Farage's claim UK will never rejoin EU challenged as Reform support falls
Nigel Farage's front-page claim that Britain will never rejoin the EU was challenged in a paper review, with the reviewer citing weak Brexit polling and falling Reform support.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Nigel Farage's claim that Britain will never vote to rejoin the European Union was the opening item in a newspaper review after it appeared on the front page of the Express.
The front page reported that Farage had warned that pressure from Labour's traditional heartlands in the north would prevent the Prime Minister from leading the country straight back into the bloc. The claim was immediately questioned by a reviewer, who said Farage could not be certain in what was described as a febrile political atmosphere.
The reviewer argued that Farage had lost his touch and that his public style had become more confrontational. They said all polls show that almost nobody thinks Brexit has been a success. While acknowledging that voters do not like to admit they were wrong, the reviewer said few people have seen the UK flourish because of the 2016 vote. They argued that Brexit no longer has the emotional resonance it had before the referendum or in the years when Theresa May and Boris Johnson were trying to deliver it. In their view, voters are now more concerned with issues such as revitalising town centres and increasing employment.
The discussion also turned to recent polling and election results. The reviewer said the Conservatives are now seen as the main party of opposition, after Reform had led the Tories by about 28% in May and by 10% in August. They cited the Makerfield constituency, which they described as a 65% Leave area, and said Reform had won 24 out of 25 council seats contested in recent local elections. They also said support for Reform is dropping and that scandals over party funding, racism and local council failures are stacking up.
After the Farage discussion, the review moved to a Times story about business rates, with thousands of high street shops, cafes, pubs and hairdressers reported to be facing changes to their bills.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, grouped by how many channels reported each one. Select a dot to see the source excerpt.
| Claim |  |
|---|---|
| Only on one channel | |
| A reviewer cited polling indicating very few people considered Brexit a success. | |
| Nigel Farage said Britain would never rejoin the European Union. | |
| Reform won 24 of 25 contested council seats in recent local elections. | |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
Sky News covered the claim through a newspaper review rather than a straight news report. Its guest was openly sceptical of Farage, arguing that he had lost his touch and that his certainty about never rejoining the EU was not supported by polling or recent political trends. The segment used Reform's local election results and falling support to question the strength of Farage's position.
- “Well, I think Farage has really lost his touch, actually.”
- “all the polls show that there is actually, almost nobody thinks Brexit has been a success.”
- “I don't believe Farage is right about this.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.