Reform were predictably up in arms about the UK-EU Brexit reset deal, with Lee Anderson fuming on X: “Brexit Betrayal. Sir Keir Starmer went to the Single Market and came back with 5 magic beans.”
Anderson – not noted as one of life’s great readers – might want to reacquaint himself with the fairytale of Jack and the Beanstalk. Those magic beans allowed Jack to climb up to a giant’s castle and return with such an abundance of treasure that he and his mother never had financial worries again.
Talking of unexpected financial windfalls, our thoughts are with the Reform think tank, established in 2002 to “reimagine how the state operates in order to shape a new social settlement fit for today and the coming decades”, but since rather overshadowed by a hard right party of the same name.
The wonks lost their bid to stop Nigel Farage’s merry band rebranding from the Brexit Party to Reform in 2021, and is now changing its own name up after receiving political donations in the post.
“We have had people sending us emails with their thoughts that they want to share with Nigel Farage,” Charlotte Pickles, its director, says. “We’ve had some letters sent to our office building.” The think tank has also received a number of cheques (which it has destroyed).
It has now rebranded itself Re:State in a bid to distance itself from the Faragistas. Let’s hope none of Reform’s current MPs nabs that one too when the inevitable split occurs and they’re off to form a new party!
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