ReutersThe new year in politics begins with the cheers of billionaires with mouths bigger than their bank balances.
Elon Musk has been flying about as many digital darts across the Atlantic Ocean over the past few days as Luke Littler has physical ones.
The world’s richest man has been saying the strongest possible words about the Prime Minister for almost as long as Sir Keir Starmer has been in Downing Street.
In recent days, the focus has been on child sexual exploitation and Mr Musk’s claims that the Prime Minister was “complicit in the rape of Britain” by failing to respond to scandals when he was prosecutor general.
I hear that Sir Keir “does not want to get into a food fight with Mr. Musk,” but that he will resolutely defend his time as prosecutor general.
He also wanted to emphasize the importance of basing political discussions on verifiable facts and that Musk has made claims that are, as one source put it, “patently false.” There is.
For example, officials, including another former senior prosecutor who complained to Mr Musk’s social media platform points out those defending the record.
Officials also point to a local investigation into the abuse and rape of vulnerable girls by a group of mostly Pakistani men, as well as a national investigation by Professor Alexis Jay.
The Conservative Party, the Reform Party and Elon Musk have expressed varying degrees of anger in recent days over the government’s decision to say no to a public inquiry into the scandal.
But few could have predicted how this weekend would unfold. Within hours of reformist leader Nigel Farage describing Musk as “a ‘hero’ who makes us look cool”, the X owner said that Farage “has what it takes”. “We need new leaders for reform,” he said. ”.
“It wasn’t a perfect day,” one of the reformers said with a smile and an understatement. “Maybe we’ll look a little stupid.”
The row appears to be centered around Mr Farage’s repeated comments distancing himself from far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who goes by the name Tommy Robinson.
Reform didn’t expect this to happen. Just a few weeks ago, they were talking about the possibility of getting a huge donation from Elon Musk, and now they’re trying to make the best of things.
“Nigel is not for sale,” one party official told me, demonstrating the reformist leader’s willingness to stand up to everyone, including the world’s richest man. said.
Another said that if Reform is to be treated as a serious political group – remember Nigel Farage has said he wants to win the next general election – it will be Mr Robinson, whatever the outcome. This means a firm and consistent refusal to have anything to do with it.
One politician who has garnered some praise from Elon Musk, at least for now, is Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch, who has called for a public inquiry into child sexual abuse.
Badenoch sees the scandal as an example of what she sees as broken politics.
For Badenoch, 2025 will be a crucial year as he rebuilds his party and fights for attention, which will not be easy in the presence of Nigel Farage.
She felt it again at Christmas when she got into a public spat with him over party membership. Mr Badenoch suggested that claims by reformers that Conservative Party membership increased automatically on Boxing Day were “false”.
ReutersReformers called on journalists to verify that this was not the case, with the Financial Times in particular concluding there was “strong evidence” that the party’s tally was accurate.
In the coming weeks, we expect to hear from Ms Badenoch about the so-called policy committee she is establishing and who will lead it.
It’s also worth looking at Robert Jenrick, whom she won for leadership, but he’s by no means gone quietly.
He is her shadow attorney general, but his willingness to continue campaigning as if the leadership contest is still on the table has irritated some Conservative Party leaders, who have asked him about policy. wants to stay in his own lane and not jump all over the place talking about what he likes. .
As for the prime minister, it has been six months since he took office, and the turmoil at home and abroad is calming down, but his big hope is that he will have a baby.
He is looking forward to the traditional New Year’s speech because he feels his team did just that with last month’s speech.
Instead, he focuses on concrete promises. The aim is to reduce hospital waiting lists in the UK.
He will carry out similar style events and visits in the coming weeks, building on the government’s other big commitments.
This is what politics will look like in 2025.
It’s only been a week, but it’s already starting to come alive.
