Nigel Farage unveiled the initial members of his Shadow Cabinet on Tuesday in a bid to demonstrate that his Reform UK party is ready to govern Britain from day one.
Appearing before supporters in Church House in Westminster, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said that with the growing instability of the left-wing Labour Party government of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, it is imperative that his party is ready to step in and govern the country.
“I am bringing together a strong, disciplined and experienced team ready to rebuild Britain,” he said. “The British people deserve a real alternative. Today, we are demonstrating that Reform UK is ready to provide it.”
As such, Mr Farage unveiled the members of his team that would fill the top roles in a prospective Reform UK government, including MP Robert Jenrick as Shadow Chancellor, Zia Yusuf as Shadow Home and Justice Secretary, MP Richard Tice as Shadow Business, Trade and Energy Secretary, and Suella Braverman MP as Shadow Education and Equalities Secretary.
The government would thus represent a split among political outsiders: Tice and Yusuf, both of whom came from the business world before entering politics, and former government insiders in the form of Braverman and Jenrick, both of whom served in previous Tory governments before defecting to Reform.
Jenrick, who served as an immigration minister in Rishi Sunak’s government and exchequer secretary under Theresa May, will be tasked with steering the nation’s economy, which he said has been “broken” by “decades of mismanagement” from both Westminster establishment parties.
Braverman, who served as Home Secretary from 2022 to 2023, said that as Education and Equalities Secretary, part of her brief will be to dismantle the Equalities department, in a broader effort to reverse the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) agenda, which she said has been used as a cudgel against white people. Furthermore, she would ban gender ideology from being taught in schools.
Tice, who has long stood as Farage’s second-in-command, will also serve as his Deputy Prime Minister. The Boston and Skegness MP said on Monday that as Business Secretary, he would seek to remove “daft, dither, and delay” regulations to spur economic growth and to establish a sovereign wealth fund to invest in critical industries, including tech and steel production.
Finally, the head of policy for Reform, Zia Yusuf, said that Britain has been “overwhelmed” by both legal and illegal immigration, and said that it will be his mission as Home Secretary to restore the country’s borders. He vowed to stop the boats, deport all illegal migrants, and take on the threat of radical Islam.
Mr Farage said that the four Shadow appointments are “just the start” and that more announcements will come in the months to come. He also joked that with his team in place, the public will see “a lot more of them… and maybe a little less of me!”
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