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Senior figures around Reform UK have drawn up plans for a think-tank that aims to attract Maga donors from America and help Nigel Farage’s party craft policies as it seeks to professionalise.
The group will be styled on American outfits that are independently funded but openly support political parties, such as the Center for Renewing America and the America First Policy Institute that back Donald Trump.
A recent presentation seen by the Financial Times called the proposed organisation “Resolute 1850”, an apparent reference to the British Royal Navy ship the Resolute whose timbers were used to make the US president’s desk in the Oval Office. A person close to the party said the name could be subject to change.
Initial funding would come from the UK “plus US donors from MAGA, Tech, Religious conservatives”, the presentation states.
The document suggests the organisation could be established by the end of this year while its first annual “Davos-style event” could take place in 2026.
The move comes as the party is seeking to professionalise, with the intention of capitalising on a polling performance that puts it ahead of the Conservatives and level with Labour.
The party is hoping to make significant gains in the local elections across the UK in May, but senior figures concede it will need to sharpen its policy offerings and on-the-ground operations if it is to perform well in the next general election, expected in 2029.
The document sets out that the role of the group will be to “support Reform with policy development, briefing and rebuttal” with the aim to “change opinion around key issues and provide technocratic competence” and ultimately “expand to be at the centre of a sympathetic ecosystem with an annual Davos-like event”.
Farage on Thursday said that “Trump’s victory in America shows you where western civilisations are going”.
He predicted the UK’s net zero policies would be “the next Brexit” at the next general election, and warned Britain was “being deindustrialised through a moronic policy”. Farage said that “something really big” was happening in Britain — “a fragmentation of our politics” — that he predicted would allow Reform to sweep to power at the next general election in spite of Britain’s “first past the post” electoral system that penalises smaller parties. He said this fragmentation also meant that his daughter was a “hard-left green enthusiast”.
He also sought to play down the significance of a recent rift that has opened up after Reform suspended the MP Rupert Lowe from the party and reported him to police for alleged bullying.
Farage said very few people in the world outside of Westminster knew who Lowe was, adding mockingly, “I’m sure he’s a towering figure in Doncaster.”
The think-tank presentation notes that the party’s “positions need more research, stress testing and amendment” and that “the party will also need a view on how it reconciles the Thatcherite instincts of much of its leadership with the statist attitudes of many of its voters”.
Policy “will be both data driven and stress tested, ensuring it stands up to aggressive scrutiny,” it adds. The document highlights some policy areas such an organisation could focus on, including to “roll back the quangocracy and DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion] agenda” and “reforming healthcare”.
It posits that the first issue-based campaign the think-tank could run in 2026 is “countering housebuilding”.
The document also suggests that Reform donor and British racehorse trainer Andrew Reid could sit on the board of directors and that the organisation should be set up as a “private company limited by guarantee” rather than a charity, to avoid the need to be politically neutral.
One senior party figure confirmed there were plans to create a think-tank and that they were involved in that plan.
A Reform UK spokesperson said: “Reform UK is not associated with any think-tanks. We are developing policy internally with renowned experts in each field.”
In a far-ranging discussion on Thursday, Farage also criticised Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch for “working very hard in the afternoon for a few hours”.
He referred to the Tories as “stuffy, boring old bastards”, adding: “I’ve never met a more stuck-up, arrogant, out-of-touch group of people than at least half of the Conservative MPs.”
He also strongly denied claims there would be any pact between Reform and the Tories ahead of the next general election, saying: “There is no pact, there is no deal, we’re not the Conservative party. We’re not Tory lite. We pretty much despise them for their level of betrayal.”
Asked about his fractious relationship with Elon Musk, Farage accused the tech billionaire of trying to “bully” him into changing his views on far-right agitator and convicted criminal Tommy Robinson.
He also suggested a “mega donation” from Musk was not likely to be forthcoming, adding “it was always massively over-exaggerated anyway”.
“It was always going to be difficult for Elon to give us money anyway. I mean Tesla’s got problems as it is,” he added. “Can you imagine if Tesla made a donation to us? How difficult that would be politically.”
