Reform strategist Gawain Towler on UKIP, Nigel Farage, and Brexit

Reform UK has five MPs in parliament. It was founded in 2021 as a relaunch of the Brexit party. There were moments in the general election when it was neck and neck with the Conservatives. Political correspondent James Heale is joined by Gawain Towler, Reform insider and former director of communications for UKIP. He shares the highs and lows for the party over the years, and explains how it went from a Brussels insurgency in the 1990s to a fully-fledged political force, with five MPs returned in the 2024 general election and over 4 million votes. Does he think Nigel Farage has been the most influential politician of the last 20 years? Will Reform UK maintain its influence? And, how integral was booze to the UKIP image?
// CHAPTERS
00:23 - Gawain Towler’s career biography
08:28 - Relationship with Nigel Farage
15:14 - How did UKIP change in the early years?
17:42 - When did people start taking the party seriously?
21:00 - The five years up to 2016, and getting Brexit over the line
27:23 - How did you get the line right between serious politics and fun?
35:57 - The night of the Brexit referendum
52:34 - UKIP re-emerges as the Brexit party
59:25 - The influence of Nigel Farage outside of parliament
01:00:53 - Current Reform MPs in the House of Commons
01:08:59 - What’s next for Gawain Towler?
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