Reform UK aide attended Egypt retreat with pollster JL Partners

Dan Jukes, a former senior aide to Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, attended an all-expenses-paid trip to Egypt in December 2025 with the polling company JL Partners. The trip to a resort in El Quseir on the Red Sea included Jukes giving a talk for the company.

JL Partners has faced scrutiny for releasing opinion polls without disclosing that they were financed by supposed donors to Reform UK. The trip to Egypt, which covered Jukes' travel, meals, and accommodation, highlights the business relationship between Jukes and JL Partners. Jukes reportedly told JL Partners during the trip that a Reform government would want polling to show "that we’re winning."

JL Partners director James Johnson shared photos of the excursion on social media, though Jukes was not pictured. A spokesperson for JL Partners stated Jukes was invited in a personal capacity and his expenses were covered, as were those of other guest speakers. A Reform UK spokesman confirmed Jukes' attendance but stated it was in his capacity as a political consultant, not on behalf of the party, and that Reform UK had no involvement and no electoral law was breached.

Jukes, who served as Farage's communications director until resigning earlier this month, stepped down following an undercover sting. He was filmed arranging for a fictitious wealthy American benefactor to pay for JL Partners polls on behalf of Reform UK, which were then published in British newspapers without disclosing the ties. This prompted an inquiry by the British Polling Council.

Undercover footage showed Johnson stating Jukes was his "main contact" at Reform UK and had given him instructions on polling preferences, while Jukes described their relationship as "really, really discreet." Electoral law requires registration of overseas visits connected to political activities. POLITICO found no record of such a declaration for Jukes' trip.

Tim Picton of Spotlight on Corruption called for clarification on whether the trip required declaration and suggested tightening rules if needed. Steve Goodrich of Transparency International noted the public interest in knowing about off-the-books services provided by pollsters to political parties.