Reform UK seeks to rebuild its ties with Maga

{"text":[[{"start":9.65,"text":"Reform UK’s home affairs spokesperson Zia Yusuf has travelled to Washington, as he tries to convince key figures in and around the Trump administration that his party is their principal British ally."}],[{"start":22.05,"text":"Yusuf’s visit underlines the upheaval on the right of UK politics, with Reform facing increasing pressure from Restore Britain, a new far-right party that has chimed with Maga messages around immigration and “western decline”. "}],[{"start":36.25,"text":"“He’s there to try and kill off the threat from Restore Britain,” said one senior figure in Reform UK, of Yusuf’s trip. "}],[{"start":43.75,"text":"Although Reform UK’s leader Nigel Farage has long been an ally of Donald Trump, their relationship has become more distant, partly because of Farage’s awareness of the president’s unpopularity in Britain. People close to Farage say the president’s attention has shifted elsewhere."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":62.3,"text":"Meanwhile, key figures in and around the Maga movement have become interested in nativist groups in Britain, including Restore and far-right agitator Tommy Robinson. "}],[{"start":72.64999999999999,"text":"Elon Musk has regularly reposted messages from Restore’s founder Rupert Lowe on his social media network X. He heightened transatlantic anger about the murder of student Henry Nowak and about a knife attack in Northern Ireland; both cases sparked serious public disorder. "}],[{"start":89.04999999999998,"text":"Reform is now seeking to re-establish itself as the party championing transatlantic concerns about civilisational decline. "}],[{"start":97.34999999999998,"text":"Yusuf was due to give a speech at the Heritage Foundation think-tank entitled “Saving Britain, Saving the West — Our Last Chance” on Thursday evening. He will also seek to meet unspecified US officials. "}],[{"start":109.89999999999998,"text":"The FT reported earlier this year that the US state department is seeking to repurpose an existing funding stream for foreign aid to help Maga-aligned think-tanks and charities across Europe. "}],[{"start":121.69999999999997,"text":"Both the state department’s policy and UK electoral law prevent direct donations to the political parties. It would, in theory, be viable for the US to fund other organisations linked to Reform or Restore. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":133.29999999999998,"text":"The Great British PAC, a rightwing political organisation with links to Reform, Restore and other far-right figures, has tried to meet with US state department officials to secure some of the funds, according to people briefed on the matter. However, so far it has not secured an audience. "}],[{"start":150.95,"text":"The state department downplayed suggestions that it would meet with Carl Benjamin, a YouTuber who is involved with Restore Britain and the Great British PAC. “The state department has no meetings related to this to announce at this time,” an official said. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":164.75,"text":"Robinson, a far-right activist whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, visited the state department in February as the guest of Joe Rittenhouse, a senior adviser there."}],[{"start":174.5,"text":"Lowe, Restore’s leader, told the FT he had spoken directly with Musk but the tech billionaire had not yet given Restore any money. "}],[{"start":182.65,"text":"A third of Lowe’s followers on X appear to have strong Maga links, far higher than the share for Farage and other nativist and far-right figures, according to audience intelligence platform Pulsar."}],[{"start":194.75,"text":"Alex Bryson, head of content marketing at Pulsar, said Farage attracted a “slightly more traditional ‘Fox News’ conservative” than Lowe and Robinson, whose US audiences showed more engagement with figures from far-right online media like Nick Fuentes."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":211.05,"text":"Data analysis by Amy Borrett"}],[{"start":219.70000000000002,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1781246983_9341.mp3"}