Nigel Farage has confirmed he will start unveiling key members of his “Shadow Cabinet” over the coming months as Reform UK looks to build up its top brass ahead of the next General Election.
Mr Farage, who unveiled Laila Cunningham as Reform UK’s candidate for London Mayor this morning, revealed he will make a major announcement about the party’s personnel in just days.
Speaking to Times Radio, the Reform UK leader set out how he will assemble his key allies over the coming weeks and months.
He said: “I will be making a series of announcements over the course of the coming weeks and couple of months about putting people into various positions.
“We’re a work in progress, it’s literally only 18 months, 18 months ago that I came back into the whole game of politics, and Reform is a work in progress, and you will have all those answers in good time.”
The announcement came just hours after Mr Farage confirmed Reform UK will announce its leader in Scotland next week.
The Clacton MP added: “I will be doing a press conference in Edinburgh next Thursday, where I will announce the leader of Reform UK Scotland.”
Lord Offord, who defected from the Tories to Reform UK last month, declared himself a potential contender following his switch.
The Reform UK leader appeared alongside his allies at the NEC last September
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Meanwhile, Reform UK is facing growing calls to select its Welsh leader after rival MSs urged the BBC to ban Mr Farage from participating in any TV debates.
However, Mr Farage has been quietly assembling his top team over the past few months.
The Reform UK leader unveiled ex-detective Colin Sutton as his crime tsar, later confirming former Wormwood Scrubs governor Vanessa Frake would oversee the party’s prisons policy.
Speaking at Reform UK’s 2025 conference in Birmingham, Mr Farage formally announced that Lee Anderson was taking on a new role as the party’s work and pensions spokesman.
Westminster City Councillor Laila Cunningham defected to Reform UK from the Tories in June last year | GETTY
GB News also detailed last September how Reform UK’s policy chief Zia Yusuf had emerged as Mr Farage’s potential pick for Chancellor.
“The herd has started to move,” a Reform source told GB News.
“They can all feel it. We’re going somewhere and they’re encouraged by Zia. He’s the corporate catch.”
A friend of Mr Farage told GB News: “He’s looking for a seat in Essex, not too far from Nigel.”
Lord Offord is eyeing up a tilt for the Scottish Reform leadership
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Mr Yusuf was also handed a major boost this week after a new poll by Merlin Strategy showed Mr Farage’s right-hand man had the best net score of any potential Chancellor.
Despite missing out on the top spot to ex-Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Mr Yusuf’s positive score of four per cent put him ahead of Rachel Reeves, Sir Mel Stride and even fellow Reform MP Richard Tice.
However, ex-No10 adviser Dominic Cummings has been urging Mr Farage to assemble his top team for months.
Speaking to The Spectator last week, Mr Farage’s rival-turned-ally called on the Reform UK leader to encourage high-flying Britons to join his campaign.
Zia Yusuf received a net positive score of four per cent
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GETTYDuring Reform UK’s 2025 conference, leading figures were also handed specific talking points ahead of addressing members.
Reform MP Sarah Pochin, who served as a magistrate before winning the Runcorn & Helsby by-election last May, focused her speech on justice.
Tory defectors Danny Kruger and Ben Bradley have subsequently been appointed as Mr Farage’s Whitehall and local government tsars.
Mr Farage is likely to make further announcements over the course of the next 18 months.