Nigel Farage knows he has a problem: he’s never been very good at playing nicely with others.

The Reform UK leader points out indignantly that some of his backroom staff have been working for him for decades. One loyal aide literally dropped out of his A-levels to join Team Farage.

But when it comes to his fellow politicians, the veteran right-winger has been less good at sharing the limelight.

He has had very public bust-ups with the likes of Douglas Carswell (in the Ukip years), John Longworth (during the Brexit Party’s rise and fall) and Rupert Lowe (one of the Reform MPs elected in 2024). None of those who were ever touted as having the potential to succeed Farage are still at his side.

The announcement of Reform’s first “shadow cabinet” appointments was designed to change this. Farage explicitly said that the event was designed to prove that the party is not a “one-man band” – he added: “if I was hit by a bus tomorrow, Reform has its own brand, Reform has its own identity.”

Fine words, and surely what Reform needs if it is to gain credibility as a party of government at the next........

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