Farage ‘plans to put business leaders in cabinet’ if Reform wins power

Labour prime minister Keir Starmer hits out at Reform UK leader, dubbing him a ‘wolf in Wall Street clothing’ who has ‘no idea what he's talking about’

Nigel Farage is controversially attempting to woo business leaders by pledging to make some of them ministers if Reform UK wins the next general election.

As it fights intense criticism of its economic plans, Mr Farage’s party is trying to win over influential figures in the city, according to the Financial Times.

After the news emerged, Keir Starmer took aim at Mr Farage, calling him a "wolf in Wall Street clothing" who has "no idea what he's talking about".

Reform UK leader Nigel Farage (PA) (PA Wire)

Earlier this week a poll showed Reform UK would become Britain’s largest party if a general election was held tomorrow, putting Mr Farage on course to become prime minister.

The insurgent right-wing party would jump from having just five MPs to 271, with Mr Farage poised to form a minority government, it found.

And Labour would collapse, from holding 403 seats now to just 178, after Sir Keir’s party’s popularity plummeted in recent months.

Ministers are usually elected MPs, but PMs can draw from a wider group by appointing individuals to the House of Lords by giving them a peerage.

However, this has proven controversial in the past, amid accusations it is undemocratic.

Past peers who have served as government ministers, include the former CBI boss Lord Jones in Gordon Brown’s “government of all the talents”.

More recently Rishi Sunak brought David Cameron back as his foreign secretary by making him Lord Cameron.

And Sir Keir Starmer has made Lord Timpson, the former boss of his family’s chain of cobblers, a prisons minister.

Mr Farage has told executives he will be enlisting “top business leaders” to some of the biggest jobs in his government, the FT reported.

One senior Reform figure confirmed that Mr Farage would want business expertise in the Treasury and would also consider cabinet-level roles for external figures, telling the paper “there are many high-quality people who want to help with turning our country around.”