Nick Candy on Musk's ties to Farage in the new dawn for the US and UK

Reform’s billionaire British treasurer sees the pair patching up after X owner said leader 'doesn’t have what it takes'

UK Reform party leader Nigel Farage, left, and treasurer Nick Candy, right, with billionaire Elon Musk at Mar-a-Lago, the Florida home of US president-elect Donald Trump, last year. PA

Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage and US billionaire Elon Musk can form a positive relationship, with Team Trump helping to overcome a spat between the two men, businessman Nick Candy has told The National.

Speaking in an exclusive interview, Mr Candy, the Reform treasurer, who is travelling to the US on Friday for US president-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, said he hoped Mr Farage will be the next prime minister of the UK. The fledgling party is so confident of its links to the president-elect that it claims the traditional reference point of a special relationship between America and Britain now runs through its leadership.

“The special relationship now lies between the UK and the US with Nigel Farage and President Donald Trump,” said Mr Candy, who has significant ties to US politics. His wife, Holly, hosted the largest and most successful overseas fund-raiser for the Republican Party last year, raising more than $3 million in support of the Trump campaign.

Mr Candy also shared insights from a meeting he arranged last month at Mar-a-Lago, Florida involving himself, Mr Musk and Mr Farage. “Elon is very pro-Reform. He likes Nigel,” he said.

Having campaigned vigorously for Mr Trump's victory in November, Mr Musk turned his attention at the end of 2024 to criticism of the Labour government over its handling of the grooming gangs scandal, which involves the abuse of thousands of girls in towns across the UK.

Elon Musk has said Nigel Farage 'doesn't have what it takes' to lead Reform. Reuters

The Reform treasurer was surprised when the row with Keir Starmer's government resulted in the billionaire training his sights on Mr Farage's job. Posting on X early this month, Mr Musk said Mr Farage "doesn't have what it takes" to lead Reform. "The Reform Party needs a new leader,” he wrote in the post.

In his interview with The National, Mr Candy dismissed the recent fallout, saying people have “differences of opinions”, but added he is confident their relationship can be patched up in the future.

“Hopefully at the inauguration we will spend some time with Elon and will make sure things are positive going forward. But what Elon has done is amazing in terms of highlighting the gangs, rapes, grooming and two-tier Keir with different policing things."

The X owner's campaign involved calling for an activist known as Tommy Robinson to be released from prison. This was a step too far for Mr Farage, who has repeatedly made clear the law-breaking far-right activist is not welcome in Reform, seemingly distancing himself from the comments.

The Reform leadership shares concerns over what is known as two-tier justice in the UK, where headlines reveal crimes such as theft and violence result in lighter sentencing than for those held for joining the wave of destruction in last summer's riots. “You can write something on social media and get sent to prison for it. But if a guy gets stabbed, the person who does the stabbing doesn’t go to prison,” said Mr Candy.

The British public are “not going to accept this”, he added, which will result in “massive change” in which Labour will become a one-term government. “Anyone who protests apparently is far-right, which is mind blowing. But just because you protest doesn’t mean you are far-right,” he said.

The next election, which will be held in four years’ time or sooner, will hopefully result in Mr Farage becoming the prime minister, said Mr Candy. “But if Nigel is not prime minister in four years’ time or before, then I will leave, as I don’t need to stay here.”

Nigel Farage and Nick Candy during their meeting with Elon Musk at Mar-a-Lago. PA

Mr Candy said he will leave for the UAE, where he already spends much of his time. However, he said he is willing to wait it out for now to see what happens. The property developer is known for a range of high-profile projects across London, including the prime One Hyde Park.

His comments came after a new YouGov poll showed Reform UK virtually neck-and-neck with Labour, six months after both parties made significant gains in a general election. Mr Farage stood at 25 per cent in the poll released on Monday, behind Labour on 26 per cent. Reform pushed the Conservatives into third place at 22 per cent in the voting intention survey, YouGov's first since the election last July.

Mr Candy, a luxury property developer who became Reform’s treasurer last month, said the UK was getting “basic things” wrong and called for Chancellor Rachel Reeves to be sacked for her budget, which resulted in the pound sinking and gilt yields rising. She edited her LinkedIn profile last year after accusations she had embellished her role at a leading bank.

Mr Candy said she "wouldn’t get a job in any of my companies".

Rachel Reeves, Britain's Chancellor of the Exchequer. Billionaire Nick Candy said she 'wouldn’t get a job in any of my companies'. AFP

The UK’s economy is in a “bad way”, he said, and the country cannot tax its way out of the problem. Growth is the only answer. “You have to grow the economy. And why has the UAE been successful? The UAE has got the best talent in the world wanting to join them, whether you are in crypto, whether you are in real estate, whether you are an entrepreneur, they have created an environment which is brilliant for all those types of people where they can thrive – young, hungry, wealthy, affluent people who want to come and create wealth."

The UK must get out of the way of thinking that wealth creation is a bad thing, he said. In the US, it is praised. They have 'the American dream', he added.

“We have to get out of that [anti-wealth] psyche. It’s horrendous. I didn’t come from money. I started with a £6,000 [$7,310] loan in 1995 from my grandmother. You want the same people who have that £6,000 or equivalent today to have that same opportunity. They don’t, which saddens me,” he added.