Reform’s latest stunt should condemn them to irrelevance

Some things in politics can’t be said with a straight face, and ‘we’ve investigated ourselves and found we did nothing wrong’ should be right up there (Picture: Lewis/SOPA Images/Shutterstock) Today I read that Reform investigated itself and found it did nothing wrong. It wasn’t on a satirical website like the Daily Mash, or a joke tweet that went too far. It was a very real report and investigation published by the right-wing party. Some things in politics can’t be said with a straight face, and ‘we’ve investigated ourselves and found we did nothing wrong’ should be right up there, alongside ‘the Clacton by-election fought between the leader of a national party and a bin, wasn’t a publicity stunt’. Nonetheless, it’s what Reform UK has done. This week the party published a 27-page report clearing Nigel Farage’s long-time media adviser Dan Jukes and policy adviser James Orr of breaking the law in last month’s donations row that rocked the party on the eve of their conference. This is the same Jukes (pictured) whom Farage has described as ‘like a son’ (Picture: Henry NICHOLLS / AFP via Getty Images) Make sense of the mad world of British politics Want to understand how what goes on in Westminster actually affects your life? Get analysis of what the biggest stories mean straight to your inbox every week. Sign up here. In order to lead this fearless, forensic, independent inquiry with due diligence, they appointed Reform’s own legal secretary Adam Richardson and Tom Waterhouse, its general secretary. Fine – let’s say I’ll let that pass. Then I wondered who had oversight of this report: no one. It was done internally, with no other eyes on it before getting published. What a fabulous waste of everyone’s time. Anyone could produce a report to exonerate themselves and have no one account for their findings. Orr (pictured) was recorded saying the party could ‘easily get away with it’ (Picture: Leon Neal/Getty Images) I’m sure that everyone accused of a crime would love to do just that. For anyone who missed it, last month, Channel 4 News and Verbatim filmed Jukes and Orr discussing a US company funding three opinion polls Reform had commissioned, at a cost of £32,500, and a plan to channel a £500,000 donation from a supposed American financier through his UK-based son. Orr was recorded saying the party could ‘easily get away with it’. Since the story was made public, both men have denied any wrongdoing, and the police are still investigating the case. So, you don’t need a law degree to see how flimsy Reform’s own verdict is. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video It says that the polls weren’t a problem, the report argues, because Jukes was merely a ‘contractor’ rather than someone at the heart of the party. This is the same Jukes whom Farage has described as ‘like a son’. When Jukes was filmed talking about other foreign donors supposedly giving money through their children, the report brushed it aside because Jukes says he invented the whole thing so as not to derail the conversation – ‘foolish, loose talk’, apparently. So the defence going from ‘it never happened’ to ‘I was making it up’ isn’t exactly reassuring. Do you think political parties investigating themselves on potential misconduct is appropriate? Yes, it can be appropriate.Check No, it's not appropriate.Check It depends on the circumstances.Check Cut through political noise and understand how the Westminster chaos actually affects your life with Metro's award-nominated politics newsletter Alright, Gov?. And the report’s big conclusion was: ‘Nothing was agreed, no donations were made.’ Then there’s Farage himself. He was filmed at the Clacton lunch where Jukes discussed the £500,000 plan, but says he ‘wasn’t even listening’. He told BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg he’s not a compliance officer, while insisting he knows electoral law ‘better than anybody’. It has to be one or the other, Nige. It’s astonishing that he believes we are meant to accept a verdict from two of his own insiders (Picture: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images) Reform’s whole pitch is that they are different to the ‘uniparty’ Westminster bubble. Yet closing ranks and declaring yourself clean is more establishment than any conceivable establishment move. If Labour or the Tories tried it, Farage would be first in line crying stitch-up in front of as many cameras as possible. It’s astonishing that he believes we are meant to accept a verdict from two of his own insiders. Mr Freedom of Speech now wants to sue the reporters behind the investigation. So to sum up: they have investigated themselves, cleared themselves, then want to sue the people who exposed them. You couldn’t make it up. (I’ll leave the obvious joke accusing them of doing exactly that.) Brits will forgive a lot, but we’ve never had time for people who don’t understand fair play. It runs through our core, and Farage wouldn’t be the first politician to be taken out for fundamentally misunderstanding it. The good news is that Farage is hammering another nail into Reform’s coffin. The bigger danger for them isn’t anger. It’s mockery (Picture: AP Photo/Richard Pelham) Since Andy Burnham took over, polls have begun putting Labour back in front, and YouGov found six in 10 Britons feel Reform is untrustworthy. Even an anonymous senior Reform figure privately admitted the scandal left the party looking ‘a bit like a pirate ship’. The bigger danger for them isn’t anger. It’s mockery. Angry voters can eventually be won back, but that is much harder when they decide you’re a laughing stock. Just ask Liz Truss. That party is now marking its own homework and, quelle surprise, has awarded itself an A*. What a joke. Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing Ross.Mccafferty@metro.co.uk. Share your views in the comments below. Arrow MORE: Donald Trump resorts to ‘your mum’ joke during disrupted speech Arrow MORE: Jodie is the perfect Coronation Street villain and should stay forever. Fight me. Arrow MORE: Reform spells own party name wrong in crucial by-election letter to voters Alright Gov Straight-talking analysis from Westminster, straight to your inbox.