currently present programs. GB News has incurred significant financial losses, totaling 131 million pounds, including thirty million pounds in its first year. The channel recently made one-third of its production staff redundant. Insiders suggest that GB News personnel are preparing their resumes for potential moves to Reform TV, viewing the new venture as an obvious destination for talent. However, concerns remain among professional journalists at GB News who view the new platform as a propaganda channel rather than a journalistic outlet. One former presenter noted that while Reform possesses ample funding and ambition, establishing a television station from scratch presents significant challenges, citing the difficulties GB News faced in its early months. Despite these hurdles, Reform officials maintain that their unique financial position allows them to pursue this media strategy aggressively to regain political ground against the Labour government under Prime Minister Andy Burnham and the Conservative opposition.