The Observer has joined forces with The Rest Is Politics to launch a high-profile investigative series tracking the money behind Nigel Farage's Reform UK. Rory Stewart kicked off the series by praising the collaboration, calling it "an amazing piece of work" and noting that the investigation is spearheaded by Cat Neelan, who serves as the publication's Whitehall editor.
While co-host Alastair Campbell confirmed they are investigating "Reform's finances in conjunction with The Observer," the reporting itself gets deep into the weeds. Neelan takes listeners inside "the Observer offices" where researchers Poppy Bullard and Sam Power reviewed the Brexit Party's peculiar 2019 financial statements to unpack the massive scale of their initial donations.
With no rival podcasts yet offering a counter-perspective on the findings, the hosts have a monopoly on the narrative for now. Stewart highlighted the public's interest in figures like Chris Harbourne, a crypto billionaire who contributed five million pounds towards Farage's "security," an arrangement that raises immediate questions about political influence. By leveraging the newspaper's investigative clout, the series is poised to keep Reform's financial secrets under the microscope in the coming weeks.