Key facts
- Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, has shifted from criticizing the UAE's human rights record to praising the nation.
- Farage delivered a keynote speech at a GB News-hosted event in Dubai in January 2026, expressing admiration for the UAE.
- Reform UK is reportedly seeking funding from wealthy foreign donors in low-tax countries, including the UAE.
- Farage visited Abu Dhabi in December, with his trip reportedly paid for by the Emirati government.
- Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice has a history of parliamentary interventions on issues important to Abu Dhabi, including the UAE proscribing UK companies and the conflict in Sudan.
Nigel Farage's Reform UK party has cultivated an increasingly close relationship with the United Arab Emirates, a development that contrasts sharply with Farage's previous strong criticisms of the Gulf state's human rights record. Farage, now leader of Reform UK, delivered a keynote speech in Dubai in January 2026, praising the UAE and suggesting Britain had much to learn from it, a stark departure from his December 2023 remarks opposing the UAE's bid for The Telegraph due to its 'abysmal human rights record'.
Reform UK, which advocates for strict immigration controls, is seen as a potential future government in Britain. The UAE, a country with a population largely composed of migrants and no free speech, has been actively courting the party. Farage's deputy leader, Richard Tice, has also shown a long-standing interest in the UAE. Tice has previously raised parliamentary questions regarding the UAE's designation of eight British companies, owned by exiled Emirati dissidents, as terror groups. He also intervened on the civil war in Sudan, where the UAE is accused of arming the Rapid Support Forces.
Sources indicate Reform UK is exploring fundraising from wealthy foreign donors in low-tax jurisdictions, including the UAE. Farage himself visited Abu Dhabi in December, a trip reportedly funded by the Emirati government, where he met with officials privately while publicly attending the Formula 1 finale. Tice has suggested potential joint listings between the London Stock Exchange and Dubai's financial hub under a Reform government, highlighting a perceived synergy between the two entities.