The Murdoch rags & the Mail are at war with Reform UK

The observant among you may have noticed that the mainstream media have recently rounded on Reform UK and Nigel Farage. Interestingly, the outlets ganging up on Reform include the Daily Mail and Rupert Murdoch’s the Times:

Pleased as I am to see the Murdoch and Rothermere press attacking Farage as stridently as they previously lavished praise on him, I can't help wondering what has brought on the recent U-turn

— David__Osland (@David__Osland) July 13, 2026

Reform: right-on-right violence

The broader strokes of what these outlets are reporting on are things independent journalists began covering years ago. The Times and others have certainly unveiled new information, but said information could have come out years ago had the will been there. As such, it’s understandable people are asking ‘why now?‘

The Times have broken a series of stories on Farage and Reform’s financial matters in recent months. With each new story comes fresh scrutiny for Reform, and with further scrutiny comes panic. As a result, Reform is looking less and less like the next party of government and more and more like the defendants in an upcoming legal proceeding.

Among those questioning the reality we find ourselves in is author of The Fraud Paul Holden, who said:

This is fascinating to watch. I’m not sure I understand the more subtle dynamics at play on the British right, but it does seem like Farage and Reform and the Murdoch press are openly at war.

It might be at least partially reactive, but it does also seem that Farage, Tice etc. have decided that they can win power without the Murdoch press: that a combination of social media and the support of the Paul Marshall stable (GB News/Spectator) is enough to get them over the line.

From the outside it looks like the clash of two fractions of the right-wing power structure and eco-system, similar to how Trump faced down (and then subdued) the Fox News/Republican eco-system, and how it is resolved will have massive implications for the viability of Reform and the make-up of the next government.

My strong hunch is that it’s not going to go well for Reform!

Holden was responding to the following tweet from Reform deputy Richard Tice:

The Times Group:

You are sick

Your contempt bordering on hatred of Nigel, myself & Reform means you stoop to any low to smear & discredit us. You lie, libel and make things up.

How many more Reform politicians do you want dead?

Shame on you https://t.co/LnCCZ4YEqi

— Richard Tice MP 🇬🇧 (@TiceRichard) July 13, 2026

As one commenter noted, Tice is making the above argument while simultaneously using the sort of language he’s complaining about being used against him:

In March 2026, Richard Tice said: “Starmer and Labour… are traitors to Britain.”

Tice knows better than most that being called a “traitor” carries severe social, psychological, and sometimes violent or even fatal consequences.

Just hours after Nigel Farage launched the… https://t.co/bBJYZZTnFH pic.twitter.com/KSq709XdmW

— GET A GRIP (@docrussjackson) July 13, 2026

The Daily Mail

It’s not just the Times who are giving Reform UK a hard time; the Daily Mail is also putting the boot in:

Nigel has lost the daily mail. pic.twitter.com/MqIUI4gNxf

— Daniel Lismore (@daniellismore) July 12, 2026

This is despite a big recent donation from the establishment family behind this vilest of vile rags:

Only last year, the wife of Mail on Sunday owner Lord Rothermere donated £50,000 to Reform UK. I'm sure Nigel Farage can live with a bit of criticism from Dan Hodges, although that is not a lot of money by his standards.

— David__Osland (@David__Osland) July 13, 2026

End of the line

Providing a theory on the turn against Farage, the popular commentator known as the Flying Rodent said:

Times is bored of playing with Farage now, and it’s telling him to get back in his box pic.twitter.com/XpFmugEEYp

— Flying_Rodent (@flying_rodent) July 13, 2026

Couldn’t happen to a more deserving person of course, but it really is an abysmal way to manage national affairs: having the worst people in the country build up and tear down all kinds of very unpleasant right wing frauds, out of pure self-interest and expediency.

— Flying_Rodent (@flying_rodent) July 13, 2026

Clearly, Farage has failed to win the confidence of the billionaires who own the ‘free’ British press. As such, maybe it’s time that the right acknowledge what we did years ago; that for democracy to exist, we can’t have the majority of the media owned by a handful of major c*nts.

Featured image via the Canary