Nigel Farage

The figure most responsible for Brexit who finally entered the UK parliament in 2024 after seven failed attempts. Farage's Reform UK positioned itself as the insurgent alternative to both major parties; by early 2025 it led the Conservatives in polling, raising questions about a permanent British right-wing realignment.

Nigel Paul Farage was born on April 3, 1964, in Downe, Kent. A commodity broker in the City before entering politics, he co-founded the UK Independence Party (UKIP) in 1993 and led it to its breakthrough 2014 European election win. He stepped down from UKIP after the 2016 Brexit referendum — which his campaign had won — and later founded the Brexit Party (2019) and Reform UK (2021). He was elected MP for Clacton on his eighth attempt at a parliamentary seat in July 2024.