Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has quashed Westminster rumours that his relentless schedule is taking a toll on his health.
The 61-year-old has dubbed the whispers swirling between Labour and Tory MPs about his condition as ‘untrue’, and while long days come with his gruelling schedule, his now moderate lifestyle balances it out.
Describing building a new political party and movement as ‘an enormous task’, and that he has never worked ‘more intensity’ than in the last year, he still manages to enjoy a pint or the odd afternoon lunch.
‘They can’t question us on immigration. They can’t question us on crime. They have nothing to go on,’ he told The Times.
‘I wouldn’t say the BMA would hold me up as a pin-up boy, but I’m feeling good. A bit of exercise, I walk the dogs.
‘I’m not too bad at all really. I look at people I was at school with and think I’m doing well.’
The party leader confessed he has, in fact, become more at peace, and is not phased by ‘the little things’ or online criticism any longer.
And while Farage has rammed up his work schedule to another level, he hopes to take four days off in the summer to go fishing with his son.
Discussion about the 61-year-old’s health comes amid worrying polls for the Conservatives, as nearly half of participants believe Reform provide a more effective opposition to Labour.
A YouGov poll found only nine percent of people surveyed found the Tories provided a more successful opposition to Starmer’s party while 42 percent swayed towards giving Reform.
And 62 percent of voters said it was clear what Farage’s principles were, while only 30 percent said the same for Badenoch, and 26 percent for Sir Keir Starmer.
It comes after a new-mega poll suggested Reform UK were within ‘touching distance’ of forming a majority government.
The More In Common survey found, if a general election was held today, Reform would become the largest party in the House of Commons with 290 seats.
Although this is below the number of MPs needed for an outright majority, meaning a hung parliament, it was more than twice as many as any other party.
And the pollster said Reform is now ‘close to the level where they could command an outright majority’.
More In Common’s new MRP (Multilevel Regression and Post-stratification) model, based on polling of more than 10,000 Britons, put Labour on 126 seats.
This is a loss of 285 seats from Sir Keir Starmer’s loveless landslide win in last year’s general election, and leaves them with fewer than half as many seats as Reform.
The research put the Tories on 81 seats, down 40 seats from last year, with the Liberal Democrats on 73 seats (up one seat) and the SNP on 42 seats (up 33 seats).
Meanwhile, as Sir Keir marks one year in Downing Street this weekend, the poll found the Prime Minister’s personal approval rating had slumped to an all-time low of -43.
More In Common’s projection showed a majority of Cabinet ministers would lose their seats in the face of a Reform surge.
This includes Deputy PM Angela Rayner, Chancellor Rachel Reeves, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, and Health Secretary Wes Streeting.
More recently, US President Donald Trump advised the UK Prime Minister to slash taxes and immigration if he wanted to beat Farage at the next election.
In an hour-long broadcast encounter, with no awkwardness of playing one politican off against the other, Trump also urged Starmer to take a strong approach when it came to immigration.
Full of praise for the Prime Minister and the way he was running the country, despite their ideological differences, Trump said Sir Keir was ‘liberal ..but not too liberal’ in his approach.
Mr Trump added: ‘I think the one that’s toughest and most competent on immigration is going to win the election, but then you add… low taxes, and you add the economy.
‘(Sir Keir) did a great thing with the economy, because a lot of money is going to come in because of the deal that was made. But I think that, I think that immigration is now bigger than ever before.’
The president had earlier told Sir Keir Britain and the rest of Europe it must stop illegal immigration to avoid ‘ruin’ as the two leaders met in Scotland. Farage was not present at Trump’s visit.
